Morgues, hospitals struggle with COVID-19 deaths in Romania

By ANDREEA ALEXANDRU
Associated Press

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — The morgue in Romania’s main hospital has no space for the dead any more. Bodies of COVID-19 victims, wrapped in black plastic bags, line a hallway of the hospital in the capital, Bucharest. They are a stark illustration of the cost of the coronavirus surge sweeping the nation. Hundreds of people have been dying each day for the past two months in Romania which has been among the hardest-hit in the current virus onslaught raging through Central and Eastern European nations. Experts have blamed the soaring deaths on the low vaccination rate in Romania where about 40% of the population has been fully vaccinated — far lower than the European Union’s average of 75%.