COVID-19, information and prevention

Romanian authorities have urged the population to remain calm regarding the spread of the coronavirus, saying prevention is key

Leyla Cheamil, 28.02.2020, 14:00

The new coronavirus has now spread
to all continents after it broke out in China in December last year, located to
a food market in Wuhan, a city home to some 11 million inhabitants. The number
of confirmed deaths in China is in the thousands. It was inevitable therefore
that the virus should reach Romania, where authorities say people are being
quarantined or isolated. Prevention, not panic, this is what the representative
of the Health Ministry, Nelu Tataru, conveyed in a press conference on
Thursday. The Romanian official said the National Public Health Institute has
set up a hotline where citizens can obtain information about the coronavirus. As
regards quarantine measures, Nelu Tataru said:

There’s no need for us to change
our way of life. We shouldn’t overcrowd supermarkets. There’s no need to induce
a panic at home or with our relatives abroad. When people are quarantined, they
are being cared for by local authorities, they get food and everything they
need. If people isolate themselves willingly at home, then once a day a member
of the family can go out to resupply. Both categories of people benefit from
medical leave.

We all know how to deal with this
type of patients in terms of protecting the medical staff, especially
approaching a potentially infected patient from a strictly medical point of
view, the manager of the Matei Bals National Institute for Infectious
Disease, Adrian Streinu Cercel, said. The Romanian official says medication is
currently available to deal with the virus, adding that developments are being monitored
via the system of Public Health Directorates and the epidemiology network,
coordinated by the National Institute for Public Health and the infectious
disease network, coordinated by the Matei Bals Institute for Infectious
Disease. In turn, interim Health Minister Victor Costache says 82-85% of patients
infected with the coronavirus develop a mild or moderate form of the disease,
adding that a great amount of fake news has been circulated in the media.
Minister Cotache says thousands of patients have recovered at global level and
are currently in good health. In another development, interim Prime Minister
Ludovic Orban said he has reached an agreement with the Competition Council
with a view to capping the price for all medical protection equipment used to
combat the coronavirus available to the general population over a period of
three up to six months.

(Translated by V. Palcu)