Radio România Internațional

Tag: ICU

  • Vaccination and anti-viral treatment in Romania

    Vaccination and anti-viral treatment in Romania

    The number of patients infected with Covid-19 in
    Romania is alarmingly increasing by the day. A new all-time high was registered
    on Wednesday then authorities announced over 43 thousand new cases, 5 thousand
    in Bucharest alone, the highest number of infections since the beginning of the
    pandemic. New record highs have been reported in other counties as well.




    According to Health Minister Alexandru Rafila,
    the high number of infections was expected and there are no reasons for people
    to panic. Rafila says that it has been for the first time when a large number
    of tests have been done in 24 hours.




    Alexandru
    Rafila: Roughly 110 thousand tests have been carried out allowing us to assess
    the evolution generated by the Omicron variant, which is more transmissible
    than the previous variants. We continue to have severe cases caused by the
    Delta variant, which is still present in Romania, where it accounts for 20-25%
    of those infected, most of them being presently treated in ICUs.




    Also on Wednesday, Romania kicked off a vaccination campaign for
    children with ages between 5 and 11. According to army physician Valeriu
    Gheorghita, in charge of Romania’s vaccine rollout, the vaccines approved and
    authorized for this age bracket are safe, effective and can prevent over 90% of
    the infections. 230 vaccination points have been set up across the country for
    this campaign, which is using the vaccine produced by the well-known
    pharmaceutical company Pfizer/BioNTech, which
    has got the approval for the population above 12 years. Experts have underlined
    that in order to get immunized, children must have the approval of their
    parents or their legal trustees, who must fill in a special form.




    Valeriu Gheorghiţă says that at present, in
    Romania, out of the 7 thousand people treated in hospitals, roughly 10% are
    children and people under 18 years, and the vaccine prevents the largest number
    of severe cases and deaths. However, the interest of the Romanians in getting
    the vaccine remains low with a little over 8 million who got the first jab, 7.9
    million fully vaccinated and over 2.3 million with the booster. Authorities
    have again reminded people that the vaccine is the best way to stop the Covid-19
    pandemic.




    According to minister Rafila, the first
    quantities of Molnupiravir, a drug prescribed to the high-risk patients
    infected with the novel coronavirus in hospitals and other treatment facilities
    could arrive in Romania late this week. In his opinion, the medicine will have
    a positive impact, by reducing the pressure on ICUs as well as the number of
    fatalities.


    (bill)





  • Romanian physicians plead for vaccination

    Romanian physicians plead for vaccination

    We
    are finding it increasingly difficult to cope with the surge in COVID-19 infections,
    both among the general public and among healthcare staff. The past few days
    have showed us a healthcare system stretched to its limits, especially in the
    units treating COVID-19 patients, reads an appeal signed by the Bucharest
    Physicians College, urging people to get the vaccine and comply with protection
    measures.


    The
    call comes at a time when Romania is struggling in the grips of the 4th
    wave of the pandemic, with a highly contagious Delta variant and with only
    around 30% of its population vaccinated-the second-lowest level in the EU. Romania
    is also substantially below the worldwide vaccination rate of 45%, although it
    has enough doses of Pfizer, Moderna, Astra Zeneca and Johnson&Johnson
    vaccines, received through EU support mechanisms.


    In
    fact, some of these vaccine doses have been resold or donated to other
    countries or even disposed of, because they had reached their expiration date. Meanwhile,
    hundreds of people die every day, hospitals are overcrowded, and intensive care
    units are fully occupied.


    We
    witness tragedies every day: patients who die, families suffering, physicians too
    exhausted to stay standing, patients and healthcare staff infected with SARS-CoV-2
    in need of medical care. And their number is very large. Faced with this
    dramatic picture, we believe the low vaccination rate among people is, perhaps,
    a failure in terms of the confidence that the public should have in the medical
    personnel, the appeal of the physicians in Bucharest also reads.


    They
    also reiterate that science and evidence-based medicine state, as reference
    international healthcare institutions confirm, that vaccination is one of the
    major instruments for the efficient management of the COVID-19 pandemic.


    The
    document also states that, while indeed vaccinated people may catch the disease
    or have severe forms of SARS-CoV-2 infection, the proportion of such cases is a
    lot smaller than among unvaccinated patients. In fact, the example of countries
    with high vaccination rates is taletelling in this respect.


    Every
    day we talk to fellow doctors who tell us they have no solutions. Young patients
    die, children get to intensive care units, people with and without
    co-morbidities lose this battle. We are at a crossroads, and I believe only
    though a joint effort will we be able to curb this trend. Science tells us
    today that vaccination and compliance with protection measures enable us to
    fight this pandemic more efficiently, reads the document signed by physician
    Cătălina Poiană, Ph.D., president of the Bucharest Physicians College. (tr.
    A.M. Popescu)

  • Black day for Romania’s fight against COVID-19

    Black day for Romania’s fight against COVID-19

    Tuesday was another black day for Romania’s efforts to
    contain the COVID-19 pandemic. The authorities announced nearly 17,000 new
    cases of Sars-CoV-2, 442 Covid-related deaths in 24 hours and around 1,700 patients
    in severe condition.




    The total number of infections since the onset of the
    pandemic thus reached 1.4 million, and the number of fatalities is now over 40,000.




    The situation is dire, dr. Adrian Marinescu with Bucharest’s
    Matei Balş Institute of Infectious Diseases admits. He says Romania’s topping
    the EU and world statistics by number of deaths among COVID-19 patients and the
    healthcare system overwhelmed by the large number of cases are the consequences
    of the very low vaccination rate.




    Adrian Marinescu: I’ll make this very clear. There
    is no country in the world with extensive vaccination rates, at 70 – 80%, where
    things are not okay in terms of the number of hospitalised patients, of severe
    forms of the disease, of ICU patients. What we see in Romania is,
    unfortunately, in direct relation to this low vaccination rate. Statistics
    translate into reality, and I can tell you that in intensive care units, 94 -
    95% of the patients in critical condition are not vaccinated    .




    The physician also said, in a specialised conference, that
    this month is expected to be very difficult as regards the healthcare crisis,
    but the situation will likely improve after that.




    In turn, the head of the National Coordination Committee
    for COVID-19 Vaccination, Valeriu Gheorghiţă, says prevention programmes are
    needed in Romania, and health education should begin in the early school years,
    so as to ensure that citizens perceive vaccination as a normal act of
    protection against diseases.




    So far, Romania has received over 20 million doses of anti-COVID
    vaccines, and only little over half of them have been used. According to
    official data, at present the COVID vaccine coverage among people over 12 years
    of age is around 34%.




    In an effort to increase this rate, which is substantially
    smaller than in other EU countries, the head of the vaccination programme
    announced that a new anti-COVID vaccination marathon is being planned in the
    capital city.




    In the current context, the education system is once
    again one of the most severely affected. The interim education minister Sorin
    Cîmpeanu urged schools to identify the best solutions to benefit students. By Tuesday,
    the Bucharest City’s School Inspectorate had received over 100 requests from
    schools to suspend face-to-face teaching. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

  • Hospitals struggle with 4th wave of Covid pandemic

    Hospitals struggle with 4th wave of Covid pandemic

    Romanian hospitals are struggling with
    the growing number of severe Covid 19 cases. The 4th wave of the
    epidemic started over a month ago, but over the past 2 weeks the number of
    daily cases has been skyrocketing.


    The number of patients in hospitals is increasing at an alarming rate,
    and the battle for a place in intensive care is resumed. Physicians say that
    half of the current SARS-CoV-2 patients are much younger than with previous variants,
    and they come to hospitals much later when the disease is already too difficult
    to fight.


    According to the doctors, hospitals’ intensive care units are the first
    to fill, followed by the ones in the regular wards, which is an unprecedented
    situation. At present, Romania has little over 1,300 beds in intensive care for
    COVID-19, most of them already filled. In order to cope with the inflow of
    patients, hospitals are reorganising and are reassigning the beds reserved for
    non-Covid patients.


    In Arad, for instance, County Hospital manager Florina Ionescu says ICU
    places available in other wards will be reassigned to COVID patients:


    Florina Ionescu If all ICU places are filled in our COVID unit, we have the
    option of extending the unit by another 20 beds from the Paediatrics Unit, which
    is in the same building as the infectious disease unit. These beds are equipped
    with oxygen breathing equipment which has been recently upgraded and checked.


    The COVID 19 pandemic has a devastating impact on those who have not got
    the disease, but are suffering from other serious conditions and are not going to
    hospital for fear of getting infected. Hundreds of towns and villages are now
    reporting infection rates of over 3 per thousand, and scores of them, including
    the capital Bucharest, see infection rates of over 6 per thousand.


    According to official statistics, Romania has among the largest numbers
    of infections and fatalities in the EU.PM Florin Cîţu is
    confident that the healthcare system will be able to handle this 4th
    wave of the pandemic, and says the authorities intend to turn several
    hospitals, including in Bucharest, into exclusively COVID units.

    There are
    solutions that we will be using, but at the same time there is no doubt that we
    also need long-term solutions, and this means investments, Florin Cîţu said
    recently. In Wednesday’s government meeting, the Cabinet decided that the
    Health Ministry will receive some 77 million euros to buy the medicines
    required for treating COVID-19 patients. Another 14 million euros will be spent
    to improve ICU standards. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

  • Romania to boost ICU beds

    Romania to boost ICU beds

    73 new ICU beds may become
    available in Romania soon, to take the total number in this country to over
    1,600. State secretary with the health ministry Andrei Baciu says 13 new beds
    have already operational, but that everything now depends of the availability
    of human resources. This comes as Romanian hospitals are struggling to cope
    with the large number of admissions, especially severe cases, following a rise
    in the number of Covid infections. Prime minister Florin Cîțu has admitted that
    the ICU situation remains sensitive and emphasised that the allocation of human
    resources must remain a priority. We must keep up the efforts despite, and
    that’s the good news, a decrease in the number of new positive cases, he said,
    adding that the third wave has begun to abate without Romania going into lockdown.




    In another development, state
    secretary Baciu said there’s a growing interest in vaccination among the general
    population, with hesitation levels below 10%. Most people would get the vaccine
    if one would become available right now, he said, explaining that Bucharest and
    the counties of Cluj, Sălaj, Sibiu and Maramureş have reached a 20% vaccination
    rate. We provide increased access to vaccine in places with a high infection rate
    so as to assist the local authorities, the health ministry official also said.




    In the meantime, the dispute
    continued in Bucharest following comments by outgoing health minister Vlad
    Voiculescu about the number of Covid hospital deaths. A member of the Save
    Romania Union and PLUS Alliance, which is part of the ruling coalition, Voiculescu
    said there are differences in how the deaths were reported last year during the
    former government run by the Liberals and asked the current Liberal prime minister
    Cîțu, who previously sacked Voiculescu without consulting the coalition
    partners, to clarify the situation. The Social Democratic Party in opposition requested
    the creation of a parliamentary inquiry committee, accusing the authorities of tampering
    with the figures.




    Colentina Hospital in Bucharest said
    the differences that exist in two different applications for reporting Covid
    deaths are minimal and are due to an objective factor, namely the time when the
    entry was made. This hospital, which was turned into a Covid support facility as
    early as March last year, also says all deaths have been recorded in keeping
    with the legal provisions in place and that statements to the contrary have no basis
    in reality. The defence ministry has also said that the deaths recorded by the Covid
    treatment facility known as ROL 2, and which is run by the Central Military
    Hospital, were centralised and reported in keeping with the law. (CM)

  • Calls for responsibility

    Calls for responsibility

    The pandemic affects a growing number of young people, without previous illnesses, including children, and the priority of all authorities is to save lives, the health minister Vlad Voiculescu said. In his latest public statement, he made a point of being joined by the managers of important hospitals in Bucharest, to emphasise that without citizen responsibility, the situation threatens to become critical. The new wave of the Covid -19 pandemic is overwhelming in terms of contamination rates and of its capacity to affect categories of people that seemed less vulnerable to the virus before.



    Vlad Voiculescu: “As you may remember, in the beginning of this crisis when we talked about a patient we used to list his previous illnesses. We knew that this virus would affect people with comorbidities. Well, now we see healthy people not only in need of hospitalisation, but struggling with severe forms of the disease. And we see children getting sick. Of the total number of patients with critical forms, over one-third are intubated, unlike in the first stages of the pandemic, when the proportion of severe and critical forms was significantly lower.



    Physician Andreea Moldovan, secretary of state with the health ministry, said the number of SARS-CoV-2 infections among children under 10 years of age is growing. She emphasised the importance of compliance with protection measures during childrens common activities.



    Minister Voiculescu announced a number of measures, including an increase in the number of beds in ICUs. The health ministry also intends to reduce the pressure on intensive care units by referring cases to hospitals that have not provided emergency services so far. Hospital managers reiterated what reasonable people, who do not fall for conspiracy theories and fake news, already know: the healthcare system is overburdened and the staff are exhausted. The chief of the Bucharest Emergency Rescue Services intensive care unit, Bogdan Opriţa, insisted that people must cooperate and get vaccines.



    Bogdan Opriţa: “If the number of patients grows any further, we may run out of ICU beds, equipped with oxygen supplies. Whereas in the second wave some 50% of the patients would have mild forms of the disease and could be discharged, now we can barely discharge 10% of the patients. Most of them need high-flow oxygen. And apart from them there are also the non-COVID patients, we cannot overlook them. The health ministry order makes it very clear that both patient categories must be given proper care, so no matter how many ICU beds we may add, they will eventually fill up. Without cooperation from citizens, no matter how many measures we take, we will not overcome this.



    The good news, on the other hand, is that the vaccine rollout continues at a pace that will enable the authorities to meet the goal of having 10 million Romanians immunised by September. (tr. A.M. Popescu)

  • Romanian public hospitals, in a critical state

    Romanian public hospitals, in a critical state

    Nearly 4,000 violations of fire safety regulations were found in the inspections conducted last year in around 500 public hospitals in Romania. The data is included in a report of the Department for Emergency Situations dated December 2020, and forwarded to the health minister at the time. A similar number of irregularities had been found the year before, in 2019, according to another report.



    The documents list, among the most important deficiencies, the operation of hospitals without a fire safety permit, the lack of fire detection, signalling and alarm equipment in hospitals or their improper operation, the failure to properly organise fire defence activities, particularly as regards the evacuation of users, and the low capability to rescue patients who are unable to move on their own, particularly because of the lack of healthcare personnel especially on night shifts.



    As many as 130 intensive care units do not have a permit from the fire department, and many hospitals operate without fire extinguishers or hydrants, the document details. Moreover, electrical equipment is used which is malfunctioning, inadequately maintained or overburdened by an excessive number of users.



    Hundreds of fines have been issued, as well as thousands of warnings, and alarm/evacuation and first intervention drills have been conducted.



    The reports were made public by the Health Ministry on Sunday, following last weeks fire at the Matei Balș Institute in Bucharest, which came after a similar one that occurred in November at the County Hospital in Piatra Neamţ (north-east). In both cases, Covid-19 patients in the ICU died and were injured.



    The incumbent health minister Vlad Voiculescu says the healthcare infrastructure in Romania has steadily deteriorated over the past years, and new hospitals are long overdue. He also mentioned that COVID 19 units are still working at full capacity, which is why electrical and gas supply networks cannot be replaced at the moment, even though the presence of oxygen systems for medical use is a risk factor.



    Voiculescu promised that in 3 years time, foundations will have been laid for regional hospitals in Craiova (south), Iaşi (north-east) and Cluj (north-west), but added that new hospitals also need to be built in Bucharest and in other cities. The official announced a National Fund would be set up, for healthcare infrastructure funding. The fund, which will focus on patient safety, will be financed from the state budget and EU sources, and will enable hospitals to make urgent investments related to fire safety, earthquake protection and the prevention of in-hospital infections. (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • More resources for emergency assistance

    More resources for emergency assistance

    In Europe, the number of new coronavirus cases stays up, and ICUs are filled with patients. The WHO has repeatedly warned against the overcrowding of healthcare systems, especially in Europe.



    This week Romania has reported a record high number of coronavirus-related deaths, over 200 in 24 hours. On the other hand, this week also saw the lowest number of patients admitted into hospitals for the past month. Around 12,000 people are now hospitalised across the country, of whom some 1,200 in intensive care.



    In the capital Bucharest, all intensive therapy units are full, which required the emergency transfer of some patients to other parts of the country. Four patients in serious condition were taken to Suceava, in the north, by a military aircraft on Tuesday, and from there they were taken by ambulance to Botoşani (north-west). This is not the first time that patients in critical condition have been relocated. Last month Botoşani County was one of the counties in Moldavia to receive critical COVID-19 patients.



    Still, hospitals are overcrowded there as well. The authorities say they are making constant efforts to extend the capacity of the units treating coronavirus patients. They promise an increase in the number of ICU beds in Bucharest.



    Following the budget adjustment operated on Tuesday, the Hospital Administration announced that funding has been provided for another approx.. 50 ICU beds in 3 hospitals in the capital city.



    On Tuesday, president Klaus Iohannis assessed the situation jointly with the interim PM, Nicolae Ciucă, and with the health minister Nelu Tătaru. At the end of the meeting, the head of state announced that hundreds of ventilators and a first batch of rapid diagnostic tests will soon be delivered to hospitals across the country.



    Klaus Iohannis: “There are about 300 ventilators to be supplied in the next few days, and the capacity of intensive care units will be extended accordingly. Within a week, we will also receive a first batch out of the 3 million RDTs that have already been ordered. In order to help the patients with severe forms of the disease, around 500 oxygen concentrators are already being set up.



    The list of hospitals receiving COVID-19 patients has been repeatedly broadened across the country, and as the number of critical cases went up, the number of beds in intensive care units was also increased several times. (translated by: Ana-Maria Popescu)

  • November 16, 2020 UPDATE

    November 16, 2020 UPDATE

    Fire – Inspections are underway in ICUs across Romania following the fire that killed 10 patients on Saturday evening at the Emergency Hospital in Piatra Neamt (Northeast). The patients, who had been diagnosed with COVID-19 and were receiving treatment in the ICU, could not be saved despite the efforts of the medical staff. The fire was caused by a short circuit, according to preliminary searches. Another 6 patients in a nearby room are in a serious condition. The management of the Public Health Directorate in Neamt said in that in order to treat more COVID-19 patients, the ICU of the County Emergency Hospital in Piatra Neamt was reconfigured on the day of the fire, without having previously asked for an approval in this sense. Prosecutors have opened a criminal investigation.





    Covid -19 Romania – The city of Sibiu, in central Romania, introduced a 2-week lockdown on Monday, after the combined contamination rate in 14 days exceeded 12 cases per one thousand inhabitants. The people of Sibiu will need documents from their work places or sworn statements to be able to travel inside or between the localities in lockdown. Shops will be open until 10 p.m. and on Saturday and Sunday shops in shopping malls will be closed, except for pharmacies and food stores. People over the age of 65 can go shopping between 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. and religious services will be held outdoors. Over 5,000 new cases of COVID-19 have been reported in the past 24 hours, along with 149 deaths, which takes the total death toll to over 9,000. The number of patients in intensive care is near 1,200. PM Ludovic Orban said, after talks with the health minister, that an increase of the ICU capacity by at least 200 beds is planned for this week.





    Moldova – The Romanian President Klaus Iohannis Monday had a phone conversation with the President elect of the Republic of Moldova, Maia Sandu, during which they have agreed on extending and deepening the strategic partnership for Moldovas European integration. A first step in this sense will be the official visit which the Romanian president is going to make to Chisinau in the coming period, reads a presidential administration news release. Klaus Iohannis said that Maia Sandus result represented a victory of democracy and marked a decisive step towards Moldovas irreversible European path, which Romania has permanently supported and will continue to support without reservation. In Brussels, the head of the European Council Charles Michel promised that the EU is ready to strengthen the partnership with Chisinau. In turn, the president of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen congratulated Maia Sandu, and said her victory was a clear call for fighting corruption and restoring the rule of law. The EU is prepared to support Moldova, Von der Leyen also said. The pro-European candidate Maia Sandu defeated the pro-Russian candidate Igor Dodon, in the 2nd round of the presidential election in Moldova.





    Gaudeamus – The 27th edition of the Gaudeamus Book Fair organized by Radio Romania started online on Monday. The event will end on Sunday and will take place exclusively online due to the new coronavirus pandemic. On the website of the event, gaudeamus.ro, you can find more than 100 companies, among which prestigious book publishers and distributors, music and educational games, with individual presentation pages dedicated to the fair. Book lovers can also access the participants virtual stands and readers can buy books online. As many as 200 events can be followed online. Writer Norman Manea, nominated several times for the Nobel Prize for Literature, is the honorary president of this edition of the Gaudeamus book fair.





    Covid-19 world – There are more than 55 million confirmed cases of Covid-19 around the world, with 1.3 million deaths reported, according to data provided by worldometers.info. The biggest number of cases and deaths from Covid-19 is reported by the US (over 11.3 million cases and around 1 million new cases in one week). India has so far reported 8.8 million cases and around 130 thousand deaths, and Brazil more 5.8 million cases with 165 thousand deaths. Europe is equally affected by the 2nd wave of the pandemic, with France and Russia having exceeded 1.9 million cases. Spain is nearing 1.5 million and Great Britain 1.4 million. Moderna announced on Monday its experimental vaccine had a 94.5% effectiveness rate in stage 3 trials. This is the second vaccine produced by an American company and having encouraging results, after Pfizers, produced jointly with BioNTech, which also reported over 90% protection in clinical trials. (tr. A.M. Popescu, L. Simion)

  • More ICU beds for coronavirus patients

    More ICU beds for coronavirus patients

    An increasing number of counties and cities in Romania, where the critical treshold of 3 infections per thousand inhabitants was exceeded, are now in the red scenario. President Klaus Iohannis has warned that the epidemiological situation worsenes and a difficult period follows. In their fight against the disease, Iohannis explained, the authorities came up with a plan to increase the capacity of emergency care units in a number of cities.



    Klaus Iohannis: ”The strategic plan for the next period includes clear stages of implementation and the opening of new intensive care units across the country, such as the ones in Oradea, Constanta and Craiova, in new locations or in facilities that will be turned into ICUs. I asked for data regarding the situation in Bucharest, and seven hospitas in the capital city will extend their intensive care capacity. I can tell you that in ten days at the most we will have an additional 123 beds in intensive care units.”



    According to the President, there are over 3 thousand beds in intensive care units across the country. There are also five mobile ICUs and one intensive care module with a capacity of 169 beds. Health Minister Nelu Tataru reminded that eight mnths ago, when the first coronavirus case was confirmed in Romania, the country only had 740 intensive care beds. There are currently 1,200 ICU beds and there will be 1,400 in the upcoming period, the minister explained.



    However, the Social Democrats, in the opposition, say that President Iohannis and the Liberal government have failed in managing the health crisis. Romania’s representative with the World Health Organisation, Alexandru Rafila, who has recently become a member of the Social Deocratic Party, says the situation is worrying and that a more proffessional approach is needed.



    Alexandru Rafila: ”It is important to be able to increase the ability of the public healthcare system to identify the people infected, ensure easy access to testing and inform people on the procedure they must follow. It is also important for the medical system to treat all category of patients, not only coronavirus patients and, even more important, to ensure a proffessional communication and convince people that they are partners of the healtcare system and of the public system in general.”



    State Secretary Raed Arafat, who has no political affiliation and who heads the Department for Emergencies, says that the problem of insufficient medical staff is pressing. (Translated by Elena Enache)


  • October 27, 2020 UPDATE

    October 27, 2020 UPDATE

    COVID-19 Another 4,724 new COVID-19 cases were announced in Romania on Tuesday, and a record-high number of deaths, 104—which takes the death toll so far to over 6,500. Over 820 people are in intensive care. On Tuesday, president Klaus Iohannis held a meeting with the health minister, Nelu Tătaru and ICU experts, to assess the crisis. According to the president, the situation is worsening steadily both at European and at national level. He cautioned that sustained effort is needed in order to contain the pandemic. Iohannis added that the authorities strategic plan for the forthcoming period includes, among other things, opening new intensive care units in the country, and increasing the ICU capacity in 7 hospitals in Bucharest. He also said that accessing EU funding would help improve Romanias capacity to handle the crisis by purchasing new hospital equipment. Iohannis explained that at present Romania has over 3,000 beds in ICUs, for both Covid and non-Covid patients, and over 2,200 ventilators, plus 5 mobile ICUs, 2 modular field hospitals and an ICU module. Interior minister Marcel Vela also announced that a new centre will be set up within the Dimitrie Gerota Emergency Hospital in Bucharest, for recovered COVID-19 patients to donate plasma for severe cases.



    VISIT On the last day of his visit to France, the Romanian PM Ludovic Orban Tuesday had a meeting with the secretary general of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development José Ángel Gurría, and gave an address in the OECD Council meeting. In his speech, Ludovic Orban reiterated Romanias firm commitment to becoming a member of this structure, and emphasised Bucharests determination to invest in key areas like transport infrastructure, digital connectivity, energy and environmental transition, urban development, healthcare, agriculture, education, social protection and research-innovation. Also on Tuesday the Romanian PM met separately with the speakers of the French Parliaments two chambers, and had a meeting with members of the Romanian community in France. Ludovic Orban also talked to representatives of the
    French business environment, members of France’s largest employers’ union -
    MEDEF, about investment opportunities in Romania. On Monday, following talks with the French PM Jean Castex, important agreements were signed for strengthening political, economic and military ties between Romania and France.



    DEFICIT Romanias budget deficit reached 6.36% of GDP in the first 9 months of this year, as against 2.6% of GDP in the corresponding period of last year, according to the Finance Ministry. More than half of the deficit registered in January – September 2020 is accounted for by amounts channelled into the economy through tax facilities, investments and exceptional expenditure caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Official estimates point to an 8.6% deficit this year.



    AMBASSADORS Six nominees for Romanian ambassadors will be interviewed on Wednesday by Parliaments committees on foreign policy and the Romanian diaspora. The new ambassadors will serve in Morocco and Mauritania, North Macedonia, Iran, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Uzbekistan and Albania. On October 7 and 19, the relevant committees heard 16 other candidates, all of whom received Parliaments green light for their posts.



    DIPLOMACY In Chişinău, the Russian Embassy and the ruling Socialist Party are accusing the Romanian ambassador of attempting to re-write the history of WW2. The response came after Ambassador Daniel Ioniţă paid tribute to the Romanian soldiers fighting to reunite Romanian regions, during a ceremony on the Romanian Army Day. The Embassy of Romania to Moldova replied it did not want to be dragged into the disputes triggered by the election campaign in that country. The unprecedented attack stirred harsh criticism among historians, academics and civil society. Analyst Nicolae Negru told Radio Chişinău that Russia has no moral right to give humanity lessons, given the persecution suffered by Bessarabian people under the Soviet regime. (translated by: A.M. Popescu)

  • Intensive care units, under pressure

    Intensive care units, under pressure

    The recent surge in the number of coronavirus infection cases in Europe may lead, in a few weeks time, to the overcrowding of intensive care units. This is the warning coming from the World Health Organisation against the backdrop of the growing number of COVID-19 hospitalisations.



    Romania is currently experiencing the most difficult period since the start of the healthcare crisis in late February, with record-high numbers of cases and of patients in intensive care. Specifically, last week the number of new daily cases was around 4,000, with the capital city Bucharest ranking first by number of COVID-19 patients. Also, the number of patients in ICUs at national level is around 750.



    The Bucharest prefect Gheorghe Cojanu has already announced that there are no more available beds in dedicated hospitals. As a result, the decision was made that as of Monday another hospital, Colentina, would receive Sars-Cov-2 patients exclusively.



    Gheorghe Cojanu: “In Bucharest there are no more beds available in ICUs. This is a rather serious problem, which is why [state secretary] Raed Arafat announced us that a document has already been signed, for Colentina hospital to be exclusively receiving COVID-19 patients. So there will be 300 – 400 beds available for these patients. Also, Elias hospital has a modular unit which has been operating on short periods, because they did not have medical staff on a permanent basis, and an order has been given for Floreasca and Elias hospitals to provide medical staff to that unit.



    According to prefect Gheorghe Cojanu, the physicians and nurses working in the schools that have switched to online classes and no longer work directly with children will be transferred to coronavirus hospitals.



    Iaşi, the largest city in the east of Romania, is facing the same problems as Bucharest does. In Iaşi as well, all ICUs are full. Of the total number of 41 intensive care beds, the last 10 were occupied this weekend. The solution, i.e. 24 additional beds, was supposed to be a mobile hospital opened on Friday, but the oxygen generator broke down and it may take around 2 weeks to fix it. Meanwhile, local authorities have decided to open 2 intensive care units for Covid-19 patients in other hospitals in the region. But until these are operational, severe cases will be transferred to other medical units in the country. (translated by: A.M. Popescu)

  • October 16, 2020

    October 16, 2020

    COVID-19 All county and city hospitals in Romania that are not currently treating COVID-19 patients will have to set aside beds for coronavirus patients, in case the pandemic requires additional capacities. According to the health minister Nelu Tătaru, each hospital will have to earmark 10% of the ICU capacity and 15% of the other wards for this purpose. On Thursday Bucharest extended the state of alert by another 30 days. 4,013 new cases were reported in the 24 hours since the previous update in Romania, taking the total number to 168,490, according to the Strategic Communication Group. Thursday was the second day in a row with more that 4,000 cases in Romania. Authorities also announced 73 deaths, which takes the death toll to 5,674. A new negative record of 721 patients are currently in intensive care.



    PANDEMIC Europe has reported the largest weekly number of coronavirus cases so far, and the World Health Organisation warns that daily death tolls may be in April 2021 4-5 times higher than this spring. Seventeen countries, including Romania, out of the 27 member states plus the UK are included in a European “red zone. After a record-high daily rate of over 30,000 new coronavirus cases, France is introducing tonight travel restrictions in Paris and other 8 major cities on maximum pandemic alert. Bars and restaurants in Catalonia, Spain are closed down for at least 2 weeks, and more restrictions are introduced to contain the epidemic. Poland closes gyms and indoor pools today, while in Ireland pubs and restaurants will only provide take away services. Hotels will no longer receive tourists, with several exceptions, and hair salons are closing. The total death toll worldwide is over 1.1 million, according to Worldometers.



    SUMMIT Outlining common measures and criteria to contain the COVID-19 pandemic is the key topic discussed in Brussels today at the summit of EU heads of state and government. Participants will also discuss the social and economic impact of the pandemic and the need for economic recovery. In this context, the president of Romania Klaus Iohannis will express concerns with the steep rise in the number of COVID-19 cases at EU level, and will plead for enhanced cooperation between member states. Iohannis will also argue in favour of reinstating as soon as possible the freedom of movement in the Union, and of keeping supply flows open between member states.



    VISIT The PM of Romania Ludovic Orban announced he would make an official visit to France at the end of this month, together with several other Cabinet members. The main topic on the agenda is to sign a roadmap for the Strategic Partnership between the 2 countries, but participants will also discuss military cooperation, the Romanian Government announced. Orban also said that in the first half of November he would travel to Israel, and at the end of November to Germany, but the programme of the later visit is still being discussed.



    FESTIVAL In Romania, Astra Film Festival is taking place online, with 41 documentaries to be available as of today until October 25. Ten of these are competing in a section entitled “Emerging documentary voices, and another 10 in the “Central and Eastern Europe competition. Moreover, Romanian documentary fans may see 10 of the most highly appreciated films in the 2020 Open Air Astra Film Festival and another 11 films from the festival archive. (translated by: A.M. Popescu)

  • The state of alert, extended in Romania

    The state of alert, extended in Romania

    The state of alert is
    still in place in Romania for the fourth month running. The Government decided
    on a 30-day extension period for the state of alert, because of the reported
    number of COVID-19 infections which has been on the rise as of late. No further
    restrictions have been imposed, as supplementary measures to contain the spread
    of the new Coronavirus. However, outdoor restaurants will officially stay open
    until midnight, that is one hour more than initially stipulated, when outdoor
    restaurants had to close at 23:00 pm. Also, the economic operators managing
    such premises will have to make sure the number of customers on their premises
    does not exceed the number of available chairs. Physical interaction, dancing
    included, will also be limited. Serving customers is still forbidden in such
    indoor premises as restaurants, cafes or other places of public gathering.

    Wearing the protection
    mask remains compulsory in crowded open public areas, such as markets, fairs,
    bus stops, seafront promenades, pilgrimage areas or public festivities. Divine
    services, as stipulated before, can be performed inside or outside worship premises.
    However, sanitary protection measures are still to be complied with. Free
    access is granted to undeveloped beaches, with at least 2-meter distancing to
    be maintained between two persons, save for the members of the same family. We
    should also mention that since the outbreak of the pandemic, a record high in
    the number of infections was reported last week, twice as many cases for one
    single day, in terms of COVID-19 contaminations but also in terms of deaths.

    Healthcare Minister Nelu Tataru:


    The
    summer season is in full swing, while relaxation is at its highest. We are at a
    time when we deal with an appreciable number of infection cases, we’ve been
    carrying tests on an extensive scale for COVID-19 infection suspects and a side
    effect of that will be the great number of people who test positive for the
    infection. What’s most important for us is to maintain the capability to manage
    infection cases in the context of clinical symptoms and here I’m mainly
    speaking about cases of medium difficulty, but also about severe and most
    serious cases, requiring Intensive Care Unit therapy, where our resources are
    limited.


    Healthcare Minister
    Nelu Tataru went on to say that in hospitals countrywide, more than 1,000 beds
    were available in Intensive Care Units, with mechanical ventilators in place
    for patients in highly critical condition. Nelu Tataru also specified that across
    the country, the counties where tourism is developed as well as the places
    where commuters are in great numbers have seen the highest rate of infections.
    Notwithstanding, Minister Tataru believes that in the coming period, the number
    of infections with the new Coronavirus will become steady and a gradual
    decrease in the number of contaminations is likely to occur afterwards. Nelu
    Tataru went on to say it all depended on the extent to which people were willing
    to comply with the hygiene measures, they need to wear the protection masks and
    maintain social distancing. So far, the reported number of medically confirmed
    COVID-19 infections has exceeded 70,000 since the outbreak of the pandemic in
    late February this year. Almost half of the infected people have been declared
    healed. The COVID-19 virus has claimed the lives of almost three thousand
    people in Romania.

    (Translation by Eugen Nasta)