……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
Press Release
Extraordinary Meeting of the Council of Ministers of April 20, 2020
The Council of Ministers met at the Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão Auditorium, at the Ministry of Finance, in Dili and approved the draft Decree-Law, presented by the Minister of Social Solidarity and Inclusion, Armanda Berta dos Santos, regarding monetary support to households in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. This measure is a short-term intervention to address the harmful livelihood impacts on low-income families across the country caused by COVID-19. All households, composed of at least one citizen, registered, by 31 March 2020, in the Register Book “Uma Kain” and in which none of its members are paid a regular monthly amount exceeding US$500. The support is worth 100 U.S. dollars per month and per household. Payment will be made from the month following the approval of this diploma and its costs will be financed by the COVID-19 Fund.
The Council of Ministers approved the purchase of rice from Vietnam, proposed by the Acting Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Fidelis Manuel Leite Magalhães, to strengthen the existing rice stock to cope with a possible shortage during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Minister of Public Works, Salvador Soares dos Reis Pires, presented a draft Deliberation, approved by the Council of Ministers, for the amendment of a public contract with the company China Wu Yi Co. Lda, for improvement and maintenance of the roads of Dili, dated September 14, 2016.
The Acting Minister of Health, Bonifácio Maukoli dos Reis, presented to the Council of Ministers the state of play of the COVID-19 pandemic in the country. So far there have been a total of 23 confirmed positive cases of people infected with the new Coronavirus and four probable cases. Patients infected with new Coronavirus are asymptomatic or have mild symptoms. There is also a patient already recovered. The test result of 28 suspected cases are still to be known and 327 had a negative result. A total of 405 people are in mandatory confinement and 27 people are in self-quarantine.
The Council of Ministers announced a weekly campaign, jointly with the United Nations, to “Applaud the Timorese Heroes” to show public appreciation for frontline workers in response to COVID-19, by participating in a round of mass applause. In this way, everyone in Timor-Leste is encouraged to applaud every week, on Tuesday, at 7 pm, for five minutes in their homes, starting next Tuesday, April 28, thus participating in the campaign “Applaud the tag Timorese Heroes”. People should record these moments on video and disseminate messages, photographs, and videos on social networks, with the tag #Applaud4TimoreseHeroes. ENDS