A group of 22 doctors and ten paramedics from the Republic of Moldova will be taking part in a humanitarian mission in Romania during October 18-31. The 32 health workers left Chisinau on Monday to offer aid to Romanian counterparts at a large modular hospital in Lețcani commune of Iași County in the fight against the novel coronavirus, IPN.
Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilița, in the ceremony to deploy the mission, said the COVID-19 pandemic is a global health crisis and one of the biggest challenges of the last decades. “Worldwide, we reached the tragic record high of 5 million deaths and humanity feels the heavy burden of the loss of human lives. The pandemic has devastating socioeconomic effects. Regrettably, Romania last Friday became a global leader by the number of deaths from COVID-19 by the size of population. Last Sunday it hit a record high in terms of the number of persons placed under intensive care. The hospitals cope with the number of patients with COVID-19 with difficulty and most of these are unvaccinated,” stated Natalia Gavrilița.
“Solidarity and responsibility are crucial in these moments, representing the principles on which the European Union is based,” stated the Moldovan Premier. She tanked Romania for constantly supporting the Republic of Moldova, including in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. “In May 2020, a team of 40 doctors and medical assistants from Romania worked in hospitals in the Republic of Moldova. Also in May 2020, Romania donated to the Republic of Moldova 20 trucks of medical equipment. In February 2021, the Republic of Moldova received from Romania lots of protective equipment for medical personnel to the value of about €2.3 million. Romania also donated about 500,000 AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccine doses to the Republic of Moldova,” stated Natalia Gavrilița.
Romania’s Ambassador in Chisinau Daniel Ioniță said that he was deeply touched by Moldova’s gesture. “Let me thank you in the name of the Romanian authorities and tell you that your gesture in these hard times for us will not be forgotten,” stated the diplomat, noting that Romania reached a difficult situation also because the Romanians relaxed too much and didn’t get a vaccine. “The vaccine is evidently the only solution by which we can together overcome this awful pandemic. You showed solidity and empathy with us, those from Romania, and this shows once again that blood is thicker than water.”
Daniel Ioniță wished the Moldovan doctors and paramedics to return healthy from the mission and assured that Romania was and will always be near the Republic of Moldova.
Minister of Health Ala Nemerenco told the journalists that the Moldovan doctors and paramedics who leave for Romania work in intensive care units of the Republican Hospital “Timofei Moșneaga”, the Emergency Medicine Institute and the Glodeni, Dondușeni and Șefan Vodă District Hospitals.
