Controversial reports regarding Covid 19-related fatalities

Different official reports on Covid 19-related deaths have sparked off heated debates in Romanias Parliament

Eugen Coroianu, 18.05.2021, 14:00

The conclusions of an investigation
into the different reports on the Covid-related deaths released by the two
information platforms the authorities rely on will be used to improve
procedures, so that such errors may no longer appear. The statement belongs to the incumbent Health
Minister Ioana Mihaila who went to Parliament on Monday to explain the
situation upon a request from the opposition PSD.

According to a report published
earlier, there was a 13% difference between the two platforms, which gives a
series of explanations concerning some technical or human errors. The Health
Ministry, which drew up the document considers the situation is justified to a
certain extent, partially acceptable and unavoidable and was caused by the
aggravated epidemiological situation at the end of 2020.

Another cause included in the document
is referring to hospital structures, which either failed to report all
Covid-related fatalities to the ministry or have included them among other
types of deaths. The document concludes that this sort of double reporting
entails confusion, additional efforts to validate the data as well as wasted resources.

According to the Ministry, heard by
Parliament on Monday, the difference between the two reports is due to human
error and misunderstood methodologies, which have been amended several times
since the beginning of the pandemic.

Minister Mihaila, who was not in
office at that time, has admitted the system’s failures pledging that measures
will be taken to ensure the reform. The official has blamed the error on a
committee appointed in a previous mandate pledging that sanctions are to be
slapped shortly on those responsible.

We are not on a witch hunt, but we
have the right information to take the measures required, Minister Mihaila went
on to say. The Social Democratic MPs were not satisfied with the answers
provided pointing to the centre-to-right government’s lack of professionalism
in handling the pandemic.

MP Alexandru Rafila says that constantly
doubting the figures concerning the tests conducted, the number of patients,
the vaccinated persons and the fatalities registered through contradictory
statements and distorted figures provided by the authorities has enraged the
population. He recollected that the PSD
has called for the setting up of a Parliament Committee able to investigate
this unprecedented situation to hear the representatives of the institutions in
charge and publish the conclusion. However, the Parliament majority has vetoed
the project.

The ruling alliance’s way to handle
the pandemic has also attracted heat from another opposition party AUR and during
the debates the National Liberal Party and the Democratic Union of Ethnic
Hungarians in Romania have called for unequivocal data release. The ruling
USR-PLUS has underlined that the people’s trust in the measures taken by the
authorities hinges on the restoration of truth concerning the pandemic-related
data. Prime Minister Florin Citu last week explained that such errors were
present in all EU countries.

(bill)