New coronavirus cases fell again on Friday with a single-day count of 6,460, but numbers remained alarmingly high in the capital which has seen 9,000 new cases in the past week leaving officials scrambling to find hospital beds.
Deaths also remained high, with 168 patients succumbing to the virus in the past day taking the total death count to over 13,000. Ninety-seven men and 71 women with the virus died. All but 13 had underlying health conditions.
Romania also reported a record high of 1,299 patients in intensive care out of a total of 12,300 hospital beds occupied by Covid-19 patients.
More than 30,000 tests were carried out in the past 24 hours giving a positivity rate of over 21%, the lowest since Oct. 30.
However, the vast majority of patients_ 443,000 have recovered.
Authorities are alarmed at the high numbers in Bucharest which reported almost 1,900 new cases on Friday, more than a fourth of cases nationwide.
Raed Arafat, who heads the Emergency Services Department said the high number of cases would put extra pressure on hospitals in the capital and Ilfov.
He said health professionals may have to transfer patients to other areas,
The Black Sea county of Constanta which has seen a surge in cases in the past month had the second-highest number of new infections with about 453 new cases, followed by Cluj, Timis and Brasov in central and western Romania which had more than 300 cases and Ilfov next to the capital and Iasi in the northeast which also had over 300 cases.
Bucharest and 15 counties across the country are in the ‘red scenario’ after reporting more than 3 cases per 1,000.
In another development, Alexandru Rafila, one of Romania’s best-known doctors who has been at the forefront of fighting the virus, tested positive for Covid-19.
Dr. Rafila who is Romania’s representative at the World Health Organization, also ram for Parliament and was picked by the Social Democratic Party as their candidate for prime minister. He is currently self-isolating at home.
