Romania, with second-lowest EU vaccination rate, sees record COVID deaths

Intubated COVID-19 patients are seen in a crowded COVID-19 ICU ward at Bucharest's University Hospital, October 29. Romania, at the forefront of a wave of COVID-19 sweeping across central and eastern Europe, has reported record numbers of daily...more

Stretchers with black body bags containing bodies of COVID-19 victims are seen deposited on a hallway leading to Bucharest's University Hospital morgue, October 29. Inquam Photos/Octav Ganea

The country has the second-lowest coronavirus vaccination rate in the European Union. Just over a third of the adult population is fully vaccinated, amid distrust in state institutions and misinformation campaigns. Inquam Photos/Octav Ganea

Medical examiner Claudiu Ionita said that all COVID victims in his morgue were unvaccinated, adding that in some cases whole families were killed by the virus. "I can tell people to believe in the vaccines. Everyone who I have here (in the morgue)...more

Ambulances wait in line at the ICU ward of the Bucharest University Hospital. "This wave is equal to the first three waves combined, the volume has increased by more than 50-60 percent over what we had until now. It can't be compared to anything,...more

Earlier this week, Poland and Denmark sent their medical teams to help Romania cope with the situation while other European countries have donated oxygen concentrators, respirators and antigen tests. Inquam Photos/Octav Ganea

A nurse from Bucharest University Hospital morgue nails a coffin shut for transport to a cemetery. "I've never prepared myself for the sound of the hammer hitting and using nails to close coffins. I was not trained for this, never," says Ionita. ...more

An intubated COVID-19 patient is seen through the doors of an ICU unit. Inquam Photos/Octav Ganea

Stretchers with body bags containing bodies of COVID victims are seen deposited near the already filled refrigeration spaces at Bucharest's University Hospital morgue. Inquam Photos/Octav Ganea

Romania has so far reported 1,616,027 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 46,430 COVID-related deaths, according to data by WHO. Inquam Photos/Octav Ganea