Bathing in lakes in Chisinau is forbidden despite heat

The Chisinau residents try to escape from the suffocating heat bathing in the lakes of the capital. Even if most of them know that the water is infected, they ignore the warnings of the specialists and expose themselves to the risk of getting infected with cholera. The people blame the authorities, saying that instead of taking measures to clean the ponds, they conduct inefficient informative campaigns and make shallow statements. According to the chief sanitary inspector of Chisinau Iurie Panzaru, the Municipal Center of Preventive Medicine is not empowered to impose fines on the persons that do not comply with the bans on swimming. “People should be more cautious about their health. Informative posters with recommendations no to bath or fish have been installed on the beaches of the lakes,” the cited source said. Iurie Panzaru specified that the quality of the water in the lakes located in Chisinau and its suburbs has worsened compared with last year. The cholera vibrio was discovered in all the ponds as well as in the Nistru River near the Vadul lui Voda beach. The vibrio can cause acute diarrheic diseases and even cholera if there are favourable conditions. “The people and authorities should be concerned about the possibility of getting sick through the cholera vibrio,” the chief sanitary inspector said. The Emergency Service said that about 200 cases of acute diarrheic diseases are reported in the capital each week. In cases of infection, young children are especially vulnerable. According to the rescue stations of the Association for Green Spaces, eight people drowned in the Nistru and in the Chisinau lakes this year. Three cases of these happened in July.