European Union members have shipped Covid-19 drugs and medical equipment to treat patients in Romania, which is facing a surge in new cases mostly among unvaccinated adults.
Some 1,699 people have died from Covid-19 since Monday, with 363 deaths alone in the past 24 hours, authorities said Friday.
Romania is the second least vaccinated country in the European Union. About one-third of the adult population has received a single Covid-19 vaccine.
The EU’s civil protection mechanism, which provides help in emergency situations, requested enough doses of monoclonal antibody drugs to treat 40,000 patients with Covid-19, Romania’s health ministry announced Friday.
The European Commission said 250 oxygen concentrators were being sent to Romania. The concentrators boost the supply of medical oxygen needed to treat critically ill Covid-19 patients.
Poland sent 50 of the 250 concentrators, while the remainder came from an EU stockpile, the European Commission said.
The EU has also coordinated the shipment of 5,200 vials of monoclonal antibodies from Italy to Romania, a press release said. Monoclonal antibodies are an experimental treatment for Covid-19 patients.
The EU will also coordinate the transport of eight additional oxygen concentrators and 15 ventilators from Denmark. Ventilators help seriously ill Covid patients to breath.
Some 70% of confirmed infections were in unvaccinated people, as were 93% of deaths, according to official statistics.
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