Acting Prime Minister Aureliu Ciocoi said a lockdown could be soon ordered in Moldova. The large number of infections with SARS-COV-2 makes the authorities to consider declaring again a state of emergency in Moldova. The preliminary data transmitted by German labs show the British strain of COVID-19, which is more aggressive and contagious, reached Moldova, IPN reports.
According to Aureliu Ciocoi, the very large number of persons diagnosed daily with COVID-19 placed the authorities on the alert and the Government could ask Parliament to declare a state of emergency.
“The British strain is very contagious and the complications it causes are much more serious than in the case of the simple strain, the period of recovery being longer. The number of serious and very serious cases has risen sharply. We are close to announcing a lockdown. But a lockdown requires the involvement not only of the police force, but also of the National Army and this can be ensured by declaring a state of emergency through Parliament. The forces of all the state institutions should be combined,” the official stated in the talk show “Secrets of the Power” on Jurnal TV channel.
He noted the declaring of a new state of emergency similar to that of last March would bring Moldova’s economy and the state budget’s capacity to cope with the costs under great stain.
“From economic viewpoint, a lockdown for the Republic of Moldova is very risky. The paralysis of the national economy during several months would not bring revenues into the budget. However, it was surprising for me to see that the state budget revenues were higher than expected during the first two months,” stated Aureliu Ciocoi.
He noted that Moldova does not have labs for detecting the presence of the new British strain, but the serious forms of COVID-19 and the contagiousness of the infection show the new strain reached the Republic of Moldova.
“Samples from our patients were sent to several laboratories in Germany. The preliminary response confirms the presence of the British strain. We are waiting for an official response,” said Aureliu Ciocoi.
On March 3, there were reported 1,550 new cases of COVID-19 and 24 associated deaths in Moldova.
