A year ago this week, Romania reported its first case of Covid-19, prompting the country’s strapped medical system to turn its focus to treating Covid-19 patients. As a result, many patients with other conditions — including cancer — have either been denied critical care or have stopped going to their regular appointments, fearful of becoming infected.

Romania’s government is acknowledging the problem and has announced plans to reorganise the country’s hospitals so more non-Covid-19 patients can get access to health care.

“Patients who didn’t have Covid-19 didn’t seek medical care because they were afraid of becoming infected,” Dr Andreea Moldovan, a state secretary in the health ministry, told AP.

Previously, she said, there was “a lot of pressure to have as many beds available for Covid-19 patients as possible”.

Read more here.