“Taking into account the most pressing needs of the Romanian health service, our government decided to provide material help that includes indispensable medical equipment, and to send a team of Polish health professionals to attend to patients who need it most,” said the deputy foreign minister during the event.

Due to a surge in the number of Covid-19 infections and fatalities, Romania solicited assistance through the European Union Civil Protection Mechanism. Given the strategic partnership between our countries and their close cooperation, especially in security matters, Poland acceded to the Romanian request. Up to 15,000 coronavirus infections have recently been recorded in Romania every day, weighing a heavy burden on the health service and filling up hospitals. Also, the pandemic has increased mortality rates in the country, ranging between 400 and 500 deaths from Covid-19 on a daily basis.

Poland provided Romania with material help that comprised necessary medical equipment. A team of Polish health professionals were also dispatched to look after particularly vulnerable patients. Worth more than PLN 11m, the medical aid to Romania includes 150 oxygen concentrators (five-litre capacity), 55 cardiac monitors (C80), 50 ventilators, three Turbofogger disinfection units, and 1,000 pulse oximeters. This is not the first time Poland has offered help to Romania in combating the pandemic; less than two weeks ago, we provided the country with 50 oxygen concentrators.

Over the last year or so, acting in the spirit of international solidarity and fighting with the disease, Poland has responded to the needs of countries affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, handing over medical equipment, medicines, and personal protective equipment to many countries all over the world. Polish aid has reached people in, among others, Ukraine, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, India, Iraq, and Iraqi Kurdistan, as well as the Western Balkan countries. Moreover, Polish health professionals were directly involved in attending to Covid-19 patients abroad, including in Italy, Kirgizstan, and the US.

In recent months Poland has also forwarded its surplus Covid-19 vaccines to Egypt, Vietnam, Taiwan, Kenya, Ukraine, Australia, Norway, Kirgizstan, and other nations. More than 4m vaccines were delivered as donations.

The above-mentioned examples of Poland’s solidarity in fighting the Covid-19 pandemic would not have been possible without effective cooperation between many institutions and services: the Chancellery of the Prime Minister, the Government Agency for Strategic Reserves, the Government Centre for Security, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

 

MFA Press Office

 

fot. Tymon Markowski / MFA