Inside Romania's Hospitals As COVID Crisis Intensifies

Medical staff are surrounded by COVID-19 patients in the intensive-care unit of the Bagdasar-Arseni Hospital in Bucharest on October 19.

Coronavirus patients in the intensive-care unit of the Bagdasar-Arseni Hospital in Bucharest on October 19. Intensive-care doctor Claudiu Rusu told Reuters on October 19 that hospitals in the capital were stretched beyond capacity. "There isn't enough room to take all the cases that need us," he said.

A COVID-19 patient writes down the phone number of his daughter for medical staff in the Bagdasar-Arseni Hospital.

The same day these photos were taken in the Bagdasar-Arseni Hospital, Romania confirmed a record high of 18,863 new COVID-19 infections and 574 deaths in a single day.

A crowded corridor in the Bagdasar-Arseni Hospital. There are currently around 1,800 COVID-19 patients in intensive care in Romania. The country has one of the EU's least developed health-care systems. 

Staff of the Marius Nasta Pneumology Institute in Bucharest adjust a breathing mask on a coronavirus patient's face on October 17. Romania's president said on October 19 the crisis in Romania's overflowing hospitals was a "national drama of terrible proportions," blaming low vaccination rates among the Romanian population and a sluggish response from the authorities for the soaring coronavirus infection rates. 

A woman looks through the window of the reception hall at the COVID-19 section of the Marius Nasta Institute of Pneumology in Bucharest on October 15. 

Medical staff in protective equipment distribute medication in the Marius Nasta Institute of Pneumology on October 15. 

Oxygen bottles being replaced for a patient in the COVID-19 section of the Marius Nasta National Institute of Pneumology on October 15. 

Medical staff listen to a presentation by a psychiatrist on how to cope with stress at the main operations room of COVID-19 section of the Marius Nasta Institute of Pneumology on October 15. 

A coronavirus patient lies on a stretcher bed in a hallway of the Matei Bals Institute for Infectious Diseases in Bucharest on October 11. 

A policeman speaks to fruit sellers at a market in Bucharest on October 16. President Klaus Iohannis suggested restrictive new measures are likely. "Whether we are talking about the green certificate or other measures to reduce mobility and human interaction, we must not waste any more time...no matter how unpopular it may seem," he said on October 19.