Romania
is these days seeing an increasing number of Covid-19 infections and
authorities are taking the first measures to cope with the situation. In a video
conference with hospital managers and other health officials on Tuesday,
Romania’s Health Minister Alexandru Rafila discussed the outpatient evaluation
centers for Covid-infected patients as well as the measures hospitals must take
in order to provide medical services to infected patients and those suffering
from other diseases. The minister underlined the importance of the outpatient
evaluation centers, which are ready to investigate and provide treatment to
those infected, in order to avoid hospital overcrowding.
According
to State Secretary Adriana Pistol, it is important that Covid-infected patients
arrive at these centers as soon as possible so that they may get the right
treatment. In this way, severe cases can be prevented. Patients will not need a
referral to get to these centers, which are ready to provide free treatment to
all those infected, whether they have health insurance or not.
The
Health Ministry is trying to draw up an interactive map of these centers and
made it available to the citizens as soon as possible. The first seven centers
have already become operational in the county of Alba, in central Romania. According
to experts, the Omicron variant is spreading more rapidly than Delta and the main
recommendations are to use high-quality protection masks and get the vaccine,
including the booster jab in order to increase effectiveness against the new
variant.
Unfortunately,
Romania’s vaccine rollout is moving at a sluggish pace and even though the
number of those vaccinated is on the rise these days, the country is still on
the last but one position in an EU vaccination ranking.
According
to physician Marius Geantă, chair of the Centre for Innovation in Medicine, the
new variant is four times more transmissible than Delta and the social
distancing of 1.5 meters previously recommended is no longer effective in this
case because the virus is airborne. Geanta recommends the use of masks in
outdoor and indoor spaces, particularly in the crowded areas and even the use
of masks with a higher protection degree, such as the so-called FFP masks.
(bill)