Coronavirus Chronicle in Moldova: Is the Country Prepared for a New "Delta" Wave?

Marina DRAGALIN

For several weeks, the globe has been witnessing the incidence and mortality rate growth from COVID-19. Experts talk about the third wave of coronavirus infection. According to forecasts, it will reach Moldova at the end of summer. Is the country ready to take the "delta" hit?

The World Health Organization reports that the world is now experiencing the coronavirus exacerbation. Over the past few weeks, an increase in morbidity and mortality from COVID-19 has been recorded. In total, almost 190 million cases of the disease were recorded, more than 4 million people died. The World Health Organization makes a world-wide appeal to prepare for the next wave of the pandemic. According to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, "we are now in the early stages of the third wave." The current deterioration of the epidemiological situation is due to the large-scale and rapid spread of the delta strain. Experts are particularly concerned about the fact that mortality rates from COVID-19 increased for the first time after a decline that lasted for 10 weeks. "The delta variant is one of the main drivers of the current growth in transmission, fueled by increased social contacts and mobility, as well as inconsistent application of proven health and social measures," Ghebreyesus emphasizes. Delta has already been recorded in 111 countries and will soon become the dominant strain in the world. Epidemiologists note the high contagiousness of the "delta" strain: if the British type had the indicator of 1 to 2, now the number of infected by one person can reach 12-19. Delta is 40-60% more transmissible than alpha and may be associated with a higher risk of hospitalization. According to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control, in the European Union, the delta strain will account for about 90% of infections by the end of summer. In France, for example, the delta share has already exceeded 50% of all cases. "This makes it important for countries to accelerate vaccination programs, including the delivery of second doses where recommended," the experts say. In this context, the WHO Emergency Committee recommended that countries vaccinate at least 10% of the population against coronavirus by September of this year. Moldova is also concerned about the possible presence of new strains, in particular, "delta" and "lambda". Health officials say both strains cannot be detected in local laboratories and samples are sent for analysis abroad. "These new options are a cause for concern, since we have not yet reached the necessary level of vaccination to disrupt the epidemiological chain," the Health Ministry representatives said. According to the head of the Epidemiology Department of the Medical University, Angela Paraschiv, the "delta" strain is brought to Moldova by citizens from Russia who have been confirmed coronavirus. "We are already registering cases of import from Russia. People who come from Russia and are confirmed having a virus bring the "delta" strain to the country, because there are already more than 88% of those infected with the "delta". The risk that we already have this strain is huge. Hence, we are concerned for our citizens who have not been vaccinated," Paraschiv emphasizes. Over the past week, the number of COVID-19 cases in the republic has increased by 22% compared to the previous one. The number of new cases exceeds 400 every week. At the moment, about 180 people have been hospitalized with the new coronavirus, of which 40% are in serious and extremely serious condition. In total, coronavirus was confirmed in almost 258 thousand citizens in Moldova, 6219 of them died. Experts expect that the new wave will reach Moldova towards the end of August - early September. The number of infected will rise due to the proliferation of variants of both "delta" and the more contagious "lambda". The risk of infection with new strains increases due to the vacation period: citizens travel a lot, and many new cases are imported. Unfortunately, the country is not yet ready for a new wave. Vaccination remains the most effective way to prevent disease and reduce severe and fatal cases. And the current level of vaccination in Moldova is insufficient to interrupt the chain of the virus transmission. Only 14.5% of the population was immunized with the first dose and 9.16% with both doses of COVID-19 serum. About 10,000 people are vaccinated per day. Obviously, the vaccination process should be accelerated, before summer holidays and migration bring down the hardly stabilized epidemiological situation in the country.