January 15, 2021 UPDATE

Romania vaccination. The president of Romania Klaus Iohannis received the Covid vaccine on Friday, at the Central Military Hospital in Bucharest. He said afterwards that the vaccine is safe and efficient, and immunisation and compliance with the protection rules will help us overcome the pandemic. The 2nd phase of the vaccination programme, which began in Romania on Friday, targets people over the age of 65, chronic patients and key workers. Some 170,000 people have so far received the Covid jab as part of phase one of the vaccination campaign which got under way on 27th December. The authorities said 309 vaccination centres are in operation at the moment. Almost 690,000 coronavirus cases have been reported in Romania since the beginning of the pandemic, with 3,300 new cases and 63 new deaths on Friday. The death toll passed 17,000 people. Ilfov county, near Bucharest, still has the highest infection rate in Romania, with a rate of 4.5 cases per 1,000 inhabitants over the course of 14 days. The next highest infection rates are in Timis county (west), Cluj county (north-west) and the capital Bucharest.

Government. The government adopted an emergency order on Friday on the establishment of vaccination centres and the recruitment and payment of the vaccination staff. Health minister Vlad Voiculescu said his ministry would cover the cost of the vaccination campaign and that he relied on GPs to inform their patients about the vaccine and make the appointments. He said GPs would receive additional pay for this service. He also gave assurances that schools will be safe to return to if they reopen on 8th February. He pointed out that education workers can get the vaccine during phase two of the vaccine rollout.

Europe vaccine. Despite a slowdown of Pfizer and BioNTech vaccine deliveries in late January and early February, Pfizer gave assurances that the doses expected by the European Union in the first quarter of the year will be supplied as scheduled, said European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen after health ministers from six EU countries signed a joint letter voicing deep concern over the announced delays. Meanwhile, tighter restrictions are being imposed in Europe following a spike in cases. Germany passed 2 million cases on Friday, and Sweden's death rate is growing. Austria remains in lockdown, but is reopening schools on 25th January, while Italy has extended its state of emergency. France is also seeing rising infections and Portugal enters a new lockdown for at least another month, following an exponential rise in new cases. Almost 94 million coronavirus infections and over 2 million deaths are reported globally. 

Corruption. Liviu Dragnea, a former leader of the Social Democratic Party and speaker of the Chamber of Deputies in Bucharest, was indicted in a new corruption case for peddling in influence. The case is connected to his presence in Washington at the inauguration of US president Donald Trump at the beginning of 2017. Dragnea is accused by prosecutors of receiving undue advantages for himself and his party worth 380,000 dollars consisting in the travel package for the trip, political consultancy and various lobbying services. Dragnea is currently serving time in prison for incitement to commit abuse of office. In another move, the National Anticorruption Directorate has announced the start of criminal prosecution against the former prime minister and Senate speaker Călin Popescu Tăriceanu for bribe taking, freezing some of his immovable assets in amount of 800,000 dolars. Tăriceanu, who was heard on Friday, said the prosecutors' action is based on "false premises".

Culture Day. Romania celebrated on Friday 171 years since the birth of poet Mihai Eminescu with online events or events without a live audience. As a tribute to Romania's greatest poet, January 15 was declared National Culture Day, aimed at promoting culture, arts and academic achievement. The holiday has been celebrated since 2010 in Romania, the neighbouring Republic of Moldova, and in the Romanian communities abroad. Diplomatic and consular missions as well as Romanian cultural institutes abroad hosted special events. Radio Romania celebrated Mihai Eminescu's role in the national and world culture with special shows, interviews, documentaries and festive events. Culture minister Sorin Cimpeanu issued a statement saying the celebration of National Culture Day is about being aware of the country's achievements and promoting them efficiently, credibly and with determination. (CM)