Media Releases
28 of March of 2020Measures relating to vocational education and training establishments during the state of emergencyPresidency of the Council of Ministersmore
Eighth Constitutional Government
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March 28, 2020
Press Release
State of Emergency
Measures relating to vocational education and training establishments
In view of the declaration of a state of emergency, a Government Decree listing the measures for implementing the declaration of the state of emergency was approved at the Meeting of the Council of Ministers on March 28, 2020.
The measures adopted aim to prevent COVID-19, contain the pandemic, save lives and ensure the subsistence of supply chains of essential goods and services for our population, even though they may limit some fundamental rights and freedoms. These measures are taken with respect for constitutional limits and following the guidelines of the World Health Organization and the example of other States.
The state of emergency is in force between 00:00 hours on March 28, 2020 and 23:59 hours on April 26, 2020 and applies to the entire national territory.
During the state of emergency, all school activities are suspended on a face-to-face basis and the facilities of educational, education and vocational training establishments are closed, and teachers and students are prohibited from staying in the premises. Distance learning should be promoted through the means of information and communication in this period. ENDS
28 of March of 2020Measures Relating to International Circulation during the state of emergencyPresidency of the Council of Ministersmore
Eighth Constitutional Government
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March 28, 2020
Press Release
State of Emergency
Measures Relating to International Circulation
In view of the declaration of a state of emergency, a Government Decree listing the measures for implementation of the declaration of the state of emergency was approved at the Meeting of the Council of Ministers on March 28, 2020.
The measures adopted aim to prevent COVID-19, contain the pandemic, save lives and ensure the subsistence of supply chains of essential goods and services for our population, even though they may limit some fundamental rights and freedoms. These measures are taken with respect for constitutional limits and following the guidelines of the World Health Organization and the example of other States.
The state of emergency is in force between 00:00 hours on March 28, 2020 and 23:59 hours on April 26, 2020 and applies to the entire national territory.
Regarding international movement, the Government Decree prohibits the entry of foreigners into national territory, except for foreigners born in Timor-Leste, resident citizens and legal representatives of minors of Timorese nationality. The Prime Minister may exceptionally authorise the entry of foreigners, in duly substantiated cases, relating to the defence of the national interest or convenience of service. This prohibition does not apply to oil rig workers located in the Timor Sea.
Foreigners responsible for the transport of goods or release of imported goods must remain in the international zone of seaports, airports or land border posts.
All persons wishing to leave the country will be subject to health control, in particular by measuring body temperature or other means of diagnosis. Except in cases of medical evacuation, those who present symptoms of COVID-19, fever greater than 38º C, cough and/or breathing difficulties will be prevented from traveling and will be taken to a health facility to perform diagnostic tests of COVID-19.
All persons entering the country are required to be quarantined for at least 14 days and if they have symptoms of COVID-19 will have to be subject to diagnostic examination of COVID-19 and in positive cases will be subject to therapeutic isolation. ENDS
28 of March of 2020Measures Regarding Measures Relating to Compulsory and Voluntary Isolation During the State of EmergencyPresidency of the Council of Ministersmore
Eighth Constitutional Government
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March 28, 2020
Press Release
State of Emergency
Measures Relating to Compulsory and Voluntary Isolation
In view of the declaration of a state of emergency, a Government Decree listing the measures for implementing the declaration of the state of emergency was approved at the Meeting of the Council of Ministers on March 28, 2020.
The measures adopted aim to prevent COVID-19, contain the pandemic, save lives and ensure the subsistence of supply chains of essential goods and services for our population, even though they may limit some fundamental rights and freedoms. These measures are taken with respect for constitutional limits and following the guidelines of the World Health Organization and the example of other States.
The state of emergency is in force between 00:00 hours on March 28, 2020 and 23:59 hours on April 26, 2020 and applies to the entire national territory.
Compulsory isolation in a health facility or their homes applies to all those infected with the new Coronavirus until they are discharged, and all individuals who enter the national territory and all those under the supervision of the authorities will remain in isolation for a period of fourteen days.
Those who are not in mandatory isolation or are exempted from fulfilling their duty of presence in their workplace should remain at home. If they need to leave, they should go out alone and keep a distance of at least one meter from other individuals, avoiding crowds.
Meetings or demonstrations involving the agglomeration of more than five people and any social, cultural and sporting events are prohibited. It is also forbidden to hold any religious celebrations and other events of worship, while the holding of funerals is conditional on the adoption of prevention measures and should not allow for the presence of more than ten people simultaneously. ENDS
28 of March of 2020Measures Relating to Public Administration During the State of EmergencyPresidency of the Council of Ministersmore
Eighth Constitutional Government
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March 28, 2020
Press Release
State of Emergency
Measures Relating to Public Administration
In view of the declaration of a state of emergency, a Government Decree listing the measures for implementing the declaration of the state of emergency was approved at the Meeting of the Council of Ministers on March 28, 2020.
The measures adopted aim to prevent COVID-19, contain the pandemic, save lives and ensure the subsistence of supply chains of essential goods and services for our population, even though they may limit some fundamental rights and freedoms. These measures are taken with respect for constitutional limits and following the guidelines of the World Health Organization and the example of other States.
The state of emergency is in force between 00:00 hours on March 28, 2020 and 23:59 hours on April 26, 2020 and applies to the entire national territory.
During the term of the state of emergency, the Members of the Government and the executive bodies of public legal persons included in the indirect administration of the State identify the human resources strictly necessary to ensure the functioning, under minimum services, of public services which they run, in order to ensure the functioning of public administration and the provision, to citizens and businesses, of goods and services which are urgent or which cannot be delayed.
Officials exempted from their duty to appear in their respective services shall remain contactable by telephone and present themselves at the services where they usually provide their professional activity whenever they are summoned by the hierarchical superior.
Where possible, human resources should be allowed to provide professional activity on a non-face-to-face basis and through new communication and information technologies.
Locations where public services operate shall ensure that there is a minimum distance of one metre between persons and provide the necessary means so users and staff can wash their hands before entering the building. ENDS
28 of March of 2020Measures regarding the Measures Relating to the validity periods of licenses and authorizations during the state of emergencyPresidency of the Council of Ministersmore
Eighth Constitutional Government
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March 28, 2020
Press Release
State of Emergency
Measures Relating to the validity periods of licenses and authorizations
In view of the declaration of a state of emergency, a Government Decree listing the measures for implementation of the declaration of the state of emergency was approved at the Meeting of the Council of Ministers on March 28, 2020.
The measures adopted aim to prevent COVID-19, contain the pandemic, save lives and ensure the subsistence of supply chains of essential goods and services for our population, even though they may limit some fundamental rights and freedoms. These measures are taken with respect for constitutional limits and following the guidelines of the World Health Organization and the example of other States.
The state of emergency is in force between 00:00 hours on March 28, 2020 and 23:59 hours on April 26, 2020 and applies to the entire national territory.
During the duration of the state of emergency, licences, authorisations, visas and residence permits, and other administrative acts and documents shall remain valid regardless of the expiry of their validity period. ENDS
- 28 of March of 2020Extraordinary Meeting of the Council of Ministers of March 28, 2020Presidency of the Council of Ministersmore
Eighth Constitutional Government
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Press Release
Extraordinary Meeting of the Council of Ministers of March 28, 2020
The Council of Ministers met at the Dili Convention Center and continued to consider the Civil Protection Law, presented on March 25, by the Acting Minister of the Interior, Filomeno da Paixão de Jesus and the Secretary of State for Civil Protection, Alexandrino de Araújo. This Draft Law contains the fundamental principles of civil protection, defines and organizes the bases of civil protection in Timor-Leste, highlights the Civil Protection Authority as an authority that will shape the entire civil protection system and defines the structure of the National Civil Protection System at regional and municipal level. The Law was approved by the Council of Ministers.
Acting Finance Minister Sara Lobo Brites gave a presentation on the detailed data on the expected cost of the COVID-19 response package and of the flood damages, included in a request to the National Parliament for authorisation to carry out an extraordinary transfer of $100 million USD from the Petroleum Fund. This package includes, in the area of prevention and combat of COVID-19, the purchase of medicines, materials and equipment, expenses associated with quarantine, isolation and treatment sites and expenses related to measures to ensure the distribution and supply of essential goods, including food products. For social protection, home support and recovery from natural disasters, they include food support, the provision of medicines and materials for victims of natural disasters. Part of the value will be applied to economic recovery measures resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, in particular for the creation of low-rate credit lines, for support to small and medium-sized enterprises and direct financial support for citizens and businesses. The Minister of Finance will now present this detailed package of measures and their costs to the National Parliament's Committee C.
The Acting Minister of Health, Élia António de Araújo dos Reis Amaral, presented a draft Decree-Law, approved by the Council of Ministers, concerning the first amendment to Decree-Law No. 18/2004, of November 23, on private health units. The Decree-Law, which regulates the conditions for licensing, operation and supervision of health units, was approved in an economic, social and cultural context, which has since undergone profound changes. Thus, with this amendment, the technical requirements necessary for the granting of licenses are revised, the nomenclature and clarity of the concepts of the legal regime that regulate this activity are adapted, and the possibility is also given to polyclinics of health services to be able to make hospitalizations, responding to the need to increase the supply of the private sector in the area of health, while relieving the pressure of the national health service, it responds the concerns of foreign investors and reduces the State’s expenditure on medical care abroad.
The Council of Ministers approved the draft Government Decree, presented by the Prime Minister, Taur Matan Ruak, on measures to implement the declaration of a state of emergency. Considering the discovery last December of a new strain of the corona virus, called SARS-Cov2 and its rapid spread that led the World Health Organization to declare the disease caused by this virus, COVID-19, as a pandemic, the Government has been adopting a set of preventive measures. Despite the efforts undertaken and the measures adopted and implemented, on March 14, the Ministry of Health announced the first positive test case of COVID-19. In view of the need to strengthen and implement new measures to further reduce the risks of the spread of SARS-Cov2 among the population residing in Timor-Leste, the Government proposed to the President of the Republic the decree of a state of emergency. In view of the declaration of a state of emergency, the Government through this Decree ensures its implementation by adopting the necessary measures that prevent the disease, contain the pandemic, save lives and ensure the subsistence of supply chains of essential goods and services for our population, even if they may limit some fundamental rights and freedoms. The state of emergency is in force between 00:00 hours on March 28, 2020 and 23:59 hours on April 26, 2020 and applies to the entire national territory. The measures adopted are taken with respect for constitutional limits and following the guidelines of the World Health Organization and the example of other States andseek to reduce the risk for new cases of COVID-19 in Timor-Leste.
The Prime Minister also presented an Order on the 2nd amendment to Order No. 005/II/2020 of February 18, which "establishes the interministerial committee for the coordination of the implementation of measures to prevent and control the outbreak of the new Coronavirus. With this amendment the interministerial committee is now chaired by the Prime Minister. ENDS
- 25 of March of 2020Meeting of the Council of Ministers of March 25, 2020Presidency of the Council of Ministersmore
Eighth Constitutional Government
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Press Release
Meeting of the Council of Ministers of March 25, 2020
The Council of Ministers met at the Dili Convention Center and analyzed the Draft Civil Protection Law, presented by the Acting Minister of the Interior, Filomeno da Paixão de Jesus and the Secretary of State for Civil Protection, Alexandrino de Araújo. This Draft Law contains the fundamental principles of civil protection, defines and organizes the bases of civil protection in Timor-Leste, highlights the Civil Protection Authority, as an authority that will encompass the entire civil protection system, defines the Civil Protection National System structure at regional and municipal level. The draft Law will be examined again at a later meeting of the Council of Ministers.
The Secretary of State for Youth and Sport, Nélio Isaac Sarmento, presented a proposal for a deliberation, approved by the Council of Ministers, on the postponement of the holding of the XII Sports Games of the Community of Portuguese-speaking Countries (CPLP), scheduled to take place in Timor-Leste, between 10 and 22 July 2020. Considering the international situation, caused by the spread of COVID-19, which represents a real threat to public health and similar to what has been happening worldwide, the Government recommends postponing the holding of the XII CPLP Games to a date to be defined later and instructs the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation to promote the necessary communication with the competent CPLP bodies.
The Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Fidelis Manuel Leite Magalhães, presented a draft Government Resolution, approved by the Council of Ministers, on the policy for reducing the negative economic impacts and for economic recovery resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. The approved document provides for a set of measures to be implemented by the Government in a timely manner, in order to anticipate possible intervention needs, in the face of an outbreak of COVID-19 in the country. Measures envisaged include ensuring the continuity of the distribution and supply of essential goods, such as food, medicines and clinical equipment, ensuring continuity of the provision of electronic communications services and their widespread accessibility by citizens, temporary exemption from the payment of taxes and electricity and water tariffs, and the creation of credit lines at reduced interest rates and financial support for citizens and businesses. Ministers were also mandated, within the framework of the tasks of their ministries, to carry out all the initiatives and procedures necessary and appropriate for the implementation of the measures presented, in particular in the preparation of the necessary normative acts, negotiation of the necessary agreements with service operators and preparation of procurement procedures.
Following instructions given by the Prime Minister, Taur Matan Ruak, to the members of the Government, at the last meeting of the Executive, and in order to initiate a significant reduction in the presence of employees in the workplace, the Government approved a draft Government Resolution with the aim of instructing the Members of the Government and the executive bodies of public legal persons within the indirect administration of the State to identify the human resources strictly necessary to ensure the operation, under minimum services, of the public services they run. Minimum services are those whose provision is essential to ensure the functioning of the Public Administration and the provision of goods and services to citizens and businesses that are of an urgent nature or which cannot be postponed. The human resources of the public administration which are exempted from the duty of attendance in their services should remain contactable by telephone and present themselves to the services where they usually provide their professional activity whenever they are summoned by their superior. Where possible, their human resources should be allowed to provide their professional activity on a non-face-to-face basis and through new communication and information technologies. It is also recommended that the human resources of the public administration temporarily exempted from the duty of attendance in their services, adopt social isolation behaviors, in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and to contribute to the competent authorities in the efforts to contain the number of infections. ENDS 
23 of March of 2020Extraordinary Meeting of the Council of Ministers of March 23, 2020Presidency of the Council of Ministersmore
Eighth Constitutional Government
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Press Release
Extraordinary Meeting of the Council of Ministers of March 23, 2020
The Council of Ministers met at the Dili Convention Center and approved the content of the letter of request for the declaration of a state of emergency to be sent to the President of the Republic, Francisco Guterres Lú Olo. The proposal aims to ensure that the Government has the necessary legal means to be able to intervene quickly in preventing the emergence of an outbreak of the new Coronavirus in Timor-Leste and, in the event that it takes place, take the necessary and appropriate measures to combat the spread of the virus. The Government believes that the prevention of the occurrence and spread in covid-19 national territory will require the adoption of some measures that will configure limitations and suspension of the exercise of some fundamental rights, freedoms and guarantees. Possible measures to be applied include restrictions on movement, non-essential public and private activities, agglomerations of people, religious events or celebrations, and compulsive confinement at home, or in a health facility. Upon receipt of the Government's request, the President of the Republic will convene the Council of State and the Superior Council of Defense and Security. Before the declaration of a state of emergency, the document will still be debated by the National Parliament for a period of not more than one day.
Several proposals for contingency measures presented by the members of the Council of Ministers were examined, to be implemented during the state of emergency, in order to strengthen prevention, awareness raising and response to COVID-19. Measures to support the population in the national territory and Timorese citizens abroad and to reduce the negative impacts on the national economy were also discussed.
The Deputy Minister for Strategic Development of Health, Bonifácio Maukoli dos Reis, presented to the Council of Ministers the current statos on the ongoing activities to prepare and combat the spread of COVID-19 in Timor-Leste, in particular with regard to the preparation of isolation and treatment sites in Dili and at the land border in Batugade. The Deputy Minister also presented a proposal for an additional budget for the acquisition of medicines, for the adoption of prevention measures and for the rental, preparation, cleaning and safety of isolation sites.
The Prime Minister, Taur Matan Ruak, instructed the members of the Government to initiate a significant reduction in the presence of employees in the workplace, in order to keep only the minimum necessary for essential public services to continue in operation. Civil servants and contractors who are exempt from attending the workplace must continue theur professional activities in their homes, where they remain in contact and in social separation together with their families.
The Prime Minister assured that there will be an incentive plan to strengthen the conditions of health personnel and of health and isolation facilities, equipment and medicines.
The Acting Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Fidelis Leite Magalhães, presented a package of measures to reduce the negative impacts of COVID-19 on the national economy, at the emergency level and in terms of economic recovery.
The Minister of Justice, Manuel Cárceres da Costa, announced that today he will issue a decree for the suspension of visits to prisoners of all national prisons.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Dionísio Babo Soares, presented a draft Government Resolution, approved by the Council of Ministers, for the purchase of medicines and equipment from China and informed that he is also in contact with other international partners, notably Australia and Cuba, which are available to support Timor-Leste in accessing medicines, ventilators and other health equipment.
The Minister of Transport and Communications, José Agostino da Silva, informed the members of the Council of Ministers that a telephone line was created for information on COVID-19. The number is 119 and will be available from the morning of March 24, 2020.
Currently, there is 1 confirmed case of COVID-19 in Timor-Leste. The World Health Organization (WHO) has so far recorded a total of 292,142 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the report of 22 March 2020.
Finally, the Acting Minister of Finance said that four projects were approved by the Infrastructure Fund's Board of Directors to deal with the damage caused by the floods of March 13, 2020. These projects include the creation of river containment walls, cleaning activities and water and sanitation and electricity infrastructure. ENDS
