The director of Nursery No. 3 based in Briceni town, the warehouseman, cook, nurse and three educator assistants were penalized following the food poisoning suffered by over 30 children attending the school. In the July 14 meeting of the Government, acting Minister of Health Mircea Buga said the given employees were fined for the irregularities committed in their work, IPN reports.

Mircea Buga stated that the nursery’s cooking block is now under repair as it was in an unsatisfactory state and the kitchen was moved to several auxiliary rooms. Though the hygienic conditions at the nursery were met, it was established that the hen eggs were kept at another temperature than the indicated one. The markings on eggs showed a producer from Edinet, but the veterinary certificate belonged to a producer from Briceni.

“We will make effort to establish if our colleagues from the Briceni Public Health Center acted appropriately before this case happened, especially because a number of complains against some of these were received. I think a number of administrative measures will be taken against our colleagues,” stated Buga.

He also said that the nursery was closed on a temporary basis. Thirty children remain hospitalized, while another six receive treatment at home. According to the Ministry of Health, the first lab results showed the poisoning was caused by salmonella.