Estonia, through the agency of UNDP Moldova, donated to the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations (GIES) essential equipment in the amount of €50,000 to prevent and control the spread of novel coronavirus. Four tunnel field tents, with a capacity of 15 places each, four warm air fans and five ecological toilettes were offered. The equipment will be used to set mobile centers for quarantine, pre-triage and epidemiological triage near hospital units or other public institutions, IPN reports.

Olga Goncearova, Head of the Embassy Office of Estonia in Chisinau, said there is no doubt that we can only be successful in fighting the pandemic of novel coronavirus if we work together. “In Estonian tradition, working together means first of all helping your friends. Moldova is a friend we have been and will be helping both in good and difficult times with our expertise and assistance,” she stated.

Mihail Harabagiu, Head of the General Inspectorate for Emergency Situations, said that overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic is a common goal, and the support provided will certainly contribute to saving human lives, but also to preventing new risks for the citizens of the Republic of Moldova.

 “As the pandemic accelerates and puts more pressure on the public health system and the institutions involved in emergency response, greater attention must be paid to the prevention measures and strengthening the capacities of the institutions on the frontline,” noted Dima Al-Khatib, UNDP Resident Representative for the Republic of Moldova.

According to specialists, epidemiological triage during the COVID-19 pandemic is essential in limiting the spread. Such field tents are used all over the world both as triage centers for people presumptive for COVID-19, as well as temporary hospitals for patients before admitting them in designated strategic medical institutions.