Morgues, hospitals struggle with COVID-19 deaths in Romania

The morgue in Romania’s main hospital has no space for the dead any more

BUCHAREST, Romania -- The morgue in Romania's main hospital has no space for the dead any more. In a stark illustration of the human cost of the coronavirus surge sweeping the nation, bodies of COVID-19 victims, wrapped in black plastic bags, line a hallway of the hospital in the capital, Bucharest.

Hundreds of people have been dying each day for the past two months in Romania which has been among the hardest-hit in the current virus onslaught raging through Central and Eastern European nations, where far fewer people have been vaccinated than in Western Europe.

A country of 19 million people, Romania currently has among the highest death rates in Europe. Last month the World Health Organization sent a team to help with the nation's pandemic response.

Frustrated and overworked, Romania's doctors have been struggling to cope.