Did the Romanian Health Ministry close down the program through which people who experienced potential COVID-19 symptoms were tested? No, that's not true: No official source or reputable media reports corroborate that this has happened or that such a law has been passed.
The claim appeared in a video (archived here) posted on TikTok by @aurelianr0 on March 3, 2024. The caption (translated from Romanian to English by Lead Stories staff) read:
The 'plandemic' of the century has officially ended. Romania's Health Ministry has decided to close down the program through which it was testing people who were experiencing Covid symptoms.
This is what the post looked like on TikTok at the time of writing:
(Source: (TikTok screenshot taken on Mon Mar 11 16:18:36 2024 UTC)
There is no trace on government websites or report on credible news sites (archived here) confirming such a measure has been taken by the Health Ministry or that a law aimed at closing down COVID-19 testing centers has been passed. The claim made by the person speaking in the TikTok video originates from an article published on a Romanian website, "Național," on February 28, 2024 (archived here). Other false claims on "Național," a website known for its controversial statements and anti-COVID sentiment, have been fact-checked by Lead Stories in the past.
COVID-19 testing centers were not set up to forcefully test patients; rather, the infrastructure was created by pharmacies and other private health actors to allow people to get tested for COVID-19, if a doctor recommended it, during the early periods of the pandemic.
According to the Romanian Health Ministry's website (archived here), the only recent COVID-related document, from January 2024, referred to a protocol order for COVID-19 treatment, related to the structural organization for treating the infection.
COVID-19, also, has not disappeared, as implied by the "National" article. On the contrary, between February 26 and March 3, 2024, over 600 COVID-19 cases (archived here) were reported in Romania. Last autumn, as the flu season was peaking, the combination of flu/colds and COVID-19 infections proved to be a challenge (archived here) with which the Romanian health system struggled to keep up, at the time. According to the Health Ministry's website (archived here) COVID-19 testing is still available at certain certified pharmacies across the country if people have symptoms and wish to do so.
