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Fire at Romania’s Largest Covid-19 Hospital Kills 5 Patients

Fire at Romania’s Largest Covid-19 Hospital Kills Four Patients

A fire in Romania’s largest Covid-19 hospital killed five people and caused more than 100 to be evacuated in the second fatal blaze at a medical facility in the past three months.

The cause of the fire in a recently renovated wing of the Bucharest hospital is unknown, authorities said on Friday.

Another at an intensive-care unit in the northeastern town of Piatra Neamt killed 12 people in November, pressuring the government to improve the state of one of the European Union’s poorest health-care systems.

“Everyone must understand that we can’t go on like this,” Prime Minister Florin Citu said. “We have to allocate more money for investments and not just for wages and incentives. I urge all the state workers and the authorities responsible to get out of their offices and do their jobs or go home.”

Romania is among the EU member states hit worst by the Covid-19 pandemic, reporting more than 18,000 deaths. The poor state of its hospitals is also fueling public anger over corruption and insufficient investment.

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.