The average age of COVID-19 patients down from 48 to 43yo. Measures announced for the 4th wave

Centralized national data in the first two weeks of August show a decrease in the average age of patients confirmed with COVID-19 and those who died and an increase in the number of deaths in people without pre-existing medical conditions, the vaccination campaign coordinator, Valeriu Gheorghiţă, said on Tuesday.

He told a press conference that the trend in fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, in which the Delta variant is predominant, is the young people getting infected.

The Minister of Health, Ioana Mihăilă, says that he asked the DSP for the maximum centralized number of beds available in the hospitals in each region, given that the number of COVID-19 infections is growing rapidly.

The minister also said that, based on estimates from INSP, in the most pessimistic scenario, about 4,000 people with COVID will be hospitalized at the peak of wave 4. Officials  yetadded that the number of those in need of hospitalization is expected to be lower than during previous waves, although the number of cases will increase, as vaccinated people generally develop mild forms of COVID-19.

“Because we know that the Delta pandemic affects young people and children to a greater extent, we have asked the health units and the Public Health Directorates for the maximum number of beds available for childcare. So far we have centralized and available approximately 340 beds of Intensive Care for adults, and the Public Health Directorates have reported that they can provide a maximum of 110 beds of Intensive Care for children and can increase the number of beds for the treatment of children with infection. COVID until 1600. Children infected with COVID can also be treated in adult wards, ventilators allow the adaptation of treatment to children“, Mihăilă added.

In his turn, the head of the Emergency Situations Department, Raed Arafat, ruled out a potential new lockdown or movement restrictions during the expected fourth wave of the pandemic, arguing that only some localities might be quarantined, depending on the infection rate.