The summer wave of COVID-19 is not decreasing in intensity: more than 2,000 new cases of SARS-CoV2 infections were reported by INSP in the week of July 15-21. 11 deaths related to COVID-19 were registered, in one case it was a person with comorbidities.
Explosion of Covid-19 cases in the last two weeks – Photo Archive
In the week of July 15-21, 2024, Romania recorded a 60% explosion of new cases of COVID-19, reaching 2,015 infections, according to the INSP report.
“2,015 new cases of people infected with SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) were registered, an increase of 60% compared to the previous week“, the INSP transmitted, according to News.ro.
Of the new cases, 662 are reinfections, meaning people who tested positive more than 90 days after the first infection.
This week, 11 people died from COVID-19, only one had comorbidities. The increase in cases was accompanied by a positivity rate of 21%, recorded after performing 676 RT-PCR tests and 8,920 rapid antigen tests, an increase of 11.4% compared to the previous week.
To date, Romania has reported a total of 3,536,329 cases of COVID-19 and 68,973 deaths. Testing reached 14,020,170 RT-PCR tests and 14,860,496 rapid antigen tests.
The summer wave of COVID-19
Last week, 1,256 new cases of COVID-19 were reported and five patients died, all with comorbidities.
The official number of cases of COVID-19 represents only the peak of the phenomenon, because only the severe forms reach the hospital. Specialists in the field say that many infections go uncounted because asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic patients do not see a doctor and thus are not recorded. Thus, the actual number of infections is certainly higher.
There are several reasons why we are dealing with an increase in the number of cases of COVID-19 during the festival season, especially since the virus has not yet entered a stable seasonal cycle. Environmental and behavioral factors, such as air conditioning and large gatherings, contribute to summer waves of SARS-CoV-2 infections.
Furthermore, “people start moving more and more. And by moving, the number of contacts that each person who moves increases, and by increasing the number of contacts, the risk of infection increases. That’s basically what happens. People go in groups, by bus, by train, in restaurants, in various public places. They come from all areas. With them come viruses. After that, people leave their vacation spots and spread again to all areas. And with them, the virus. So what we were discussing practically also happens during that pandemic period, but on a much smaller scale, namely the increase in the number of contacts and the increase in the number of COVID-19 infections.“, detailed Dr. Emilian Popovici for “truth“.
