The rising number of children contracting Covid is worrying the authorities, says Dr. Ninel Revenco, head of the National Expert Committee on Immunization.

“Every 2 or 3 days, the number of hospitalized children can double. The health care system will simply collapse if we don’t follow the measures imposed by the pandemic”, Dr. Revenco told a conference hosted by the “Nicolae Testemițanu” Medical University.

In Moldova, vaccination among adolescents began last November, as compared to that of adults that started in March. In January only about 2% of teens have been jabbed. Overall, the vaccination rate in the country is 29%, as Chisinau leads with 42% and the Gagauz autonomy being the furthest behind.

“Unfortunately, children can also die from COVID-19. Not as much as adults, but still, the long-term effects of COVID-19 on a child’s health are unknown. One in eight children may display symptoms of the so-called long Covid, which may last for more than four weeks, manifesting as insomnia, impaired concentration, fatigue, and breathing problems. It is possible that these children will have problems over time, years and years on, as in the case of other infections, such as measles, hepatitis or mumps,” said Ninel Revenco.

Last week Moldova saw a 77% jump in Covid cases, with an incidence of 99 cases per 100,000 population. Some areas have decreed ‘code orange’ alerts, the second to highest in severity, including Chisinau municipality and the neighboring district of Ialoveni, as well as Soroca district in the north and Taraclia in the south.