Romania increased its testing capacity continuously since March, when the COVID-19 pandemic started in the country, and can currently perform more than 800,000 tests per month, according to official figures from the Strategic Communication Group.

Romania's testing capacity increased from less than 100 tests/day in March to over 40,000 tests/day in October. 

On a monthly basis, the country's testing capacity increased from 24,654 tests in March to 150,720 in April and more than 823,000 in October.

"Currently, more tests are performed in a single day than in the entire month of March," the Strategic Communication Group said.

Meanwhile, health minister Nelu Tataru said that Romania currently has 1,250 intensive care beds for COVID-19 patients, up from 740 in March.

"We started in March with 740 fully equipped COVID-19 beds. We have 1,250 at the moment, and after expansion, we'll go towards 1,500," Tataru said, according to News.ro.

He also added that 2020 "was a year of forced modernization, imposed by the situation, but at the same time a year in which we should go towards normalization."

A total of 246,663 COVID-19 cases were confirmed by tests in Romania by November 1. Almost 176,000 patients were declared cured so far, while the death toll reached 7,067. By Sunday, November 1, more than 3.26 million tests were performed in the country.

irina.marica@romania-insider.com

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