May 14, 2021

Click here for a roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 14.05.2021, 13:55

COVID-19 Roughly 3.8 million people have been
vaccinated in Romania and two thirds of them have got the booster dose. All the
Romanian territory is now in the so-called green zone as the epidemic has been
contained in most of the regions. According to the Strategic Communication
Group, the infection rate dropped to 1.30 per thousand in Bucharest and the
number of vaccinated people has exceeded one million. On Thursday the country
received 128 thousand doses of the Moderna vaccine, which are being distributed
across the country whose citizens can now get a jab without having to register
beforehand. Vaccine rollout is carried on in all the country’s centers,
including in its 10 drive-throughs. Another 950 new infection cases were
reported on Thursday and 75 patients have died in the past 24 hours. 830
patients are being treated in IC units.

PLAN In its National Recovery and Resilience plan
(PNRR) Romania has included a series of reforms in several key areas and its
pledges have been well-received in Brussels, the country’s Prime Minister
Florin Citu says. According to the head of the Bucharest executive, the plan is
credible and doable and the cabinet members must work hard in the forthcoming
period to complete the projects that are to be funded. During the visit it has
recently paid to Brussels, the Romanian Prime Minister has assured the EU officials
of Romania’s commitment to implementing the reforms comprised in the ruling
programme, in the fiscal-budgetary strategy, as well as in the convergence
programme. Romania has pledged to present its PNRR by the end of May, with a
one month delay against the initial time scheduled by the European Union. Half
of the EU members have so far presented their national plans for funding.

POLL 45% of the Romanians intend to change their
job after the pandemic, shows a recent poll conducted by an online recruiting
platform. The main reason of the respondents is a higher pay. 11% want to go
through a professional retraining programme whereas 9% are ready to leave the
country. The categories standing most chances to find a job are IT experts and
qualified workers.

TRAVEL Foreign Ministers from Central Europe have
recently tackled in Bratislava the idea of free travel after the end of the
coronavirus pandemic. The participants have agreed that during the holiday
season, vaccinated people from Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Austria
and Slovenia be allowed to travel freely to the other countries. Authorities in
the USA have lifted indoor mask mandates for vaccinated citizens as 35% of the
country’s population has got either the two-jab, or the single-jab vaccine. 161.8
million infections have been reported the world over so far and 3.3 million
people died, according to data released by worldmeters.info. Most of the
fatalities have been registered in the US, India and Brazil.

TALKS The Romanian
government is to convene in Bucharest today for talks over the relaxation
measures to come into effect as of May 15th. The executive’s session is
preceded by a meeting of the National Committee for Emergency situations, which
is expected to come up with a series of relaxation measures, such as lifting
outdoor mask mandates with the exception of crowded places as well as the night
curfew. Shops are expected to return to their pre-quarantine timetables. The next
relaxation stage is expected to be implemented as of June 1st.

(bill)