State of emergency in public health extended

Chisinau, January 14 / MOLDPRES /- The Extraordinary National Commission for Public Health met yesterday, January 13, in a meeting to determine the presence of the new type of coronavirus strain Omicron in Moldova, the government's communication and protocol department has reported.

The Commission has decided to extend the state of emergency in public health until 15 March. Also, starting with January 17, the state border will return to the system through which, regardless of the country of origin, entry into the Republic of Moldova will be allowed based on one of the documents: vaccination certificate, PCR test or fast performed with 72 hours, respectively 48 hours before embarkation or entry into the country (depending on the means of transport used), confirmatory medical conclusion in the case of persons who have experienced COVID-19, between the 15th and 180th day (6 months) or a confirmation of the presence of anti-COVID-19 antibodies.

The CNESP decision comes amid a 77 percent increase in the number of cases of illness in the first week of 2022 compared to the previous week, which also led to the transition of Chisinau to the orange alert threshold.

At the same time, due to the high contagion of the Omicron strain, additional protection measures have been taken. Thus, starting with January 17, in the localities on the orange alert threshold, the service of the clients in the public alimentation units will be allowed only with the presentation of the COVID-19 certificate, within the limit of 75 percent of the capacity.

Private events (festive meals, corporate parties, weddings, baptisms) with 25 or more participants will still be allowed only with their presentation of the COVID-19 certificate, in the green and yellow alert thresholds.

In the orange and red alert thresholds, the rules on private events do not change: thus, in the orange threshold they are only allowed with the presentation by the participants of the COVID-19 certificate, and in the red alert threshold they remain prohibited. To prevent congestion, in the event of a red alert threshold, access to Chisinau International Airport will be allowed only to passengers.

During the discussions at the CNESP meeting, the possibility of extending the scope of use of the COVID-19 certificate in other fields of activity was also addressed, and this topic will be the subject of consultations between the Government and the business environment.

Decision No1 of January 13, 2022 can be downloaded here: https://gov.md/sites/default/files/document/attachments/hotararea_cnesp_nr.1_din_13.01.2022.pdf

Photo: Government