March 15, 2021

A roundup of domestic and international news

Newsroom, 15.03.2021, 13:55

COVID-19 IN
ROMANIA – The capital city Bucharest and Braşov, Cluj, Hunedoara, Ilfov, Sălaj and Timiş counties have
entered the red zone, the infection rate having exceed 3 per thousand
inhabitants in these areas. On Sunday another 4,400 new infections were announced,
by nearly 1,000 more than the previous week. The total number of infections
stands at some 859 thousand, with the death toll closing in on 21,500. Over
1,200 people are in intensive care. Prime Minister Florin Cîţu has called for
identifying new hospitals to join the fight against COVID-19, by increasing the
number of ICU beds to 1,600 and ensuring the necessary supply of medicines and
continuing vaccination. We recall the state of alert has been extended for another
30 days. All restrictions imposed so far remain in place, with the
exception of the nighttime curfew, which now begins at 10 PM and ends at 5 AM.

COVID-19 IN THE WORLD – The Netherlands has suspended the use
of the AstraZeneca anti-COVID vaccine
as a precaution after possible side effects were reported in Denmark and
Norway, without a confirmed connection being established so far. Several other
European countries suspended their AstraZeneca vaccine rollouts after people
who took the vaccine developed blood clots. AstraZeneca announced it concluded
an analysis of the anti-COVID vaccination process and found no risk of blood
clots in people who were immunized with its vaccine. The number of blood clots
developed in people who took the vaccine is inferior to estimates, the
pharmaceutical company announced. The European Medicines Agency announced the vaccine’s
benefits continue to outweigh its risks and the vaccine can continue to be
administered while investigation of cases of thromboembolic events is ongoing.
On the other hand, large areas of Italy today enter a three-week lockdown in an
attempt to slow down the spread of the virus. People coming in and out of this
country need to provide PCR negative tests for COVID-19. Israel, on the other
hand, continues to ease restrictions.

VACCINATION
– The vaccination campaign in Romania today entered its third stage addressing
the general population. For the time being the immunization process is carried
out in towns and villages where the COVID infection rate exceeds 4.5 per thousand
inhabitants. People can register on waiting lists on the online platform. Meanwhile
people who enrolled in the second phase continue to get their shots. So far
over 2.2 million people have taken one of the three vaccines rolled out in
Romania – Pfizer, Moderna and AstraZeneca.

MESSAGE – Romania’s
president, Klaus Iohannis, today conveyed a message marking the Day of
Hungarians Worldwide. In his message, the president said that fostering
interethnic harmony will help consolidate a stronger and more prosperous
society. The head of state referred to the significant contribution of the
Hungarian minority in Romania and its political representatives to Romania’s
efforts towards European integration, promoting democratic values, human rights
and the protection of minorities as underlying elements of Romanian society. These
are the foundations of our common path towards a European future that shows a
deep understanding of the mistakes of the past, president Iohannis said in his
message.

FIRE – A
fire broke out today at the Psychiatry Hospital in Cavnic, northwestern
Romania. 71 people were evacuated after a fire broke out in a bathroom on the
third floor. The fire was extinguished without any victims being reported.
After ventilating all wards, patients were returned to the hospital. This is
the latest in a number of fires that recently broke out in hospitals in
Romania. On January 29, five people were killed after four wards burned down at
the Matei Balş Infectious
Disease hospital in Bucharest. Also in January, a fire broke out at the
Psychiatry Hospital in Gătaia, western Romania, and at a hospital in Roman. On
December 25, 2020, a paitent died in another fire at the Socola Psychiatry
Hospital in Iaşi, northeastern Romania. The most serious such incident remains
the fire of November, 2020 at the Piatra Neamţ county hospital, which killed 10
people.

ENERGY -
Romania’s Energy Minister, Virgil Popescu, is starting today on a two-day visit
to Brussels, where he will try to persuade EU officials to approve the €1.33
billion restructuring plan for the Oltenia Energy Company. Oltenia needs a
total of €3.5 billion to cover restructuring costs over the next 5 years, of
which €1.5 billion is provided by the Company, and the rest by the state. In
February, the European Commission announced the launch of a comprehensive
investigation of the state funding allotted to restructure the company,
claiming the company’s energy output won’t change significantly after its
reorganization. Romanian authorities hope to obtain the approval of the
European Commission by the end of April, so that the Oltenia Energy Company
should be able to pay CO2 permits for 2020 penalty-free.

HANDBALL
– The Romanian men’s national handball team surprisingly lost 30-25 to Kosovo
on Sunday in a match counting towards Group 8 in the second phase of the 2022
European Championship preliminaries. After it drew against Kosovo away from
home a few days before, Romania was humiliated in Bucharest. Sweden is top of
the group tables with 6 points in 3 games, followed by Romania with 3 points in
4 games, Kosovo with 3 points in 4 games and Montenegro with 2 points in 3
games. Romania’s next fixtures will be against Sweden on April 28 in Sibiu and
against Montenegro on May 2 in Podgorica. Romania last qualified to a European
Championship in 1996, in Spain, where it ranked 9th. (V.P.)