Moldovan PM provides clarifications on declaring of state of emergency

Chisinau, 18 March /MOLDPRES/ - Prime Minister Ion Chicu has provided a string of clarifications as to the declaring of the state of emergency, work and decisions of the National Extraordinary Public Health Commission:

„Dear Friends!

Given the declaring of the state of emergency in the country, I want to inform the following:

1. Moldova’s parliament has declared state of emergency in Moldova for a period of 60 days, i.e. till 15 May 2020.  The concerned action is regulated by the Law 212 from 2004. The Commission for Emergency Situations (CSE) is empowered with the right to undertake all legal measures in order to combat the danger. In this case – the spread of the COVID 19 virus. Depending on the evolution of the events, the term of validity of the state of emergency can be shortened. The Law 212 can be found here https://gov.md/ro/content/informatii-privind-coronavirus

2. The establishment of the state of emergency allows the authorities to quickly undertake the needed measures, but DOES NOT ENTAIL OTHER RESTRICTIONS OR ACTIONS than the ones established under the decisions of CSE. All CSE decisions will be made public and intensely publicized.    

3. At this stage, the decisions of the National Extraordinary Public Health Commission (CNESP) remain in force, just as they were approved and communicated to the society. There are no other restrictions till present. Any speculation in this respect is liable to calling to account. Any decision of the public authorities, including the local ones, which exceeds the limits set by the decisions of CNESP and CSE is illegal. The CNSEP decisions are placed on  https://gov.md/ro/content/informatii-privind-coronavirus

Among the most important decisions, there are:

The following activities are ceased till 1 April 2020:

- The commerce activity of the retail trade units, excepting the units for selling foodstuffs, pharmaceutical and oil products;    

- The work of the commercial markets of any profile;

- The activity of the centres for rehabilitation/recovery, including the spas and sanatoriums;  

- The work of the public nourishment units, in their arranged/authorized buildings and rooms, except for the activity of preparing and distribution of goods in catering regime.  

Also, the following activities are stopped:

- The air traffic (commercial flights) with all countries of the world.

- The international railway passenger transport.

- Access of foreign citizens to the territory of the country, excepting the persons with diplomatic accreditation, the ones with residence in Moldova and the people who accompany goods. The restriction is not applied to the foreign citizens who are already in Moldova.

- Moldova’s citizens have no restrictions to enter the country’s territory. At the same time, we call on all our citizens, who are abroad on this period, TO ABSTAIN FROM TRAVELS, as following the restrictions set by more countries of the world, you run the risk of remaining blocked at the terrestrial borders of these states.  

5. In these conditions, the work of all production enterprises IS NOT RESTRICTED, but will take place with the observance of the sanitary norms recommended by the authorities and, under the administration’s decision, can take place with ensuring the work of the employees at home, where possible. The commercial activity based on the delivery of goods online, the public and inter-urban transport, wholesale trade, activity of banks, public nourishment through the catering system (direct delivery to consumers), works of construction, including at the Chisinau-based water-purifying station, etc. are allowed. Certainly, everything by strictly observing the sanitary and epidemiological norms.    

6. Although a single case of contamination was registered in Moldova on 17 March, we have a record number of cases in the world. The overwhelming majority – in Europe. We reiterate that this week is critical for us to stop the epidemic wave. We maintain all restrictions established and if necessary, we will come up with additional measures. STAY AT HOPME!   

7. The vacation of pupils will be prolonged by one more week; yet, it is quite likely that other extensions will be afterwards. All employees from the public or private sector who can work at home are encouraged to do this. We ask the managers to provide to the employees this regime, as far as possible.  

8. If we find out a decrease in the number of cases registered till 20 March, we will consider possibility of revising some CNESP decisions. In particular, it is about the work of retail trade units.

9. The coronavirus epidemic will hit the world economy and, implicitly, the national one of Moldova. A negative impact will be on the economic agents and the public budget. The state, through fiscal and stimulating measures, will provide support to the economy. The crediting policies will be relaxed; we will postpone the deadline of payment of the tax on the income of legal entities (IVPJ) for the first half of 2020. The other taxes are to be reported and paid in the terms provided for by the legislation. At the same time, the term of reporting and the payment of IVPJ for the period 2019 will not be revised.        

10. We urge the country’s citizens to prove maximal responsibility and comply with the requirements set by the authorities. Any infringement of the legislation will be sanctioned.  

In the end, I want to once again thank the physicians, policemen, customs officers, diplomats and many other employees of the state for the huge work they carry out on this difficult period.

I wish good health to everybody!’’