On 12 January 2020, the
World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that a
novel coronavirus was the cause of a respiratory illness in a cluster of people in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, which was reported to the WHO on 31 December 2019.[2][3]
Gagauzia is an
autonomous province of
Moldova, a country whose first case was registered on 7 March 2020. During the first few months, dozens of suspected cases were examined, but all of them tested negative. Svetlana Duleva, head of the Health and Social Protection Department of Gagauzia, said that the fact that many
Gagauz people that returned home from abroad were not isolating themselves from others for at least two weeks was concerning. She also said that there were many workers and students coming back from
Transnistria, which had 7 cases at the moment. Mihail Sirkeli, a Gagauz activist, said that people were only imitating the behavior of the autonomous authorities, which kept organizing meetings with many persons while asking people to stay at home.[7]
Gagauzia's first case was registered on the night of 1 April 2020. The infected man was a
truck driver who likely became infected while traveling from
Russia to
Turkey. He had already contacted many of his relatives, putting them all at risk. The man was sent to
Chișinău to be hospitalized. Doctors of Gagauzia complained about the aggressive attitude of many truck drivers, who usually do not respect safety measures.[8]
An increase in cases of
domestic violence was reported in Gagauzia. Campaigners said they do not have the means and resources to combat the problem due to the
COVID-19 lockdown.[9]
On 12 January 2020, the
World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that a
novel coronavirus was the cause of a respiratory illness in a cluster of people in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, which was reported to the WHO on 31 December 2019.[2][3]
Gagauzia is an
autonomous province of
Moldova, a country whose first case was registered on 7 March 2020. During the first few months, dozens of suspected cases were examined, but all of them tested negative. Svetlana Duleva, head of the Health and Social Protection Department of Gagauzia, said that the fact that many
Gagauz people that returned home from abroad were not isolating themselves from others for at least two weeks was concerning. She also said that there were many workers and students coming back from
Transnistria, which had 7 cases at the moment. Mihail Sirkeli, a Gagauz activist, said that people were only imitating the behavior of the autonomous authorities, which kept organizing meetings with many persons while asking people to stay at home.[7]
Gagauzia's first case was registered on the night of 1 April 2020. The infected man was a
truck driver who likely became infected while traveling from
Russia to
Turkey. He had already contacted many of his relatives, putting them all at risk. The man was sent to
Chișinău to be hospitalized. Doctors of Gagauzia complained about the aggressive attitude of many truck drivers, who usually do not respect safety measures.[8]
An increase in cases of
domestic violence was reported in Gagauzia. Campaigners said they do not have the means and resources to combat the problem due to the
COVID-19 lockdown.[9]