Two patients died and a nurse was injured on Thursday when a fire ripped through a Covid-19 hospital in southern Romania, the fourth deadly blaze in the past year.
The fire, which was quickly extinguished, broke out at early morning in the hospital in Ploiesti. Fifteen patients in the wing were moved to another hospital.
A nurse who suffered serious burns was transferred to a hospital the capital, Bucharest.
The cause of the fire was being investigated. Acting Prime Minister Florin Citu sent his condolences to the families of the victims. He said “such tragedies must not be repeated.”
He said Romania’s hospitals were stretched by a deadly fourth wave which has seen hundreds of deaths every day.
In recent weeks, the health care system has grappled with a record numbers of new infections and deaths.
Romania is the European Union’s second-least vaccinated nation. About 40% of adults are fully inoculated.
Some 1,823 Covid-19 patients are receiving intensive care.
Thursday’s fire comes after a a deadly fire ripped through a hospital in the Black Sea port city of Constanta, killing seven people.
A year ago, ten died after a fire broke out in an intensive care unit for Covid-19 patients in the northern Romanian town of Piatra Neamt.
Romania spends among the least in the EU on its healthcare system.
