19 more people have died of COVID-19 infection in Romania, with the death toll climbing up to 411 on Friday afternoon. Among the last victims, the youngest were a 41yo man, with no known pre-existing medical conditions and a 58yo man, also with no previous diseases.
The Strategic Communication Group announced that 8,067 people are overall infected in Romania at present, with 360 new cases in the past 24 hours and 1,508 people declared cured and discharged from hospitals.
There are 258 patients currently in intensive care.
Victims
Man, aged 72 from Botoșani. Pre-existing conditions: cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes.
Man, aged 54, Arad. Pre-existing conditions: splenectomy, neoplasm, under chemo treatment.
Man, 82, Arad. Pre-existing conditions: hypertension, previous heart attack.
Man, 64, Mehedinti. No known pre-existing medical conditions, he had no medical records, no family doctor.
Woman, 64, Cluj. Pre-existing conditions: rectal neoplasm, bowel obstruction, diabetes, mesenteric thrombosis, Clostridium difficile infection.
Man, 41, Ialomita. He had returned from UK on March 27. He showed coronavirus symptoms and was taken directly from the airport to Matei Bals Institute for Infectious Diseases. His condition got worse and was transferred to intensive care on March 30 and put on mechanical ventilator. he died on April 16. He was not known with any pre-existing medical conditions.
Woman, aged 65, Neamt. Pre-existing medical conditions: diabetes, hypertension, obesity.
Woman, aged 62, Galati (homeless). She came to the emergency room of the County Hospital Galati on April 6 with respiratory symptoms and tested positive for COVID-19 on the same day. She died on April 11. Pre-existing conditions: obesity, hypertension, autoimmune disease.
The latest 11 victims announced had all other previous medical conditions, except for a 58yo man from Suceava, with no history of medical conditions.
Peak expected on Mai 1-5, PM says
Premier Ludovic Orban has told Digi24 that the peak of the coronavirus epidemic is expected around May 1-5 in Romania, but forecast is not 100% sure though. PM Orban added that after the peak was surpassed, some restrictions would be kept in place, and getting back to normal will be gradual, first with those activities where the risk of infections is lower, for instance, in fields where the workforce is needed.
Plasma treatment
In an exclusive interview to Digi 24, Health Minister Nelu Tataru has confirmed that Romania will use the plasma treatment to treat the novel coronavirus. The plasma will be collected from the patients who got the virus and were cured and will be transferred to the patients who are in critical condition.
“The cured patients will become donors on volunteer basis, they must have no more symptoms, to have tested negative for COVID-19 and they must have developed antibodies”, the minister explained.
Tataru revealed that Romania had received a donation of three plasmapheresis devices and that at present there are over 1,000 people cured of coronavirus in our country.
The plasma will be donated in three centres.