Romania is sinking into corona chaos: “Apocalyptic” conditions in clinics

“Apocalyptic” states
Romania is sinking into corona chaos: “We are not in a pandemic, we are in a disaster”

In the hospitals in Romania the situation is “apocalyptic”. This is how the Bucharest doctor Victoria Arama describes it. A video from the university hospital in the capital, which was published by the Romanian investigative portal “Recorder”, shows in frightening images what she means by that.

All intensive care beds are occupied, the rooms and corridors overcrowded with waiting corona patients, while nurses drive corpses in black plastic bags through the corridors. Ambulances are always bringing in new patients. “This onslaught here has to do with the carelessness of the people and their lack of information,” says a tired-looking doctor. “The politicians would have to be much more emphatic. If they were interested in the well-being of the voters, they would have to say: ‘Get vaccinated!'” Almost all patients are elderly people who are not vaccinated. Many can barely breathe, but some insist that they would not be vaccinated. The sixteen-minute video clip is titled: “This is what a health disaster looks like”.

Dramatic situation in the clinics

Romania is not alone in Europe with the increasing number of infections and deaths. Latvia, Lithuania and Bulgaria also currently report similarly high values. What distinguishes the critical situation in Romania from the other EU countries, however, is the extremely overloaded health system, which, according to many hospital directors and doctors, is on the verge of collapse. The Romanian Health Minister Attila Cseke on Tuesday thwarted hopes of a quick recovery. Cseke said that the peak of the fourth corona wave is still a long way off public television TVR.

Around 1800 Covid-19 patients currently require intensive medical care. But the hospital staff can hardly keep up with the care given the huge number of patients. Since there are not enough places in the intensive care units, some of the patients are treated in hospital corridors, in containers, tents and ambulances. Sometimes the patients would push each other away in the corridors to get oxygen equipment, reports the doctor Arama according to the news portal “Newsweek Romania“.

On Wednesday, according to the portal, Romania had “Our World in Data“The highest corona death rate worldwide. 574 people died of or with the virus within 24 hours – more than in the entire EU in the same period. As a result, there was no longer any space in the morgue at the Bucharest University Hospital.” We are not easy in a pandemic, we are in a disaster “, the chairman of the Romanian Medical College (CMR), Daniel Coriu, described the dramatic situation on Tuesday. The medical college had already written an open letter last week under the title” Desperation “and the disaster in Health care described.

High vaccination skepticism: by pricking to the “zombie”

The Romanian President Klaus Iohannis described the situation on Tuesday as a “national drama of terrible proportions” and announced an emergency meeting. Iohannis blamed the widespread vaccination skepticism, but also the “lack of concrete action by the authorities”, for the situation and appealed to the population to get vaccinated. Romania, together with Bulgaria, has the lowest corona vaccination rate in the EU. Just 30 percent of the population are fully vaccinated – significantly less than half the EU average (74.4 percent).

But many saw the speech by the head of state as cynical, as the government had for a long time advertised far too little for vaccination and had practically nothing against vaccination skeptics. Vaccination opponents were able to demonstrate unhindered in the country, and hundreds of thousands of false information about vaccines were shared on social networks. Vaccine skepticism is particularly widespread in the Romanian Orthodox Church, which is particularly influential in rural areas. Last week, the archbishop of the south-eastern Romanian diocese of Tomis, Teodosie, falsely claimed that the Covid vaccination was unsafe and that the EU was now also stopping the vaccination campaign.

A case from a school in the northern Romanian city of Botosani recently made headlines, such as the “German wave“reported. An audio recording can be heard of a teacher telling her students that vaccination will turn you into a” zombie “and that the hospitals are planning an organized mass extermination” like in Auschwitz “.

Health and political crisis

But the government has not only contributed to the escalating situation through its inaction against vaccine opponents. For months she had downplayed the danger of the virus. In June, President Iohannis described the Romanian vaccination campaign as a “success” and said the pandemic had stopped. Even the now provisional Prime Minister Florin Citu declared at the beginning of the summer that the pandemic had been “eliminated” – although experts had already warned of a fourth corona wave back then.

Instead of taking action, the government even opted for easing. The mask requirement in public facilities and shops was hardly enforced, and restrictions on mass events such as vaccination certificates or tests were often not monitored. It was not until the beginning of October, when the numbers had long since started to rise, that the government imposed new measures and had to ask for foreign aid for the first time last week. The neighboring country of Moldova sent doctors and medical staff across the border to provide support, and 30 seriously ill Covid-19 patients have already been transported to Hungary.

To top it all off, the social-liberal government of Prime Minister Florin Citu fell two weeks ago after months of coalition disputes over a vote of no confidence. It could be weeks before a new coalition comes together that the government can form. “Our condolences, Romania!” Was the headline of the portal “Hotnews“Given the health and political crisis in the country.

Sources: “German wave“,”recorder“,”NY Times“, with DPA