March 3, 2021

Latest Romanian and international news.

Newsroom, 03.03.2021, 13:55

Vaccination. Romania hit 1 million Covid vaccinations today, two months after the
start of its mass immunisation campaign and sooner than the authorities’
initial estimate. Prime minister Florin Cîţu said
Romania has the third highest vaccination rate in Europe and that the
vaccination of the general population may begin as early as this month. The
number of new Covid infections, continues, however, to rise from one day to the
next. According to the latest toll, Romania has seen more than 812,000
coronavirus infections and 20,686 related deaths, with
almost 4,300 new cases and 77 new fatalities reported today. 1,032 people are
receiving intensive care treatment, a figure similar to that recorded in mid
January. The list of red zone counties is also growing, exceeding 3 Covid cases
per 1,000 inhabitants over the last 14 days. Ilfov, the county around
Bucharest, on Tuesday joined Cluj, Maramureş and Timiş on the list of red zone counties.
Dominic Fritz,
the mayor of Timişoara, the biggest city in western Romania, said the city may go into
lockdown, as the infection rate continues to rise and there are no more free
beds in hospitals and intensive care units.

Restrictions Europe. The Italian
government has extended restrictions for another month, including over the
Easter holidays. Movement between regions is still banned until 27th
March and all schools in high-risk areas were closed. In France, prime minister
Jean Castex and health minister Olivier Véran are discussing with the local
leaders in the worst hit regions trying to reach an agreement over possible new
restrictions, such as weekend lockdowns, a measure imposed last week on the
French Riviera and in the north, in Dunkirk. Paris’ Socialist mayor Anne
Hidalgo categorically rejected the idea of weekend lockdowns, describing it as
inhumane. She proposed other measures to slow down the spread of the virus,
asking the government to provide more tests and vaccines for the Paris region. Sweden,
which initially adopted a flexible strategy against the pandemic, has been
seeing a 10% growth in the number of new infections and high hospitalisation
rates for the last three weeks. Health authorities believe the country is
heading for the third wave of the pandemic.

Justice. Former Romanian development minister Elena Udrea and the
daughter of former president Traian Băsescu, Ioana Băsescu, were handed down
prison sentences of 8 and 5 years, respectively, for money laundering and
abetting bribery. The approximately 300,000 euros thus obtained was used to
finance Traian Băsescu’s presidential campaign in 2009. The court ruling is not
final and can be appealed. In another development, civic groups and
associations said they would stage a protest outside the Bucharest Tribunal
today, following the latter’s final ruling not to reopen an inquiry into an
anti-government demonstration from 10th August 2018 when the
gendarmerie used force against demonstrators. The representatives of civic
associations said they would file a lawsuit against Romania in the European
Court of Human Rights.

Budget. Parliament on Tuesday passed the state budget and social
security budget bills without any amendments to the version proposed by the
government. The ruling coalition formed by the National Liberal Party, the Save
Romania Union and PLUS Alliance and the Democratic Union of Ethnic Hungarians
in Romania described the 2021 budget as balanced, based on sustainability,
political responsibility and economic growth. The opposition, however, have
criticised it as illegal, anti-social and anti-economic.

Legislation. The government is today
meeting to discuss a new bill to amend an emergency order on the status of
foreign nationals in Romania and the award of long-stay visas for the
recipients of scholarships from the Romanian state. The bill also seeks to
regulate the legal situation in case of extensions to the right to stay for
beneficiaries of internships. The government is also expected to approve a bill
on the ratification of Protocol 16 to the Convention for the Protection of
Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms which allows Romania’s High Court of
Cassation and Justice and its Constitutional Court to request advisory opinions
from the European Court of Human Rights. The government is also expected to
approve a memorandum on the development options for Bucharest’s international
airport with the help of the World Bank.

Education. The learning loss cumulated by children in the rural area during
remote teaching is enormous, according to a survey carried out by the World
Vision Romania Foundation in 14 counties. Half of the teachers interviewed said
their pupils are between 11% and 45% behind on learning. Many teachers said a
standardised guideline is needed for catching up with lost learning, while 80% said
they need digital education. The survey was conducted between 5th
and 12th February in 75 schools around Romania. (CM)