RO authorities warn of pressure on healthcare system as Covid-19 cases increase

As the number of coronavirus cases has been increasing and the available hospital beds started filling up quickly, the authorities have urged the public to follow the Covid-19 prevention rules and warned that the healthcare system's limits should not be tested.

Speaking to public television station TVR 1, health minister Nelu Tătaru said the ministry would do everything possible to find more available intensive care beds and highlighted the issue of the fatigued medical staff.

"It is one thing to make an effort for 200 cases per day, and another to have 2,500 cases per day. We are expanding, dealing with the capacity, we have more and more intensive care beds, but before inquiring about this capacity, let's see if we can follow some rules and not test this system to see its limits," he said.

He said everyone should understand that not all hospitals treat coronavirus cases and insisted on the need to follow the preventive measures.

"Of course, we, as medical professionals, make an effort and receive all cases. If need be, we go all over the country to look for intensive care beds. There were instances when we transferred cases from Bucharest to Bârlad […]. If we reach 3,500 cases per day, we will search for solutions for intensive care; we receive the cases in need of treatment. But those who generate infections need to understand that our hospitals are not all mean for coronavirus patients," he said.

He said Romania currently has 4,000 Remdesivir doses available.

The health minister also said that beds are still available in intensive care units in Bucharest, but full capacity could soon be reached.

"There are beds at this point, but we can reach full capacity if we don't manage well this intensive care. This means we will have to manage well this intensive care. It means that we need to look again at what intensive care, intermediary care, and acute care mean to be able to manage every case optimally," Tătaru said, quoted by Agerpres.

He announced an evaluation was carried out to allow the Ilfov, Colentina, and Witting hospitals to adapt their available beds to the new situation, where there are both coronavirus and flu patients.

Meanwhile, Raed Arafat, the head of Romania's Department for Emergency Situations, warned that Romanian doctors could end up in a situation where they might have to choose what patients can benefit from intensive care as hospitals are getting more and more crowded, News.ro reported.