Health Alert – U.S. Embassy Chisinau, Moldova (November 30, 2020)

Health Alert – U.S. Embassy Chisinau, Moldova (November 30, 2020)

Location: Republic of Moldova

Event: The National Public Health Emergency Commission in Moldova has issued a State of Public Health Emergency across the country effective November 30, 2020. Announcements from the Commission and restrictions under the ongoing State of Public Health Emergency are available on the Government of Moldova website. Face-masks are mandatory in all public spaces, including outdoors. Night clubs and discos, and other such venues must remain closed. All restaurants, bars, and cafes cannot serve food or drink between 22:00 to 07:00 daily. Theaters and concert halls are closed, and sports competitions are currently prohibited. Groups of more than three people are prohibited in public areas. Additional restrictions could be lifted or (re)imposed with little notice.

The Chisinau International Airport opened to commercial flights on June 15, but airlines will make independent decisions on service into Chisinau. Passengers should regularly check with your airline or travel agent for the most current information on available flights. The U.S. government does not anticipate arranging repatriation flights from Moldova at this time.

Effective September 1, foreigners coming from “red zone” countries are not permitted into Moldova unless they meet one of the following exceptions: (1) immediate family members of Moldovan citizens; (2) persons having a visa, residency permit, or other document issued by Moldovan authorities; (3) persons traveling for “professional interest” in possession of a visa, residency permit, or other document issued by Moldovan authorities; (4) diplomats accredited to Moldova and members of international organizations and their family members; personnel who can provide humanitarian aid; (5) passengers in transit. The list of “red zone” countries is published by the Ministry of Health and will be updated every two weeks.

Moldova requires a 14 day self-isolation regime (quarantine) for new arrivals from “red zone” countries, with certain exceptions including asymptomatic individuals delivering goods, crew members, students, people traveling for health care, work related travelers with visas, diplomats accredited in Moldova, and passengers in transit.

The Moldovan Ministry of Health, Labor and Social Protection announced the first confirmed case of Coronavirus COVID-19 in Chisinau, Moldova on March 7, 2020. As of November 30, Moldova has over 107,000 confirmed cases, including cases of person to person transmission.

The U.S. Embassy in Chisinau has suspended routine consular services, including all visa operations except for emergency and Mission Critical services. At this time we can only process specific visa categories. For more information on visas, please refer to our website. If you have questions about American Citizen Services, please visit our website for additional information. You may also email us at: ChisinauACS@state.gov.

The Department of State has issued a Level 3 Travel Advisory for Moldova advising U.S. citizens to reconsider travel to Moldova due to COVID-19.

Actions to Take:

Seek immediate medical care if you believe you may have COVID-19 (or similar symptoms) or were exposed to someone with COVID-19 in the last six weeks. In Moldova, contact your primary care physician or call 112. Visit the website of the Moldovan Ministry of Health for additional information.
Consult the CDC website for the most up-to-date information.
For the most recent information on what you can do to reduce your risk of contracting COVID-19 please see the CDC’s latest recommendations.
Visit the COVID-19 crisis page on travel.state.gov for the latest information.
Visit our Embassy webpage on COVID-19 for information on conditions in Moldova.
Visit the Department of Homeland Security’s website on the latest travel restrictions to the United States.