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Gallery|Coronavirus pandemic

Romania revives COVID-19 restrictions as hospitals struggle

In Romania, only 35 percent of adults are fully inoculated against COVID-19 compared with an EU average of 74 percent.

Medical staff position a patient on a bed in a COVID-19 isolation room at the University Emergency Hospital in Bucharest. [Vadim Ghirda/AP Photo]
Published On 24 Oct 2021

Dr Petruta Filip is working 100-hour weeks at a Bucharest hospital which, like hospitals throughout Romania, is struggling under an onslaught of COVID-19 patients in a country with worryingly low vaccination rates.

The European Union country of around 19 million people has only 35 percent of its adults fully vaccinated compared with a European Union average of 74 percent.

It is the second-least vaccinated nation in the 27-nation bloc.

That is crippling Romania’s creaking healthcare system, which is also facing record-high death and infection numbers.

Romania has reported more than 1.5 million cases of the coronavirus, including at least 44,000 deaths, since the pandemic began.

In an attempt on Friday to curb the deadly surge and relieve pressure on hospitals, authorities approved tighter restrictions set to take effect from Monday.

Vaccination certificates will be required for many day-to-day activities, such as going to the gym, the cinema or a shopping mall.

There will be a 10pm curfew, shops will close at 9pm, bars and clubs will close for 30 days, and schools will close for an additional week over half-term starting Monday. Masks will be mandatory for everyone in public.

A patient breathes through an oxygen mask in a COVID-19 isolation room at the University Emergency Hospital in Bucharest. [Vadim Ghirda/AP Photo]
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Romania on Tuesday registered record highs of nearly 19,000 infections and 574 deaths. [Andreea Alexandru/AP Photo]
In Romania, an EU country of around 19 million, only 35 percent of adults are fully inoculated against COVID-19 compared with an EU average of 74 percent. [Andreea Alexandru/AP Photo]
Data from Romania's health authorities indicate that more than 90 percent of those dying of COVID-19 are unvaccinated. [Vadim Ghirda/AP Photo]
Earlier this month, Romanian doctors issued an open letter to Romanians titled 'a cry of despair' to highlight the plight they face and urged people to get vaccinated. [Vadim Ghirda/AP Photo]
Dr Petruta Filip (R) and a colleague place an oxygen mask on a man in the COVID-19 section at the University Emergency Hospital. [Vadim Ghirda/AP Photo]
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A patient breathes through an oxygen mask in a COVID-19 isolation room at the University Emergency Hospital. [Vadim Ghirda/AP Photo]
Paramedics push a stretcher as they bring a patient to the University Emergency Hospital. [Vadim Ghirda/AP Photo]
A medical staff member walks by vaccination booths in Bucharest as the country started a 'vaccination marathon' with several centres remaining open for 72 hours, hoping to energise the failed vaccination campaign. [Vadim Ghirda/AP Photo]