Coronavirus in Romania: More than 100 of the 762 confirmed Covid-19 cases are health workers

A total of 103 health workers in Romania have contracted the coronavirus Covid-19 infection by March 24 (13:00), the Strategic Communication Group announced. The number represents more than 13% of the total number of confirmed Covid-19 cases in Romania, which has reached 762.

The highest number of Covid-19 cases among medical staff has been reported in Suceava, in northeastern Romania, where the County Hospital, one of the largest medical units in the region, closed for disinfection because of the situation.

Of the 103 health workers, 43 are doctors (27 in Suceava), 45 are nurses (30 in Suceava), 14 are orderlies (13 in Suceava), and 1 is a caretaker, according to the Strategic Communication Group.

However, the number of medical workers infected at the Suceava County Hospital is 92, according to the Sanitas Union Federation, which represents the personnel in the healthcare sector, higher than the 70 cases reported officially by the Strategic Communication Group.

The Suceava Prosecutor’s Office opened a prosecution case after the Suceava county authorities did not comply with the measures in place concerning the prevention and combating of infectious and contagious diseases, Digi24.ro reported.

In Bucharest, the most coronavirus cases among medical staff were recorded at the Dimitrie Gerota Hospital after a former Interior Ministry (MAI) employee admitted there tested positive for Covid-19. The patient had been admitted for several days in the hospital without developing symptoms and did not tell doctors that he had traveled to Israel before becoming ill.

At the Floreasca Emergency Hospital, the biggest public hospital in Bucharest, 7 doctors and 23 nurses were in isolation on March 24 after coming into contact with a Covid-19 patient. The patient came to the hospital on March 23 for a different pathology and denied having been in a situation where he could have contracted the Covid-19 coronavirus, Mediafax reported.

An even more complicated situation has been reported at the University Hospital in Bucharest, another important unit that treats emergency cases. here, two patients over 70 have died in recent days, both diagnosed with Covid-19 infection on top of other pathologies. However, only one doctor and two nurses have been tested for Covid-19, although at least 17 people work in the hospital section where the two victims had been treated, according to Libertatea.ro. Moreover, some medical workers there have started to show symptoms of Covid-19 infection, according to the same source.

In Petroșani, in western Romania’s Hunedoara county, medical staff became infected after a young woman who had returned from Italy did not comply with the home isolation regime and went to the hospital for a neurological illness, according to Digi24.

In Sfântu Gheorghe, in central Romania’s Covasna county, 5 doctors have been diagnosed with the Covid-19 coronavirus, Stiri.tvr.ro reported. They were working at the Sfântu Gheorghe County Hospital, where the obstetrics&gynecology and neonatology departments are quarantined. A total of 39 patients and 21 health workers are quarantined there. The management of the hospital announced that a doctor diagnosed with Covid-19 saw patients between March 8 and March 18. It is not yet clear if the doctor contracted the virus during a holiday in Austria or upon returning to Romania.

The actual number of Covid-19 cases among healthcare personnel could thus be higher than reported by the authorities. The main causes for this high number of Covid-19 infections among doctors and nurses is that many patients treated in local hospitals in recent days didn't mention they had traveled abroad or were not aware that they had been in contact with potentially infected people. Thus, they were treated without special safety measures passing the virus to doctors and nurses, who also passed the virus to other colleagues or patients.

Another reason that has led to this situation is that the personnel in hospital sections not dedicated to treating Covid-19 patients hasn't been provided with proper protection equipment as all the available resources have been directed to the infectious diseases sections.

[email protected]

(Photo: George Calin/ Inquam Photos)