November 23, 2020

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 23.11.2020, 13:55

COVID-19 IN ROMANIA – Another 4,207 new infections
with SARS-CoV-2 and 130 related deaths have been reported in the last 24 hours
in Romania, the Group for Strategic Communication has announced. The national
death toll has risen to 10,177. Since the beginning of the outbreak, 422,825
people got infected with coronavirus, of whom over two thirds have recovered. 6,864
Romanians living abroad have so far tested positive for COVID-19, of whom 126
have died. President Klaus Iohannis has summoned the ministers of Defense,
Healthcare and Interior Affairs to discuss Romania’s COVID-19 vaccination
strategy. The vaccination campaign will begin once the vaccine will be approved
and green-lit for mass-distribution. Romania will receive 10.7 million
anti-COVID-19 shots from the European Commission in several batches.

COVID-19 IN THE WORLD – Over 59 million people worldwide
have been infected with COVID-19 since the start of the outbreak, according to
the latest worldometers.info update. Over 1.3 million people have died to the
virus. In the United States, the total number of infections stands at 12.5
million, with over 262 thousand people dead. In Europe, all people arriving in
Spain via air or sea must produce a negative PCR test no older than 72 hours at
the date of entry. The rule is applied to all passengers coming from high-risk
countries, including Romania. Also today the British Government is due to
announce the lifting of lockdown restrictions before Christmas, allowing people
to visit their relatives even in red-listed countries. Germany and France too
are expected to announce new regulations for the winter holidays.

BUDGET ADJUSTMENT – The Government is today
presenting the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, a project whereby Romania
will absorb €30 million worth of European funds for development, starting next
year. The money will be invested in healthcare, education, infrastructure and
digitization. In fact healthcare is one of the sectors that will be getting
additional funds under the third budget adjustment this year, to be adopted
later today by the Government. During the pandemic the budget deficit climbed
to some €20 billion. Finance Minister Florin Cîţu said the budget deficit will
stand at 9.1% of the GDP, adding that expenses have gone up due to the
pandemic, while budget revenues are on the wane after the Government handed out
tax breaks and other benefits to companies severely affected by the economic
fallout of COVID-19.

ELECTION – Citizens living in
quarantined areas will be able to vote in the December 6 legislative election.
On Monday Prime Minister Ludovic Orban said there will be no restrictions
introduced in this respect, adding that citizens infected with COVID-19 and
those in quarantine or home isolation will be able to vote with the help of the
mobile ballot box. More and more towns
and villages across Romania are entering quarantine as the infection rate
continues to go up.

CoD – Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu is today opening the 32nd
edition of the Council of Democracies (CoD), this year held in videoconference
format under the Romanian presidency of the Council. For two days participants
will exchange views regarding the promotion of the principles stipulated in the
Warsaw Declaration, the founding document of the CoD. Romania is holding the
presidency of the Council from September 2019 until September 2021. Its priorities
are to promote democracy at global level, facilitate the involvement of young
people in democratic processes, as well as the relationship between democratic
processes and information technology. Founded in 2000 and totaling 106 member
states, the Council of Democracies is the widest platform for exchanging views
and know-how in the field of global democracy.

GAUDEAMUS – The 27th edition of the
Gaudeamus International Book Fair, organized by Radio Romania, came to a
close on Sunday. For seven days, the online event was followed by some 50,000
viewers who attended over 200 cultural online events. Iartă-mă că te-am iubit,
written by Ela E. H., born in Romania and settled in the United Kingdom, has
been designated the most popular book in the fair. (V. Palcu)