PM Orban says ICU beds equipped with ventilators should increase to better prepare Romania

Prime Minister Ludovic Orban said on Thursday that it is very important for Romania to increase the number of hospital beds equipped with ventilators in the near future, so that the healthcare professionals would be prepared for any situation, adding that, fortunately, during the peak of the coronavirus pandemic, Romania did not face the risk of ICU treatment capacity being exceeded.

He participated at the Romexpo Exhibition Centre in Bucharest in the reception of the first 100 ventilators purchased from the US, from a batch of 200, that will enter the strategic stockpile and will be used as needed by the hospitals that might need them.

"I could say that it is no coincidence that these ventilators are produced and delivered to Romania by our strategic partner, the United States of America. You know very well that the US is hard hit by this epidemic and yet this delivery comes from the United States. It is also the result of a discussion that took place between President Donald Trump and the President of Romania, Klaus Iohannis. You should know that there was a restriction regarding the export of materials and equipment from the United States to other countries, but the restriction did not apply to Romania," said Orban.

He added that this acquisition is "very important" amid a shortage of such equipment in Romanian hospitals.

"It is known that we have a limited treatment capacity in ICU beds equipped with ventilators; there is a capacity limited to approximately 1,700 beds with ventilators and it is very important that, in the near future, we significantly increase the number of beds with ventilators (...) so that we are prepared for any situation," said the prime minister.

According to him, due to the measures taken, Romania did not face the risk of ICU treatment capacity being exceeded.

The procurement was made through the National Office for Centralised Procurement, together with the General Inspectorate for Emergency Management.

The Romanian government has tried to purchase ventilators from various other countries, but there have been difficulties, he said.

Also attending the event were US ambassador to Romania Adrian Zuckerman, and head of the Emergency Situations Department (DSU) Raed Arafat.