Pandemic leaves many Romanian patients without critical care

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) — Andrei, a 32-year-old Romanian man who has been HIV positive since he was a baby, began missing his regular medical check-ups when the coronavirus pandemic hit a year ago.

“That was the first thing that led me to a general state of frustration and fear,” said Andrei. “After that, I got used to the idea of taking the antiretroviral treatment blindly without knowing if the parameters are OK or if the therapy works.”

A year ago this week, Romania reported its first case of COVID-19, prompting the country's strapped medical system to turn its focus to treating COVID-19 patients. As a result, many patients with other conditions — including cancer — have either been denied critical care or have stopped going to their regular appointments, fearful of becoming infected.

“Many of my close associates lost their battle against their diseases due to the loss of access to treatment, hospitals and specialists,” Andrei, who didn’t want his full name used due to the stigma surrounding his condition, told The Associated Press.

Romania's government is acknowledging the problem and has announced plans to reorganize the country’s hospitals so more non-COVID-19 patients can get access to health care.

The attempts to reform the health care system come as a third virus surge looms and as a vaccine rollout is proceeding slowly across the 27-member European Union, to which Romania belongs.

“Patients who didn’t have COVID-19 didn’t seek medical care because they were afraid of becoming infected,” Dr. Andreea Moldovan, a state secretary in the Health Ministry, told the AP.

Previously, she said, there was “a lot of pressure to have as many beds available for COVID-19 patients as possible."

With a population of over 19 million, Romania...