The COVID-19 pandemic in Moldova is part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The virus was confirmed to have reached the Republic of Moldova on 7 March 2020, when a Moldovan woman that returned from Italy was tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
As the number of infected people started to rise during the next days, on 17 March 2020 the Parliament declared the state of emergency for the entire territory of the Republic of Moldova for a period of 60 days (17 March – 15 May 2020). On 9 June 2020 the total number of confirmed cases surpassed 10,000. On 1 September 2020, the number of deaths surpassed 1,000. As of 23 September 2020, there have been registered 48,232 confirmed cases in the country, out of which 36,071 patients recovered and 1,244 died.
24 January 2020: the Ministry of Health, Labour and Social Protection issued the first press-release on the prevention and control measures related to the infection with the new type of Coronavirus (2019-nCoV). In the press-release, it was stated that the epidemiological situation at national level regarding the infection with 2019-nCoV is daily monitored by the National Agency for Public Health, and if there are suspect or detected cases of 2019-nCoV, specialized anti-epidemic teams are ready to intervene.
25 February 2020: the Republic of Moldova has put into action some anti-coronavirus measures.The Minister of Health, Labour and Social Protection, Mrs. Viorica Dumbrăveanu, convened in a meeting the representatives of the public medical-sanitary institutions, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the General Inspectorate of Border Police and the National Center for Pre-hospital Emergency Medical Assistance. During the meeting was examined the activity of the National Agency for Public Health, in itsquality of International HealthRegulations (IHR) National Focal Point, regarding the control and prevention at national level of the infection with the new type of Coronavirus and the future measures to be taken.
The first coronavirus case in the Republic of Moldova was announced on 7 March 2020. The infected person is a 48-year-old woman who had returned to Moldova from Italy with the flight Milano-Chisinau. She had been taken to hospital immediately from the plane, being in a serious condition: bilateral bronchopneumonia, acute respiratory failure, fever, cough, general weakness. She suffers from a few chronicle illnesses: diabetes, overweight and hypertension. According to the Ministry of Health, Labour and Social Protection of Moldova, she was diagnosed with bilateral bronchopneumonia, fever and cough on 4 March in Italy. She was prescribed antibiotic treatment at home and put in home quarantine pending confirmation of a new type of coronavirus infection, but she decided to return to Moldova.
15 May 2020: 1344 tests were performed during this day (1117 primary tests and 227 repeated tests). As a result, 192 new cases were registered and thus, the total number of infected persons since 7 March 2020 reached 5745. Of the total number of the new registered cases, 18 were employees of medical institutions: doctors – 5, nurses – 8, support staff – 5. On the same day, 52 persons recovered (the total number of recoveries reached 2280) and 8 persons died (the total number of deaths reached 202). The state of emergency in public health is declared for the entire territory of the Republic of Moldova for the period 16 May – 30 June 2020, with the possibility to extend this period depending on the evolution of the epidemiological situation.
The Ministry of Health, Labour and Social Protection and the National Agency for Public Health are designated as the responsible public authorities to manage the public health emergency. The decisions of the Extraordinary National Commission of Public Health are mandatory for the authorities of the central and local public administration, for the legal and natural persons, regardless of the field of activity and the legal organizational form. Non-compliance with the provisions/measures established by the National Commission of Public Health is a danger for the public health and will serve as a basis for the prosecution of administrative offenses or criminal offense.
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