Decision No 51 of Moldova's National Extraordinary Public Health Commission from 19 March 2021

Chisinau, 20 March /MOLDPRES/ - Under the Article 58 from the Law No 10/2009 on the state supervision of the public health sector (Official Journal, 2009, No 67, Article 183), with the subsequent amendments, as a result of the analysis of the evolution of the epidemiological situation nationally and internationally, the National Extraordinary Public Health Commission (CNESP) finds out that the epidemiological situation is worsening quickly. 

As many as 207, 012 cases of COVID-19 were registered on 16 March 2021, of which 21,847 – active cases; in the last 14 days, the incidence has been 547 cases per 100,000 residents; the total incidence was 5,886 cases per 100,000 people; the death rate in the last 14 days was 11 deaths per 100,000 people, the overall death rate – 125 deaths per 100,000 people; the fatality rate in the last 14 days was 2 deaths per 100 cases; the total fatality rate – 2.1 deaths per 100 cases. The serious forms account for 6.6 per cent, the medium serious forms – 10.3 per cent and the light and asymptomatic forms – 83.2 per cent.     

The growth of the incidence, increase in the rate of infectiousness, the increase in the number of areas classified in red code of alert, growth in the number of serous forms of the disease, increase in the number of deaths, enhancement of the rate of positivity of the tests for the SARS-CoV-2, increase in the number of asymptomatic forms, spread in communities, all these things show tendencies of worsening of the epidemic process of the infection with COVID-19 in Moldova.   

Proceeding from the aforementioned facts, the National Extraordinary Public Health Commission  

DECIDES:

1. The state of emergency in the public health sector is declared all over Moldova for the period 19 March – 18 April 2021 inclusively.

2. The Health, Labour and Social Protection Ministry (MSMPS) and the National Public Health Agency (ANSP) are nominated as public authorities in charge of the management of the public health emergency. The mechanism of management of the epidemiological situation is established in accordance with the plan on preparation and response to the infection with the new-type coronavirus (COVID-19) – Version 2, approved under the Decision No 30 of the National Extraordinary Public Health Commission from 11 September 2020.    

3. The territorial extraordinary public health commissions will ensure the implementation, at the level of the administrative area, where the Red Code of alert is established, of the following measures of prevention of the COVID-19 infection:  

3.1. Restricting of the residents’ movement and isolation at home.

3.2. Banning of mass rallies, including the cultural, scientific, artistic, sports and entertainment activities.

3.3. Providing of only essential (vital) services.

3.4. Prohibition of non-essential visits to public interest units (bank, post office, etc.)

3.5. Adjusting of the medical assistance services and providing of only the essential ones.

3.6. Establishment of the distance education, in line with the provisions of the subsection 11.3.  

4. The territorial extraordinary public health commissions will weekly present to CNESP the actions undertaken to implement the measures seen in the subsections 3.1-3.6. 

5. General restrictive measures are established for private people, applicable nationally on the period of emergency state in the public health sector: 

5.1. The presence of groups bigger than 3 persons, except for the family members, is banned in public places (woods, parks, alleys, beaches, etc.). 

5.2. The presence of people older than 63 years outside their homes and in public spaces without urgent need is banned, except for:

(i) movement on business purposes, when distance work cannot be carried out, (II) movement for supply with food products, (III) movement for medical assistance, which cannot be delayed, (IV) movement on other justified purposes and which cannot be delayed. 

5.3. The presence of children on playgrounds in the absence of parents/legal tutors is banned. The people present on the playground will observe the public health measures. 

5.4. The presence of people in leisure zones is prohibited in groups bigger than 3 persons, excepting the members of a family.  

6. The following compulsory measures of prevention and control of the COVID-19 infection are established, applicable nationally on the period of the emergency state in the public health sector:

6.1. Compulsory wearing of protection masks in all common use open and close public spaces, including the public transport. The mask must cover both the mouth and the nose.   

6.2. The observance of the physical distance between persons of at least 1 metre, except for the cases when, through special provisions, the observance of another distance between people is established or in the case of the rules of people’s carriage in public transport.  

6.3. Observance of the hands’ hygiene rules. 

6.4. Observance of the respiratory hygiene.

6.5. Observance, on their own responsibility, of the self-isolation regime by the people for which the concerned regime is set. 

6.6. Observance by the private people, who are in the areas or institutions with quarantine regime, of the measures imposed by the authorities.   

6.7. Personal monitoring of the health condition by each private person. Early appeal to the family physician or medical assistance institutions at the appearance of the first symptoms specific to COVID-19.  

7. Bans and restrictions are established for certain kinds of activity:

7.1. CNESP bans the work of the night clubs as regards the activity of the discotheques included in the code CAEM 56.30 and the dance rings included in the CAEM 93.29, no matter the firm name of the commercial unit (for instance, disco-pub, night club, karaoke, discotheque, club, etc.). 

7.2. Banning of the activity of servicing in public nourishment units (restaurants, pubs, canteens, coffee houses), as well as in the public nourishment units placed in the points of selling oil products, airports, international ports and in the international border crossing points, in the time interval 20:00-7:00, except for the sale of food products in packages and with delivery, through the public nourishment units of any type, with the exclusion of possibilities of consuming these products at the headquarters/on the territory of the unit. 

7.3. Banning the organization of festive events, weddings, anniversaries, as well as other events in public nourishment units. 

7.4. Prohibiting the organization and holding, with physical presence of people, of scientific conferences and mass professional meetings, Olympiads, sports competitions. 

7.5. Banning the organization and carrying out of specialized exhibitions, festivals, agricultural fairs, commercial events. 

7.6. Banning the holding of activities at the headquarters of theatres, movie theatres, concert halls, community centres with the presence of audience.  

7.7. The regime of work of agro-food and non-food markets is established in the time interval 7:00-15:00.

7.8. The commercial centres and the specialized retail trade units for the sale of non-food goods will work till 18:00.

8. CNESP establishes the measures of prevention and control of the COVID-19 infection for all kinds of activity:  

8.1. The central and local public administration authorities, all legal entities of public law and private law, registered in Moldova, no matter the type of property and legal form organization, will ensure, in the spaces managed, closed (of common use) and open (which imply the frequent interaction of persons) the strict observance of the following measures:  

8.1.1. The observance of the social distance between people of at least 1 metre, except for the cases when, through special provisions, the observance of another distance between people is established or in case of rules of carriage of people in public transport.  

8.1.2. Observance of the hands’ hygiene rules. 

8.1.3. Observance of the respiratory hygiene.  

8.1.4. Observance, on their own responsibility, of the self-isolation regime by the people for which the concerned regime is set. 

8.1.5. Observance by the private people, who are in the areas or institutions with quarantine regime, of the measures imposed by the authorities.

8.1.6. Compulsory wearing of protection masks in all areas managed, including the public transport. The mask must cover both the mouth and nose. 

8.1.7. Permanent monitoring of the number of visitors and non-allowing of formation of agglomerations.

8.2. The leaders of the public and private entities will ensure:

8.2.1. Special working regime, through attraction with physical presence to work of only the strictly needed staff, to ensure the functionality of the institution, as well as of the personnel whose work needs the compulsory presence at the work.  

8.2.2. Distance work will be ensured for the staff, whose activity does not need compulsory presence at the working place.

8.2.3. The ministries, State Chancellery, other central administrative authorities subordinated to the government and organizational structures within their spheres of competence will organize the carrying out of the activity in the special working regime, as of 7:30 till 16:00 and the dinner break starting from 12:00 till 12:30.  

9. CNESP sets the measures of prevention and control of the COVID-19 infection specific for certain kinds of activity, according to the annex to the present decision.

10. The following measures of prevention and control of the COVID-19 are established at the crossing of the state border to enter Moldova as of 23 March 2021: 

10.1. CNESP establishes, for the period of the emergency state in the public health sector, the compulsory presentation of the negative PCR COVID-19 test at the crossing of the state border to enter Moldova, carried out not earlier than by 72 hours before the embarkation (for people traveling by public transport means) or the entrance in Moldova (for those who travel by their personal transport means). The confirmation must be presented in one of the following languages: Romanian, English, French or Russian. 

10.2. The people who cross the state border to enter Moldova and have no the negative result of the PCR COVID-19 test, provided for in the point 10.1, will compulsorily fill in the epidemiological card and will sign also a declaration on one’s own responsibility to observe the self-isolation regime of 14 days in definite places. In the case of minors up to 14 years of age, the epidemiological card and the declaration on one’s own responsibility are filled in and signed by the legal representative or the accompanying person.    

10.3. The exceptions from the provisions of the sub-points 10.1 and 10.2 are established for the following categories of people, if they have no clinical symptoms of respiratory infection or fever:

10.3.1. children of 5 years of age or smaller; 

10.3.2. the drivers and the staff serving the goods’ transport road vehicles and the passenger transport road vehicles against payment, which have more than nine places on chairs, including the place of the driver, the crews and the staff serving the airships/ships and the brigades and staff serving the trains: 

10.3.3. people who travel on health or humanitarian grounds, including the accompanying person, as case may be (with the compulsory presentation of confirmative documents); 

10.3.4. pupils/students who daily go to study at education units/institutions on the territory of neighbour countries or on the territory of Moldova, with the presentation of confirmative acts; 

10.3.5. the cross-border employees entering Moldova from Romania or Ukraine, as well as those from Moldova who are employees of economic agents from the aforementioned countries, who prove contractual relations with the concerned economic agents;    

10.3.6. the owners of the diplomatic, business, official and special passports and other similar to them, we well as the holders of travel documents of the type LaissezPasser, issued by the United Nations Organizations, including the members of the families of the staff of the diplomatic and consular missions and the international organizations/missions accredited in Moldova and/or the staff involved in the providing of the humanitarian assistance; 

10.3.7. people in transit, with itinerary of the transiting established by the General Inspectorate of the Border Police; 

10.3.8. People holding confirmative act of administration of the anti-COVID-19 vaccine, presented in the one of the following languages: Romanian, English or Russian.  

10.4. People who are in the self-isolation/quarantine regime can interrupt this regime after the tenth day, if they do the PCR COVID-19 test and its result is negative.

11. The organization of the education process in the education institutions is instructed by the territorial extraordinary public health commissions from the administrative and territorial units (UAT) of the first level, UAT of the second level: Chisinau and Balti municipalities and UAT of the autonomous Gagauz territorial unit, depending on the degree of alert ascribed to the settlement, based on the index of the incidence per 100,000 residents, according to the following scenarios: 

11.1. For the settlements where the Green Code and Yellow Code is recorded (incidence lower than 49 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents in the last 14 days) – daily participation of pre-school children, pupils and students with the physical presence in education institutions, with the strict observance of the public health norms as to the prevention and spread of COVID-19.

11.2. As for the settlements where the Orange Code degree of alert is registered (incidence comprised between 50 and 100 cases of Covid-19 cases per 100,000 residents in the last 14 days):

(i) Daily participation with physical presence in the education institutions of pre-school children, pupils of the elementary school, pupils from the graduate forms (9th, 12th, 13th of the evening school), as well as of the pupils from vocational schools involved in the probations and in graduate groups, students from graduate years of the higher education in practical classes, with the strict observance of the public health norms as to the prevention and spread of  Covid-19;     

(ii) Daily participation of the pupils and students from other forms and education years in the distance education. 

11.3. As for the settlements for which the Red Code of alert was established (incidence higher than 100 COVID-19 cases per 100,000 residents in the last 14 days), the establishment of the distance education is recommended.    

Depending on the epidemiological situation at the institution, the education process can be organized as follows: 

(i) Daily participation of the pre-school children and elementary school pupils in the education institutions with physical presence.

(ii) Daily participation with physical presence in the education institutions of a contingent of 50 per cent of all the number of pupils of the graduate forms (9th, 12th, 13th of the evening school), as well as of the pupils from the vocational education involved in probations and in the graduate groups and of the students from graduate years from the higher education, with the strict observance of the public health norms as to the prevention and spread of COVID-19; 

(iii) Daily participation of the pupils and students from other forms and education years in the distance education.

12. CNESP establishes, on the period of emergency state in the public health sector, the mobilization of needed forces and recourses to carry out the measures of response to the public health emergency, carrying out of controls, including unforeseen ones, to the units which work is restricted, as well as to the units for the work of which the present decision established specific measures of prevention and control of the COVID-19 infection.      

12.1. In the sense of the present decision, the supervision and verification of the observance of the measures envisaged will be carried out as follows:

(the table with the competent institutions can be accessed here: https://gov.md/sites/default/files/hotarare_cnesp_nr.51_din_19.03.2021.pdf)

12.2. The institutions which were given powers according to the competences established at the point 12.1 of the decision will elaborate weekly plans for the carrying out of the needed tasks, with the presentation of informative notes to CNESP as to the actions undertaken and the circumstances found out.   

12.3. The leadership of the bodies empowered with duties of control in the supervision and observance of the restrictive measures, of the compulsory measures and the measures of prevention and control of the COVID-19, stipulated in the point 12.1 of the decision, will organize the continuous carrying out of the institution’s work, including outside the hours of the working schedule, as well as on Saturdays and Sundays.      

13. The following CNESP decisions are abrogated:  No 35-40, No 42-43, No 45-50.

14. Depending on the evolution and tendency of the epidemiological situation, the measures will be revised with a periodicity of 14 days (maximal incubation period).   

15. The decisions of the National Extraordinary Public Health Commission are executory for the central and local public administration authorities, for private people and legal entities, no matter the activity sector and the legal form of organization. 

16. The territorial extraordinary public health commissions will ensure the revision of all decisions/instructions approved, bringing them in line with CNESP’s decisions.  

17. The academic community and the experts in the field are asked to get involved in the campaign of correct informing of the society about the subject of the pandemic, through the reasoned explanation of the reasons or the intense spread of the new type of the coronavirus SARSCoV-2 and of the negative effects it produces, on the subject of vaccination and other measures of prevention of cases of infection with COVID-19.  

18. CNESP recommends that media representatives inform the public about the need to strictly observe the measures of prevention and control of the COVID-19 infection.

19. The non-observance of the public health measures, set forth in the present Decision, represents danger for the public health and will serve as reason for calling the guilty people to contravention/criminal account. 

20. The present decision enters into force at the moment of its issuance and is published on the Government’s official webpage.  

Chairman of the Commission, acting Prime Minister Aureliu Ciocoi

Deputy chairwoman of the Commission Health, State Secretary at the Labour and Social Protection Minister Tatiana Zatic  

Secretary of the Commission, acting director of the National Public Health Agency Vasile Gustiuc

The measures of prevention and control of the COVID-19 infection, specific for certain kinds of activity, can be found here:  https://gov.md/sites/default/files/hotarare_cnesp_nr.51_din_19.03.2021.pdf