A brand new mobile unit in the Intensive Care section
of the Hospital for Infectious Diseases Doctor Victor Babeş in Bucharest
on Monday caused the death of three patients infected with the novel
coronavirus. Other five have been transferred. According to the head of the
Department for Emergency Situations, Raed Arafat, a surge in the oxygen
pressure made the ventilators to stop functioning. Prime Minister Florin Cîţu has
called on Interior Minister Lucian Bode to launch an investigation and punish
the culprits.
Florin Citu: What we’ve
learnt so far is that an accident may have occurred but we’ve also kicked off
an inquiry – I’ve already talked to the Interior Minister. We are going to
enlarge the capacity of these IC units, like we did before, as we have a
pandemic to stop, you know.
We recall that the tragedy at Victor Babeş
is not singular. In November a blaze ripped through the IC unit treating
Covid-infected patients at the Emergency Hospital in Piatra Neamt,
north-eastern Romania; then in January, fire destroyed several sections of the
most modern hospital for infectious diseases in Bucharest, Matei Bals.
Both incidents, which ended up with victims have enraged
the Romanians and so has the authorities’ latest decision to transfer patients
from one of the most reputed orthopedic hospitals in Bucharest, so that it
could be turned into a unit specialized in the exclusive treatment of
Covid-infected patients. The incumbent Health Minister Vlad Voiculescu has
attracted a lot of heat even from his colleagues from the ruling
center-to-right coalition.
The Social-Democratic opposition has also blamed
Prime Minister Florin Cîţu for his refusal to sack the minister against whom
they have tabled another simple motion, the second in the present Parliament
session. Voiculescu has been blamed for the way patients in the aforementioned
hospital have been transferred, for his inability to put up a large-scale
testing programme and extend the capacity of IC units in hospitals. Here is PSD
MP Alfred Simonis:
Alfred Simonis: We had before ministers who were not quite
good at their jobs in various ministries, but it seems that none of them was like
Mr. Voiculescu.
Even if endorsed by Parliament, a simple motion
against a minister doesn’t necessarily lead to their resignation.
(bill)