Pandemic – growing figures
The WHO reports an increase in the number of cases of Covid-19 in Europe after six weeks of decline
Daniela Budu, 05.03.2021, 14:00
The number of new cases of Covid-19 in Romania is on the rise. The number of deaths and that of patients in intensive care units are also growing. An increasing number of counties are in the red zone, with an incidence of more than 3 cases per one thousand inhabitants reported over a period of 14 days. For the first time since the start of the pandemic, Romanian authorities have made public data about the testing situation in each county. According to the said figures, in the first days of March, most of the tests were run in Bucharest and in the counties of Cluj (north-west) and Timis (west), where the daily average exceeds one thousand tests.
The smallest number of tests were run in the counties of Vrancea (east), Buzau (south-east), Braila (south-east), Teleorman (south), Giurgiu (south), Tulcea (south-east) and Salaj (north-west), where the maximum has been 100 tests per day. The large number of infections reported lately is the result of the emergence of a new strain of the coronavirus, but also of people getting a bit too relaxed. This is what doctor Virgil Musta, from the ‘Victor Babes’ infectious diseases hospital in Bucharest believes:
It’s probably the spring, the nice weather, the fact that the vaccination has started, that it’s been a year of restrictions; all these most likely contributed to the current situation, but the main cause is this new British strain, which seems to have already reached our community.
The doctor believes that Romania is faced with the beginning of the third wave of the pandemic. Against this background, Virgil Musta insists on the importance of fully observing all protection measures:
I’ve seen that the number of cases has gone up in the past week, actually in the past two weeks even. The only way to prevent this third wave or at least to avoid putting pressure on the health-care system is prevention. We have these rules that we must keep observing until we manage to keep this pandemic under control: to wear a mask, to keep the distance and to wash our hands. These still are the most important rules.
The doctor also believes that people who are in the risk categories should get the vaccine as soon as possible. In the meantime, the anti-Covid vaccination campaign continues at an accelerated pace. The number of people who have received the jab has exceeded one million this week. The education minister Sorin Cimpeanu has announced that more than 100,000 employees in the education sector have been vaccinated so far, which accounts for some 30% of the total.
Prime Minister Florin Citu has given assurances that the vaccination of the population, which started on December 27, is going well, and Romania ranks among the top countries in Europe in this regard. The Prime Minister has added that the government’s goal is to guarantee that this will continue. According to him, the next target is the vaccination of some 10.4 million Romanians by September, which means more than half of the country’s population.
(M.I.)
