Coronavirus Chronicle in Moldova: Will the Lockdown Get Back?

Marina DRAGALIN The second wave of COVID-19 that experts have predicted, is now taking the world over. The European region, that is where the virus is being particularly active and forces authorities of many countries taking tough and unpopular measures. Will Moldova get through this as well? The second wave of the "crown" that experts predicted in the spring is striking the world. Last week, a record 2.8 million new cases were identified. It is worth noting that almost half of them - 1.3 million - were detected in Europe, where the incidence rate actually increased by a third. The five European coronavirus leaders became France, Great Britain, Russia, Italy and Belgium. The United States, Brazil and Argentina actually, marked as well out in the world. Yesterday, another world anti-record was set - almost 505 thousand people tested COVID-19 positive per day. Thus, to date, about 45 million people have officially contracted the coronavirus; out of them 1.18 million have died. At the same time, experts believe that quite more people have been infected with the coronavirus, however, due to a mild or asymptomatic form of the disease, those infected did not go to doctors and accordingly were not taken into account by the healthcare system. World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Ghebreyesus urges the world community not to give up in the fight against the pandemic. “Working from home, children being schooled remotely, not being able to celebrate milestones with friends and family, or not being there to mourn loved ones – it is tough and fatigue is real. But we cannot give up,” the head of WHO underlines. According to him, "there aren’t magic solutions" to this outbreak of coronavirus. The best thing to do is to take precautions to reduce the risk of infection. “No one wants more so-called lockdowns due to COVID-19. But if we want to avoid them, we all have to play our part to prevent the spread of infection,” Gebreyesus said. The head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, also called for measures to combat the second wave of coronavirus, since almost all EU countries have now entered the "red zone" in terms of number of infections. “The European Union is rapidly sinking into the second wave of pandemic, and the spread of the disease is of concern. Community countries must take new measures to increase the level of information exchange. All citizens are required to wear masks, avoid crowds, close contacts and closed premises,” the official said. One after another, European countries follow these advices and tighten quarantine measures. The Czech Republic, which is setting daily records, imposed a curfew from 9:00 pm to 5:00 am and closed schools, catering, gyms and most shops. Spain, which is on the brink of disaster due to a general strike of medical personnel, has also imposed a curfew and restricted entry and exit in some regions. Lockdown has returned to Italy as well: entertainment and sports facilities are closed, there is a curfew since midnight but restaurants and cafes are open until 18:00. It was decided to calm down the epidemiological situation that has gone out of control in France by means of re-introducing a self-isolation regime beginning with Friday until December 1. Just as in spring, the French will only be able to leave their homes to go to work, see a doctor or a relative who needs help, go shopping and get some air close to home. Germany is preparing for the healthcare system collapse that is to reach its limits in a few weeks if the current dynamics of the disease keeps preserving. “Today we have twice as many new infections as a week ago. Likewise, with other important indicators. For example, the number of patients in intensive care has doubled over the past 10 days,” Chancellor Angela Merkel informed. Unsurprisingly, German authorities announced new restrictions as well; they will take effect Monday and last until at least December. Particularly, entertainment establishments, beauty salons and catering will be closed, shops will continue to work with restrictions. Against the background of tough European Coronacrisis, the situation in Moldova does not seem so critical. At the same time, more than 73 thousand residents have tested positive for the coronavirus in Moldova; out of them 1729 have died. And although after a sharp jump in the first half of October, the incidence decreased and has been showing moderate indicators for two weeks, the increase in new cases is still quite significant. After the planned massive Sunday vote, experts predict a new incidence jump, even despite measures taken to protect voters. In this case, the existent health care system’s deterioration and medical personnel’s fatigue might play a decisive role in crisis aggravation. There’s a question arising: will the Moldovan authorities be ready to take tough and unpopular measures aimed at containing the disease after the presidential elections? At the same time, the situation in Europe, where, despite the obvious justification of restrictive measures (the population reacts with massive protests to their introduction) may complicate the answer to this question for the official Chisinau, becoming one more powerful argument in favor of maintaining the current sanitary measures to counter COVID-19.