In Sibiu County, a key in managing the crisis generated by COVID 19 was the collaboration between the county public authorities, private enterprises and civil society, along with substantial governmental support. Public and private entities have joined forces to strengthen the testing and treatment capacity of the county health system, to limit the spreading of the virus by organizing lockdown facilities for highly suspicious cases, by supporting vulnerable groups, but also by communicating emergency measures, identifying needs and mobilizing for solutions with the help of the web platform #SolidariPentruSibiu (solidaripentrusibiu.cjsibiu.ro).

The first objective was to strengthen the capacity of Sibiu County Hospital, COVID hospital. In addition to the funds allocated from the public health system, a surplus of approximately 6.6 million Lei (approx. 1,3 milion  Euro) for crisis management came from additional allocations from the county budget, donations from companies and from individuals. These funds enable ongoing procurement of protective equipment for hospital staff, equipment and supplies necessary for testing, medicines, furniture and equipment to expand the capacity of intensive care units. Sibiu Community Foundation supported the procurement efforts of the hospital during the crisis: based on the needs agreed through a constant dialogue with the hospital management and the president of Sibiu County Council, the foundation ran procurements for the hospital using the funds raised through its own platform ocomunitate.ro.

The hospital’s management has taken steps since March to create separate circuits for COVID patients, and some wards have been moved to other buildings or even to other hospitals to protect the most vulnerable, such as cancer patients. In order to limit the infection of the medical staff, non-intersecting shifts have been established. With the support of private companies, new structures were set up for epidemiological screening, as well as 6 disinfection booths at the entrances to the main departments of the hospital, including the intensive care unit. The crisis of protective materials was also alleviated by the contribution of volunteers from the private sector who started the production of visors. Several thousand visors were donated to the Sibiu Emergency Clinical Hospital in the first week of April.

In support of the medical staff in the front line, with high risk of infection, Sibiu County Council, with the help of local entrepreneurs such as Bach Apartments and Square Residance, and later with government support, organized accommodation for staff of Sibiu County Hospital and of the Ambulance, so that during resting periods they can have the option to stay away from families, without exposing them to the risk of infection.

A RT-PCR testing device was donated to Sibiu County Hospital by CON-A, and with the support of county and central authorities, the hospital managed to purchase the testers and other consumables needed for testing, so that the first tests were performed in early April. In Sibiu County, the average per day is about 110 tests, with priority given to medical staff to avoid the spread of the virus among those in the front line. A second PCR device has been purchased from government funds amounting to 216,000 lei, with co-financing from Sibiu County Council and will be operational in the second half of May.

During this period marked by sudden changes and panic, we came to the aid of those facing anxiety and depression through a free telephone line managed by the Gh. Preda Psychiatric Hospital in Sibiu, subordinated to Sibiu County Council. The telephone line became operational in the first days of April with a daily operating schedule between 8.00 and 22.00, being served by 9 psychologists working in shifts, being able to take 2 calls at the same time. In this month, the service registered 250 calls from all over the country, including coronavirus patients hospitalized in Suceava, a county severely affected by the pandemic.

During this period, Sibiu County Council took on the task of managing the resources for the institutional lockdown locations in Sibiu County, established legally as a safety measure for people coming from countries with a high degree of risk, being applied so far in the case of 995 people. The working group set up for this purpose quickly identified spaces corresponding to the legal requirements, with a total of 762 places, so that there were no waiting times, the maximum total number of people in institutional lock-down at the same time was 558. In close collaboration with The Public Health Directorate, we took all safety measures and provided for the needs of food and personal hygiene products.

Another legal measure applied during this time was home isolation of suspicious or high risk cases. Among the people confined in isolation measures in Sibiu County, the most vulnerable needed support for daily food; these were elderly people without relatives, people with chronic diseases or with a poor financial condition. The Red Cross distributed 4,500 kg of perishable and non-perishable food to 1500 people in this situation in urban and rural communities, including a group of 45 Egyptian immigrants working in the field of construction in Sibiu who temporarily lost their jobs. The support came through the Food Bank campaign, which carried out its activity at the premises of Transylvania Hall Public Service, subordinated to the Sibiu County Council. The We Help You from Sibiu initiative mobilized thousands of volunteers who worked closely with Sibiu Red Cross and responded to a multitude of specific needs, from support with shopping, to laptop donations that allowed several children from disadvantaged groups to attend the online school, given that school has been suspended since 11 March. The ASTRA County Library, closed for the public during the state of emergency, also provided spaces for the work of volunteers.

Many of the institutions subordinated to Sibiu County Council had to adapt their activity maximizing the use of online communication. All cultural institutions have supported the social distancing campaign #StamAcasa (StayingHome) by accelerating the development of online services, a benefit that will be maintained even after the end of the state of emergency. For example, the ASTRA Library has benefited from the investment it has made in digitization in recent years and has been accessed within one month by 550,000 users through the online catalogue, the Digital Library and the Cloud Library platform accessible from the bjastrasibiu.ro website. The Sibiu State Philharmonic, as well as the Center for Preservation and Promotion of Traditional Culture Junii Sibiului played concerts on the Facebook page of the institution. Organizations in other fields have also adapted: the County Center for Resources and Assistance in Education offer stories with an educational role to parents and children, and Sala Transylvania contributes to maintaining an active tone of those at home by broadcasting on its YouTube channel videos that provide guidance for sports sessions, including yoga.

For increased transparency of the actions undertaken during this time, Sibiu County Council developed the platform #SolidariPentruSibiu on the institution’s website, where the needs of the medical and social units in the county were communicated widely. Also, donors and anyone interested could find out the use of donations to the hospital through a daily the report of procurements made by the Sibiu County Hospital. The collection of donations for the county hospital was recently taken over by #SolidariPentruSibiu platform, while the platform of the Sibiu Community Foundation ocomunitate.ro  focuses on building an Emergency Fund to respond to the COVID-19 crisis, helping other medical units in the county, but also social and community issues, so that public and private efforts complement each other  and cover as many needs as possible.

Given the exponential increase in prices for disinfectants, the first 500 liters of hand sanitizer were produced in April in Sibiu through the joint effort of five public and private institutions: Sibiu County Council, Sibiu Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (CCIA), „Lucian Blaga” University from Sibiu (ULBS), Sibiu Community Foundation and the National Red Cross Society – Sibiu Branch. The initiative for the production of disinfectant in Sibiu, based on the biocide recipe published by the World Health Organization, belonged to CCIA Sibiu, who purchased the supplies and raw materials needed for the first batches. The disinfectant was produced in the laboratory of the Faculty of Medicine, Pharmacy specialization, and is intended for social care centers, homes for the elderly and local public authorities. Sibiu County Council was the institution that brought local partners to the same table and organized the collaboration, under the umbrella of the „Solidarity for Sibiu” initiative.

Further good news for the people of Sibiu and for all those involved in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic in Sibiu County came at the end of April: Sibiu County Council obtained for the county hospital an equipment sponsorship from BESMAX PHARMA DISTRIBUTION SRL enabling hyper immune plasma therapy in Sibiu County. The hospital was given 12 months free use of a new plasmapheresis equipment (for collection of human plasma), produced by Fresenius Kaki Germany. The sponsor also donates 100 plasma collection kits compatible with the equipment.

A lesson learnt during this crisis is that no public or private institution can handle the complex and unforeseen needs of a pandemic on its own, and that it is in the best interest of citizens when institutions create strong links between the public and private sectors and succeed to transform rigid and fragmented systems.  The pandemic reminds us that it is people who make up the systems and not the other way around. We have the capacity to push the limits of existing systems to become more friendly and adapted to the world we live in.