The Orhei authorities’ decision that the students of the district’s schools will attend classes physically even if the district was placed on COVID-19 red alert is political in character and was taken without consulting health workers who are already overloaded due to the high number of COVID-19 cases, Ecaterina Stahi, doctor habilitate of medical science, stated in a news conference.

According to her, a number of children from Orhei district diagnosed with COVID-19 are now receiving treatment at the Mother and Child Institute in Chisinau.

Pediatrician Ninel Revenco said the authorities in Orhei showed an irresponsible attitude to the children’s health. As a result, an upsurge in the number of cases of COVID-19 is expected in this district.

The local public authorities in Orhei should have complied with the decisions taken by the National Extraordinary Public Health Commission, which ordered to switch to online learning while under red alert.

Angela Paraschiv, head of the Epidemiology Discipline of “Nicolae Testemițanu” University’s Preventive Medicine Department, criticized the Orhei authorities’ decision to keep physical attendance. “Our goal was to prevent infections. Regrettably, there were these measures are not respected, there is intense transmission, as in Orhei district. If these measures had been implemented, the current infections, primarily among children, could have been prevented,” stated the epidemiologist.

The Ministry of Health announced that a significant rise in the number of new cases of COVID-19 has been witnessed in Orhei district the past two weeks. This way, 290 cases of COVID-19, 29 of which among children, were confirmed in Orhei district during three days alone, January 24-26.

The Orhei Public Health Commission decided that the students of Orhei district will attend schools physically.