Two men who were taken to the Infectious Diseases Hospital “Toma Ciorbă” last night said that they recently returned from Italy. They abused the medical personnel, demanding that they should be tested for COVID-19. After being taken samples, they said that they joked. The case was reported to the law enforcement agencies. The health authorities call on the population not to mislead the medical personnel that are on the alert already, IPN reports.

The hospital’s director Sergiu Vasilița said that this is an unordinary case. The two men were brought to the hospital in a state of inebriation at about 2am. After samples were taken from them for being tested for COVID-19, they said that it was a joke as they hadn’t been to Italy and asked to be allowed to leave.

Minister of Health, Labor and Social Protection Viorica Dumbrăveanu said that such cases hamper the activity of medical personnel that already work in an intense regime owing to the large number of people who ask for medical assistance. The persons who make such jokes concerning the presence of the coronavirus risk being held accountable, including criminally. The case at “Toma Ciorbă” Hospital was communicated to the police.

“I make a call to the mass media, politicians and experts: the coronavirus is not an infection that can generate particular jokes, criticism or an irresponsible attitude. The coronavirus is a pandemic. It is an exercise that mobilizes professional and financial resources. And I bank a lot on the responsibility and involvement of each of you,” stated the minister.

According to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control, 125,500 cases of infection with COVID-19 have been confirmed worldwide by March 12. The death toll rose to 4,617. Six cases of infection with COVID-19 have been confirmed in Moldova so far.