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On February 1, Romania had a peak in COVID infections, a little over 40,000 in 24 hours. The accelerating descending trend continued this week, so that authorities are considering relaxing restrictions and dropping the state of alert. These measures, however, will be taken only in correlation with two major indicators, said Health Minister Alexandru Rafila: a drop in the number of people hospitalized, but more importantly the number of inpatients in ICUs. Only half of Romanian adults have complete vaccine protection, a percentage below the European average, and this difference is felt in the number of inpatients with severe disease, according to the health official. In spite of repeated calls for vaccination, the general interest in immunization is still low. Several vaccination sites have been shut down or are about to, because of low demand. In the meantime, the 2020 mask mandate outdoors has been deemed unconstitutional, lacking endorsement from the Legislative Council, which is a consultative body of Parliament. However, experts say that wearing a mask was never a restrictive measure, but rather a preventive one.
Economic forecasts
The National Strategy and Forecast Commission in Bucharest adjusted its estimates on Romania's economic growth, expecting now a growth of only 4.3 percent, 0.3 percent less than in its previous estimate. He reasons for this adjustment are related to the rising inflation, the rise of the fifth wave of the pandemic, and the running energy crisis. This estimate did not take into account the geopolitical crisis caused the Ukraine border troop build-up. At the same time, the body reevaluated the impact of growing energy and gas prices on inflation for this year, which led to an expectation that prices would grow across the board. Future evolution lead to an expectation that inflation would plateau in February, due to new regulations on setting a ceiling on home energy bills, with an expected peak in April. Smaller increases are expected for July and for the beginning of the cold season. Inflation in late 2022 may reach as much as 9.5%. According to data published on Tuesday by the National Institute of Statistics, the Romanian economy grew by 5.6%.
The Section for Investigating Crime in the Justice System shuts down
Early this week, the Bucharest government endorsed the bill for dismantling the Section for Investigating Crime in the Justice System, which was a government promise, in line with the Mechanism for Cooperation and Verification. The bill issued by the Ministry of Justice provides for distributing towards other units the cases opened by the special body. The running cases will be remitted within 60 workdays to relevant prosecutor offices, under the care of the prosecution office with the High Court of Cassation and Justice. High ranking judges and prosecutors accused of having violated the law will be investigated by the said prosecution office, while lower rank judges and prosecutors will be investigated by prosecution offices with lower courts. The bill is about to be sent to Parliament for debate and voting.
Romania and the Ukraine situation
Romania, as a NATO member state, has security guarantees, and is fully defended in case of a conflict in Ukraine, Romanian Foreign Minister Bogdan Aurescu said. The head of diplomacy said that the authorities in Bucharest are keeping in touch at all times with Romanian citizens in Ukraine, and that they will be defended in case of military conflic. The statements were made after hearings in expert committees in Parliament related to regional security. The Foreign Ministry finalized the repatriation of family members of staff with the embassy in Kiev, which is still fully functional, in addition to the consulate in Odessa. The consular missions in Solotvino and Cernauti are not the object of this measure, because they are in safer areas, minister Aurescu explained.
Presidential work meetings abroad
On Wednesday, President Klaus Iohannis was invited to Paris by his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, to an informal work dinner regarding the security situation in the Sahel. On that occasion, he emphasized the need to maintain unity and coordination, including with regional partners, as well as the need for joint efforts to provide peace and security in the region. The Romanian head of state also said that providing security and stability in the south of the EU is the more important as we are facing grave security challenges on the eastern side, near Ukraine and in the Black Sea. Romania favors a dipomatic solution, but is prepared in the face of a possible Russian invasion of Ukraine, said the head of state. On Thursday and Friday President Iohannis attended the EU- African Union summit in Brussels. At the meeting, Klaus Iohannis emphasized Romania's continued efforts on reaching the common objectives of the two, aimed at peace, security, proper governance, and supporting the private sector and economic integration, fighting climate change, as well as energy transition, healthcare, and vaccine production.
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Radio Romania International rri.ro - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from rri.ro Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Radio Romania International rri.ro - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from rri.ro Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Radio Romania International rri.ro - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from rri.ro Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.