Coronavirus Chronicle in Moldova: Is the Epidemic Declining?

Marina DRAGALIN At the end of the week, as part of quarantine easing in Moldova, the state of emergency is to end. Is this decision justified in terms of epidemiological factors? The new coronavirus infection has infected 4.1 million people worldwide and claimed more than 285 thousand lives. In Moldova, COVID-19 infection was officially confirmed for almost 5 thousand citizens and the number of deaths is approaching the second hundred. These are non-critical indicators in the framework of world statistics, even taking into account those 37.5 thousand citizens suspected of being infected. Moreover, the latest data suggested a decrease in the incidence dynamics. So, in the first week of May in Moldova revealed 27% fewer new cases than at the end of April. The infection rate – which is the number of people who were infected by one patient, also decreased. The indicator previously held in the region of 2.2, fell almost twice. It should be borne in mind that Moldova and other European countries are forecasting at least one more epidemic wave before the end of the year. The Moldovan health system has proved unprepared for such challenges, thus, the new coronavirus infection outbreaks repeating might cause it even greater damage. First of all, by crowding out specialists who would unlikely want being regularly at risk with no access to protective equipment and decent payment. Moldovan’s anti-records parade on coronavirus incidence among medical workers does not make the situation easier. A quarter of new cases continue to occur within medical personnel. Hospitals continue to be a source of infection. New infection foci were found in Chisinau, Ceadar-Lunga, Basarabeasca and Sculeni hospitals. Previously identified cases continue to grow. So, in the accommodation centers for people with mental disorders in Cocieri and Branzeni already confirmed 204 cases of coronavirus among patients and staff. Recall that the first cases were recorded in April, after of one of the guests in the district hospital got infected. The way the situation is to unfold after the end of the state of emergency largely depends on the population behavior. So far, unfortunately, our citizens are not far-sighted. An early simple relief as the permission to walk in the parks was perceived as the call for mass gatherings, despite the still valid ban on gathering more than three. It’s enough mentioning the quarantine of the Sculeni Health Center case as an example. It all started when a woman from the Falesti region did not comply with the authorities' recommendations and came to visit relatives in the village of Sculeni on Easter. “Currently, five people have confirmed the positive result of infection with coronavirus. We suspect that the virus was delivered by an infected woman from Falest. Several sisters met and celebrated Easter together. The woman from Falest on May 2 received a test result for COVID-19, which was positive. All other women are infected, ” Vasile Casean, the Sculeni village mayor informed. Against this background, government explanations lifting the state of emergency does not give carte blanche for non-compliance with epidemiological standards seem timely. “I want us all to understand that lifting the state of emergency does not mean lifting the sanitary and epidemiological restrictions imposed either by the Commission for Emergency Situations decision and especially the Extraordinary National Commission for Public Health decision,” Prime Minister Ion Chicu said. Minister of Health Labor and Social Protection, Viorica Dumbraveanu also made a warning statement. She noted that the emergency completion does not mean a complete relaxation from quarantine prohibitions and a return to the normal rhythm of life, so a number of restrictive measures is to be extended, some of them by the end of the year. Do not forget that migrant workers continue returning to Moldova and the last few cases of infection are imported ones. With the cancellation of the emergency, it is planned to resume regular flights and this can launch a new infection round. Probably, Moldova should be guided in this matter by the European Union. In recent days, EU countries have massively relaxed quarantine conditions but the European Commission recommended that internal borders of the Schengen zone be kept closed until mid-June. In addition, the European Commission called on "to continue maintaining restrictions on the external borders of the community in order to minimize the risks of the virus spread." Whether countries are listening to these recommendations is a big question. Due to quarantine measures in many European countries, farmers face a catastrophic shortage in seasonal labor. Particularly acute need for temporary workers is being felt in Spain, Italy, France, Germany and Poland. In order to prevent food shortages, some governments call on farms for people who have lost their jobs in other sectors and even organize charters for workers from other countries of the Union such as Romania. This may be a kind of positive signal for the Moldovan authorities who are facing an acute problem to return tens of thousands of labor migrants. The sooner they can be sent back to Europe, the greater the chance for the government to mitigate the inevitable socio-economic consequences of their return to their homeland during pandemic. It is generally obvious that there is no need to talk about some steady decline in the epidemic yet - too many sources of potential infection are still active. However, the observed statistics allow us to expect the end of state of emergency with no sense of catastrophe impending.