The first coronavirus (COVID-19) case has been identified in Romania: a young man in his twenties from Gorj County has tested positive for the infection, reported the Health Ministry late Wednesday night. He was taken for treatment early Thursday morning by a specially equipped ambulance to Matei Balş National Institute of Infectious Diseases in Bucharest.
According to the Strategic Communication Group set up by the Ministry of Defense, the patient did not show any symptoms characteristic to a coronavirus infection. But he was tested anyway because he had been in contact with the 71-year-old Italian who was diagnosed with coronavirus after spending a few days in Southern Romania. The Italian’s wife is a Romanian citizen, and during his stay, he visited his mother-in-law, several other family members and some business associates.
The young man infected by “patient zero” is a resident of a village called Dobrana in Gorj County. He lives with his parents and grandparents and is an employee at a restaurant owned by the Italian coronavirus patient. The young man’s family members have been tested as well and are – so far – free of the virus; nevertheless they have to remain under home quarantine for the next two weeks. Authorities have initiated an epidemiological inquiry, attempting to identify every person who was in contact with both patient zero and patient one.
The Gorj County prefect announced that schools in the commune of Prigoria, to which the village belongs, are closed and that all cultural and sporting events have been suspended. According to the latest Health Ministry data, 99 people have been placed in quarantine centers throughout Romania, and 7,174 are under home quarantine. The Balş Institute will continue to test anyone suspected of being infected.
Fearing an imminent coronavirus epidemic and possible quarantine, more and more people – mostly in the bigger cities – are storming the supermarkets, frantically buying food and hygiene products.
Title image: The first diagnosed COVID-19 patient was taken by a special ambulance to Bucharest
