(Dan Tri) – The number of deaths has skyrocketed in Romania, considered the epicenter of the Covid-19 epidemic in Europe, causing morgues to be overloaded.
The body was placed along the hallway at Bucharest University Emergency Hospital, Romania because there was no more room in the morgue (Photo: AP).
The morgue at Romania’s main hospital has no more room for the dead.
Hundreds of people have died from Covid-19 every day over the past two months in Romania, one of the hardest hit places in the latest outbreak in Central and Eastern Europe.
With a population of 19 million people, Romania currently has the highest death rate from Covid-19 in Europe.
Experts attribute the rise in deaths to low vaccination rates in Romania, where about 40% of the population is fully vaccinated – much lower than the European Union average of 75%.
Low vaccination rates in Romania and elsewhere in Central and Eastern Europe are believed to be the result of a lack of trust in authorities, educational gaps and a deeply rooted anti-vaccination movement.
`We are exhausted both financially, physically and psychologically. All of this is due to one reason: people cannot understand that they need to be vaccinated,` said Dr. Catalin Cirstoiu, head of the Hospital.
Mr. Cirstoiu emphasized that if 70% of the population is vaccinated, Romania will avoid the fourth wave of infection.
Romania recorded a record high number of deaths from Covid-19 on November 2, with 591 people killed and more than 90% of them unvaccinated.
The current epidemic situation forced Romanian authorities two weeks ago to impose stricter restrictions, requiring people to present mandatory vaccination certificates if they want to participate in daily activities such as going to work.
Although tightening restrictions in Romania helped reduce the number of daily infections and deaths slightly, Romanian authorities announced on November 9 that 487 Covid-19 patients had died in the previous 24 hours.
Maria Sajin, head of the Bucharest University Hospital morgue, said that normally the hospital records an average of 10 deaths per day, but on November 8, the death toll increased to 26 people, including 14
Mortuary staff are helpless in the face of the skyrocketing number of deaths.
`Their families don’t understand why their loved ones got sick like that, and the big problem is that they also don’t understand that they need to be vaccinated and there is no medicine to treat (Covid-19). These are very difficult times.`
Nick John