45 new cases of Covid with the UK strain confirmed in Romania

By Diana Salceanu Last updated Feb 18, 2021

Other new 45 COVID-19 cases with the new UK strain have been confirmed in Romania after 90 samples had been analysed by MedLife. The total number of infections with the new British strain reaches 79 in Romania, in less than two months.

Specialists consider that this strain has probably become dominant in the Romanian big cities and is to become the most frequent Covid strain in the next 3-5 weeks countrywide.

The last 90 samples have been collected during February 3-11 from the patients who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 through a RT-PCR test. 45 out of 90 contained the B1.1.7 strain of the coronavirus, discovered in Great Britain.

The cases with the new UK strain come from different cities: Bucharest has the most – 26 cases, Brăila – 1, Galați – 2, Timișoara – 6, Cluj – 3, Focșani – 1, Ploiești – 1, Pitești -1, Turda – 1, Tg. Jiu – 2, Vaslui – 1.

“If two weeks ago we were announcing that the prevalence of the cases identified with the UK strain is 26.6%, on the sample studied at that time, now the percentage has almost doubled, with 50% of the samples in the current plot containing the B1.1.7 strain, originating from UK (…) Romania would rank among the first EU state where the UK strain of the coronavirus is predominant (…) On the other hand, although the transmission rate is high, the flatten curve on the daily cases and the decline in the number of severe infection case in intensive care suggest that the measures taken by the authorities, the local quarantine for instance, have worked and they will probably have to be further maintained,” said biologist Dumitru Jardan, coordinator of the genome sequencing study, conducted by MedLife.

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