Dodon: Moldova Has the Lowest Growth Rate of COVID-19 in Europe

Yesterday, March 18, President of Moldova Igor Dodon held a regular meeting of the Coronavirus Crisis Headquarters at the Department of Emergency Situations of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Republic of Moldova. “According to the Ministry of Health, another six people were found to have the COVID-19 virus. Of the 34 cases, 29 patients are in a satisfactory condition, the remaining five had a moderate severity or closer to a serious condition. We found that we have the lowest rates of increase in incidence in the region and Europe as a whole. That is, measures taken in time, even if some of them are too harsh, give corresponding results,” the message on the president’s facebook page reads. The head of state noted that all departments involved in the fight against COVID-19 proved full openness to the press, but despite this, a lot of fake news is spread, causing panic in the society. “We are in the process of developing penalties, including criminalizing fake news and fueling panic among the population. I already asked the responsible authorities to check the sources of these fakes and in particular to identify the coordinators of the websites that distribute fakes. And the punishment for them should be proportionate, in accordance with the law,” Dodon said. In addition, he stressed that measures are being prepared to support economic agents, the real sector of the economy in this crisis situation, including assistance to citizens sitting at home. At the same time, the president noted that some food products were unreasonably overpriced. “We know that there is no reason to raise prices, therefore I urge economic agents to stop this. Otherwise, we will be forced to set maximum prices for essential products and start punishing economic agents who allowed this,” the president said.