Even if the authorities imposed restrictions on the holding of religious ceremonies, parishioners went to church today. Over Prime Minister Ion Chicu’s announcement that the participation in religious activities will be banned for two weeks, secretary of the Metropolitan Church of Chisinau and all Moldova Vadim Cheibaș has told IPN that it is not yet known how this mechanism works and how the decision should be implemented. 

“We will have a meeting today and will try to clarify things. We are also confused. Services are held today as they weren’t banned,” stated Vadim Cheibaș.

On March 13, the authorities in Moldova issued a red alert over COVID-19 given the confirmed danger of a possible public health emergency. According to the action plan approved by the National Extraordinary Commission for Public Health, participation in religious gatherings for all the religious denominations existing in Moldova is banned until March 31. Prime Minister Ion Chicu in a news conference said a variant is to broadcast the services on the national TV channel.