Health authorities in Romania issue alert as flu cases rise for three consecutive weeks

So far, 22 people have died with the Health Minister Alexandru Rafila saying none of the fatalities had had the flu vaccine.

Transcript

00:00Health authorities in Romania have issued an alert after cases of respiratory infection

00:07rose for three consecutive weeks.

00:09In the week from 20th to 26th January, the National Institute for Public Health reported

00:15133,600 cases of respiratory infection linked to flu.

00:21That's a 6% increase compared to the previous week.

00:24So far, 22 people have died, including a three-year-old child.

00:29The health ministry says that while the situation is unprecedented, it's not serious enough

00:33to implement widespread restrictions such as quarantine.

00:37Hospitals across the country have been instructed to limit visitor numbers to limit the spread

00:42of the flu virus.

00:44But despite the rising number of infections, the vaccination rate in Romania remains low.

00:49As of 26th January, just over 1.1 million people have been vaccinated against flu in

00:55a country with a population of more than 19 million.