The Ministry of the Interior cannot apply coercion endlessly to ensure observance of the anti-Covid measures in public, says Health Minister Viorica Dumbrăveanu, adding that tougher measures could be reactivated in certain circumstances.

“Some of the stringent restrictions could return if we see that the epidemiolgical situation turns unfavorable. There are a number of rules in place. We have alert codes that are defined in the Covid Response Plan: code amber, code orange and code red. Each code has its triggers for instituting lockdown measures,” minister Dumbrăveanu said during a TVR Moldova broadcast.

However, added Viorica Dumbrăveanu, for an administrative unit like Chișinău municipality instituting a full lockdown would be “practically impossible.”

“What does the lockdown imposed on certain towns involve? It involves limiting access to the given town. It’s not only about limiting the movement of the residents, but also access to the administrative unit. As long as we don’t have specialty hospitals outside of the capital city, and I don’t only mean Covid – in Chișinău we also have traumatology, we have planned surgery – locking Chișinău down completely would be practically impossible.”

Viorica Dumbrăveanu went on to add that tougher measures won’t have any effect as long as the general population ignores recommendations of public health experts.