COVID-19 – New hotbeds of infection and restrictions

Shortly after easing some restrictions in Romania, the authorities are announcing new measures amidst a resurge in the number of infections across the country

Daniela Budu, 30.09.2020, 13:50

The number of COVID-19 hotbeds continues
to grow in Romania. There have been new reports of cases in care homes and
hospitals. The number of schools switching to online teaching has also gone up,
although at the start of the school year many of them had called for physical
attendance of classes. Restaurants and bars will be closed down in several
areas where the number of infections has gone up alarmingly. Last week alone
some 9,900 new cases of COVID-19 were reported in Romania, a weekly high since
the start of the pandemic. There are over a thousand cases reported every day,
and the total number of infections is closing in on 130,000. Dozens of
fatalities are reported every day, and the national death toll is close to
5,000.

Also this week there are over 550 people in ICUs, a new record. On the
other hand, over 100,000 patients have recovered since the start of the
pandemic. The National Institute for Public Health has conducted a survey,
showing that over a third of the total number of COVID cases reported last week
were signaled in Bucharest and the counties of Iaşi, Bacău, Constanţa and
Braşov. 31% of fatalities were reported in Bucharest as well as in Prahova,
Arad, Bihor and Iaşi counties. The weekly report also reveals that people over
60 years of age account for 81% of the total number of fatalities, and half of
them are men. Moreover, 95% of people who died to the virus were suffering from
at least one other medical condition. The analysis shows that the COVID
incidence stands at 100 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the capital city
Bucharest and another 14 counties. One in 25 people who get sick is part of the
medical staff, the survey also shows.

The President of the Romanian
Microbiology Society, Prof. Alexandru Rafila, claims that, as soon as a vaccine
is ready, the first to get immunized should be vulnerable categories and
medical personnel. The Romanian official warned against the high number of
infections, also point to the serious impact the disease has on people at-risk.
Professor Rafila also reminded the European Center for Disease Control has
listed Romania as one of the seven countries rated with a high-risk in terms of
the future evolution of the COVID pandemic. Considering several European
countries are reintroducing restrictions amidst a resurge in the number of
infections, Romania might also expect new measures to prevent the pandemic from
spreading, experts have warned.

(Translated by V. Palcu)