There are no national studies showing that the restriction with isolation imposed of persons older than 63 contributed to reducing the number of persons infected with COVID-19 and of deaths from the virus, Ion Șalaru, vice director of the National Public Health Agency, said in the public debate
“Is isolation measure imposed on persons older than 63 discriminatory or not?” that was organized by HelpAge International Moldova.
The functionary said he does not consider the restriction imposed on persons older than 63 discriminatory. The decision to impose this restriction was taken by the National Extraordinary Public Health Commission and any suggestion that refers to it can be submitted to this commission for being examined, together with the relevant arguments, including about the situation in other countries. “I would like a number of restrictions to be lifted, if the epidemiological situation permits, not only the restriction applying to the persons older than 63. But the situation is now different,” stated Ion Șalaru.
According to him, as long as new records as regards the number of infections are daily set at the national and world levels, it’s hard to say how long these restrictions will last. Persons of other ages also contract the novel coronavirus, including young persons who can develop complications, but these are rather individual cases. Statistics show that most of the cases are among persons of the 50-59 and 60-69 age brackets, with the mortality being the highest in the 60-69 age bracket.
“More can be done, but prevention is now the most important step. The young people are also sources of infection, but most of infections are yet in this age group. We should support the elderly people so that they overcome this situation,” stated Ion Șalaru, noting that the restriction with isolation imposed on persons older than 63 is used not only in Moldova, but also in other states, including the neighboring ones.
The public debate was held in the framework of the project “Integration of active aging into public policies in the Republic of Moldova” that is implemented by HelpAge International and the Platform for Active Aging, with support from East Europe Foundation, in partnership with the Partnership for Development Center, with the resources provided by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and Sweden.
