Prime Minister Ludovic Orban said on Monday that there were problems in Bucharest with intensive care beds and some patients had to be moved to other hospitals, but measures were taken to constantly increase capacity.

"I have received a report that shows, on the one hand, an increase in the treatment capacity in the intensive care units (...) and also some elements of capacity building for the future. Our goal is to constantly increase the treatment capacity of patients, both in the intensive care units and in the normal wards. We have a problem in Bucharest, it's true, but decisions have already been made: the Colentina Hospital becomes COVID hospital again, with several hundred beds and 30 beds in the intensive care unit. Also, the triage was put into operation at the Nasta Hospital, the Malaxa Hospital will join this week the rank of hospitals for the treatment of patients infected with the novel coronavirus. We also aim to increase capacity in the hospitals that have already been such hospitals: the Matei Bals, Babes, Witting, the Ilfov County Hospital. (...) An analysis was made on each region and solutions are identified to increase the treatment capacity in the intensive care units," said Orban.

Asked about the problems at the medical facilities in Bucharest, Orban said that measures had been taken.

"Yes, we had to move patients to other hospitals because we no longer had beds in the intensive care units, but there too we provided for measures. I, Secretary of State Arafat and Mr Tataru, have ordered an increase in capacity of the emergency units, oxygenation for cases that need oxygenation, until the identification of hospitalisation solutions in an intensive care unit. But the basic idea is to increase the intensive care capacity," said the prime minister.

He said that the government had given the first reading to a draft emergency ordinance to supplement the staff by the immediate hire of all graduates who have completed residency in specialties related to Covid, such as emergency, intensive care anesthesia, infectious diseases, epidemiology.

"We are still looking to supplement human resources. I welcome the decisions of the medicine universities that have encouraged students to do internships in a voluntary system to support the work of the public health directorates. We are constantly thinking of new solutions to increase treatment capacity. We have passed an emergency ordinance to get family physicians involved in the follow-up of asymptomatic COVID-19 patients or presenting with mild forms. We try to adapt to any circumstances," added Orban. AGERPRES (RO - author: Alina Novaceanu, editor: Catalin Alexandru; EN - author: Corneliu-Aurelian Colceriu, editor: Adina Panaitescu)