Romania has reported 614 new cases of coronavirus, setting a new record for a single day in the East European country.
The new infections take the total number of cases to 30,789, higher than in any other country in the region apart from Ukraine which has more than double Romania’s population of 19 million.
The Strategic Communication Group said authorities had conducted some 13,179 tests nationwide in the past day, meaning 4.66% of those tested were found to be infected with the virus. It was the fourth highest daily percentage in the last two weeks.
Some 17 patients succumbed to the virus in the last 24 hours. The death toll stands at 1,834.
Thursday’s record number of cases comes after 555 new infections were reported Wednesday, which was a record.
Bucharest reported 73 new infections and there were 66 new cases in the southern county of Dambovita which is northwest of Bucharest. The counties of Brasov and Arges which are popular tourist destinations had 55 new cases each.
After hitting a low in early June, Romania has seen a spike in cases particularly after it began to loosen lockdown measures in mid-June. Authorities have increased testing and have urged Romanians to wear compulsory face masks in enclosed public spaces.
Several European countries including Austria and UK have put travel restrictions on people coming from Romania in recent days due to the increase in cases.
There are 240 patients being treated for the virus in intensive-care units, a slight increase since the previous day.
About 22,600 have recovered from the virus.
Almost 810,000 tests have been conducted since the pandemic began in late February.
