The Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration, Cristina Lesnic, asked OSCE to engage in ensuring access of doctors to the Security Zone settlements

The Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration, Cristina Lesnic, sent a letter today to the OSCE Mission to Moldova and to the Special Representative of the current OSCE Presidency, Thomas Mayr-Harting, calling for the organization's engagement to ensure unhindered access of doctors to all the Security Zone settlements and on both directions of Nistru banks in the context of the new coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic.

A sensitive issue concerns the access of doctors in the 80 settlements located in the Security Zone. Only one doctor operates in many of these settlements, some live on the left bank of Nistru and cannot go to work.

“Chisinau needs now more than ever the medical personnel (doctors, medical assistants, hospital and ambulance doctors) operating in the district and Security Zone settlements’ hospitals, while the right bank does not have enough medical personnel for 2 weeks already. I point out this problem and underline that, in crisis conditions, for the sake of saving lives, doctors always have priority”, is mentioned in the letter signed by Cristina Lesnic.

According to the Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration, although it is a COVID- 19 pandemic, not only this virus must be treated. Doctors are overworked, needing to be replaced for shifts. An intermediary solution is not a sustainable solution, and today Chisinau tends to identify that solution, Cristina Lesnic pointed out.

In this situation, Chisinau comes with the proposal to solitarily engage to overcome this deadlock, to establish an urgent agreement between Chisinau and Tiraspol on the doctors’ movement. Given the OSCE Secretary-General’s message of 17 March 2020 that all OSCE missions must remain operational and monitor the coronavirus situation, the Deputy Prime Minister for Reintegration made an appeal for an immediate solution.

In a pragmatic and positive approach, Chisinau demonstrated a results oriented approach through its initiatives and acted promptly for the authorization in an accelerated procedure and for 3 days (standard procedure being 30 days) on importing medicines into the Transnistrian region by 7 economic agents from the left bank of Nistru, registered with the Public Services Agency, to ensure full access of the population to medication. In addition, about 60 economic agents have been registered into the TRACES system of the National Agency for Food Safety for food, phytosanitary and fertilizers import.

Although the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova’s Decision of 17 March, regarding the measures in place during the emergency situation, applies throughout the country, after two weeks of the state of emergency in the Republic of Moldova, measures in the Transnistrian region begin to differentiate from those applied on the right bank of Nistru. 

At present, only those holding "Transnistrian documents", have a residence visa in the region and the diplomatic corps are allowed into the Transnistrian region. Any person with Moldovan documents will have to observe the 14 days quarantine procedure. An exception is made, based on mutual agreements, only for farmers in Dubăsari, a limited number of police officers/firefighters, penitentiary staff and gas/electricity intervention services. However, we examine individual cases notified by the local public administration.

We made sure that the pharmacy in Cocieri village is functional and people can have access to medicines.

We will closely monitor and intervene with targeted measures to solve citizens' problems.