Director of the National Public Health Agency Nicolae Furtună said he was against the remuneration of doctors with 16,000 lei for becoming infected with COVID-19 in hospitals. According to him, the authorities promoted the provision of these allowances, not yet the protection at the workplace.

“As I have epidemiological studies, I was against from the start even if I risked being criticized. We promoted not the protection, but 16,000 lei for the risk incurred at the workplace. Some of the persons had a brief respite at an unsuitable moment and become infected. I was against from the very beginning as we didn’t intensely promote the protection from the virus,” Nicolae Furtună stated in the program “Emphasis on today” on TVR Moldova channel.

The functionary noted he will not comment on the Government’s decision to cancel the allowance of 16,000 lei, but considers that those in charge could identify other instruments for remunerating the doctors.

Recently, the Government abrogated the legislative provision that enabled to provide a one-off allowance of 16,000 lei to healthcare workers who became infected with the novel coronavirus at the workplace.