BUCHAREST – Over 130 COVID-19 clusters and 1,448 new infections in healthcare personnel and hospitalized patients have been reported by Romania’s hospitals and other healthcare facilities in recent days, the country’s Ministry of Health said on Wednesday.

Health Minister Alexandru Rafila told a press conference that a solution will be sought quickly to enable the systematic testing of medical staff in all the country’s hospitals.

Meanwhile, the number of daily new infections in the country has almost doubled to an absolute eastern European record of 34,255 in the past 24 hours, the Strategic Communication Group (GCS), Romania’s official COVID-19 communication task force, said on Wednesday.

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Of the new cases, 4,375 are reinfected patients who tested positive 180 days or more after their first infection.

The past 24 hours also saw 94 COVID-19-related fatalities, taking the national death toll to 59,726, and the current COVID-19 test positivity rate remains relatively high at 31.44 percent.

Rafila told a local TV station that the fifth pandemic wave is expected to peak in mid-February.

He also said he was optimistic about the imminent end of the current wave, pointing out that the proportion of severe cases and deaths remains low, though the number of daily new cases continues to hit record highs.