Media: Austria recruits Romanian and Bulgarian health workers for COVID-19 care

To make sure that care was not disrupted by COVID-19 travel restrictions, Austria has recruited Romanian and Bulgarian health workers.

A total of 231 medical workers were flown in on Monday, March 30, to provide round-the-clock care in the region of Lower Austria, according to Euractiv. The aircraft arrived from the Bulgarian capital Sofia and the Romanian city of Timisoara.

Only 70 workers were needed immediately, but more than 200 were recruited as a “security” measure, regional social affairs official Christiane Teschl-Hofmeister told public radio station Oe1. The health workers have to stay 14 days in quarantine before they begin work.

Euractiv also reported that Austria’s health system is heavily dependent on staff from Eastern Europe, many of whom shuttle back and forth, staying for weeks at a time.

According to AFP, quoted by local Mediafax, the people recruited by Austria are care workers and nurses for the elderly.

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