More and more informed information and opinions say that the current crisis generated by wave 4 is far from over. Important medical and research figures say that the number of infected patients will increase, as will the number of deceased people. The figures provided by Octavian Jurma, for example, are in the tens of thousands of deaths.
New gloomy forecasts related to the 4th wave of the pandemic at European level
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to dominate the political agenda across Europe. As of May 15, 2021, there were almost 54 million cases of COVID-19, resulting in one million deaths in the European region. Central and Eastern European countries have been particularly affected, with some of the highest per capita deaths in the world.
Primary care has already played a crucial role in the health system’s response to COVID-19 and will continue to do so as we recover, but only if it is accepted as it should be. Primary health care workers have struggled and continue to fight.
Those in many countries, including Romania, Poland, Finland, Sweden, Greece, Ireland and Germany, described some of the difficulties they faced when the pandemic began. They had to quickly rethink how they provided medical care while engaging in long-distance consultations, while acknowledging that many of the most vulnerable patients were excluded. However, they have adapted to new ways of working and a rapidly changing evidence base.
Romania in the worst crisis since the beginning of the pandemic
Wave 4 seems to have managed to do what the other two waves did not do together. New cases, and especially deaths, have grown steadily. The ATI sections can no longer cope, and Romania has asked for European help.
4 days ago, the European Union sent COVID-19 medicines and equipment to Romania to deal with the health crisis. The European Commission stated that it coordinated the transport to Romania of 250 oxygen concentrators, essential devices for increasing the supply of medical oxygen needed to treat patients with COVID-19 critically ill patients. Poland sent 50 of the 250 hubs, while the rest came from an EU warehouse.
The EU also coordinated the transport of 5,200 ampoules of monoclonal antibodies from Italy to Romania, the commission said in a press release. Monoclonal antibodies are an experimental treatment for patients with COVID-19.
The EU will also coordinate the transport of eight additional oxygen concentrators and 15 fans from Denmark. Ventilators help patients with COVID-19 who are seriously ill to breathe.
Octavian Jurma makes catastrophic predictions
One of the doctors who has been sounding the alarm about how to prepare for this new wave, the doctor and biostatistician Octavian Jurma is making somber predictions these days about the number of infections and even deaths.
According to doctor Octavian Jurma, Romania will register at least one million infected people and at least 10,000 dead people, as a result of this 4th wave of the pandemic.
“We will continue at this stratospheric level for at least another 2 weeks. 1 million Romanians will get sick in the next 2 weeks, of which we will detect only 200,000 thousand. 10,000 Romanians will be killed by COVID-19 in the next 2 weeks, of which we will detect only 5,000 thousand. There is no doubt that the growth rate of the pandemic has decreased and that we have a “resistance” around the threshold of 20,000 cases per day.
At this stage of the pandemic, however, the problem is no longer the weekly highs that are naturally capped by the low number of tests, but the lows that continue to grow more slowly but steadily and put pressure on the cap. Although it is possible that this week the daily values exceed 19,000 new cases, it is unlikely that the ceiling of 20,000 will be broken, “said Octavian Jurma.
