Romania is on the verge of declaring a flu epidemic after a recent spike in cases.

Health Minister Alexandru Rafila said on Wednesday that there is an algorithm that leads to the declaration of epidemic status: an increase of 20% for 3 consecutive weeks and a share of at least 10% of confirmed tested samples.

In an intervention on Digi 24, he said that the exact situation will be known on Thursday and that it is “very likely” to register a third week with an increase in the number of flu cases, which means that an epidemic could be declared.

“No one should understand that there will be restrictions,” Rafila said, adding that certain measures would be put in place in hospitals and there would be recommendations at the population level, such as not to return to the community while there are symptoms.

The Minister of Health clarified that this is not an unusual situation, given the two years during which the circulation of viruses has been slowed down by pandemic measures and the population is “less immunologically prepared”.

The last time an influenza epidemic was declared in Romania was in February 2020, for the second year in a row.

Marinescu: “return to normal life”

The medical director of the Matei Balsch Institute, Adrian Marinescu, says that the number of respiratory infections will continue to be high in January and February, and this situation represents a “return to normal” after three years of the new coronavirus pandemic.

“I expect January and February to be of the same intensity. The balance will probably come sometime from March when we have more flu cases, but things will definitely look better. The discussion of the epidemic is strictly based on epidemiological criteria. It depends on the number, it depends on the time interval during which the flu cases appear,” said Marinescu, quoted by Agerpres.

What seems relevant to me, he adds, is that whether or not there is a flu epidemic, we will still have SARS-Cov-2 and other viruses.

“The number of respiratory infections will definitely be high, as the statistics show. It is clear what we will have in these two months. The good part is that the method I use to prevent these respiratory infections is common – whether I’m talking about the flu, SARS-CoV-2, or other viral infections, with the difference that with the flu, I have strength to get anti-flu vaccines and do effective prevention, as I can do with SARS-CoV-2. I can’t with other viral infections,” added Marinescu, quoted by Agerpres.

• A wave of respiratory infections fills hospitals: “We are approaching the number of patients who turned to the rapid peak of the pandemic” / Why we have such an aggressive season

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