UPDATE. Bucharest hospitals run out of intensive care beds for Covid-19 cases. Patient to be transferred by chopper to another city

Romanian authorities say a patient will be transported by helicopter from Bucharest to another city on Friday as there are no more beds for critically ill Covid-19 patients in intensive care units at hospitals in the capital.

The Department for Emergency Situations said the unnamed patient, a 72-year-old woman, would be transferred to Craiova about 200 kilometers west of Bucharest ensure better treatment.

”After reaching the maximum capacity for patients in intensive care who are gravely ill  with the coronavirus, the National Center to Coordinate and Conduct Interventions decided to transfer the patient from the University Hospital to the County Hospital in Craiova for optimum care and monitoring,” department chief Raed Arafat said on Facebook.

The woman was intubated and on a breathing machine,  will be transported in an interior ministry helicopter with a medical team on board.

Romania on Friday reported more than 1,000 cases of coronavirus for the third consecutive day. There are 301 Covid-19 patients being treated in ICU, a record high.

Health Minister Nelu Tataru said Romania has 840 beds in intensive care for Covid-19 patients that have monitors, ventilators and other medical equipment of „the highest standard.”

„We are handling everything connected to intensive care,” he said, adding that authorities had made extra beds available at two Bucharest hospitals.

Arafat who is on the front line of the response to the coronavirus pandemic is an outspoken critic of people who downplay or deny the virus.

He regularly appeals to Romanians to wear face coverings and social distance and warns that the new infections will otherwise escalate.

He filed a criminal complaint on July 16 after he received two death threats in response to his handling of the health crisis.

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