Prime Minister meets with relevant ministerial lines to analyse the implementation of the fourth State of Emergency
Dili, August 10th, 2020: Prime Minister, Taur Matan Ruak, presided, this Monday, at the Government Palace, over a meeting with the relevant ministerial lines, related to the 4th period of State of Emergency implementation, intending to analyse the implementation mechanisms, namely at the points of entry of people and goods, such as borders.
According to the Chief Executive, the implementation of this 4th period of the State of Emergency does not require a Situation Room establishment of, as happened in previous periods, needing only a Ministry of Health role strengthening, regarding the health control measures already established, with the Integrated Crisis Management Centre continuing to monitor, as the current state of emergency will be applied mainly in the border area, to allow strict control of the movement of people, in order to prevent the COVID-19 pandemic from entering the country.
At the meeting, the proposal of the Vice Minister of the Interior, to change the rules on entry of people in Timor-Leste was also agreed. According to the previous rule, people could enter the national territory every Wednesday. Now, with this change, it is only allowed to enter every 17 days. Concerning the basic necessities, it remains the preceding order, that is, entry every Wednesday. This amendment aims to give space to the Ministry of Health to manage quarantine premises, namely related to the cleaning of spaces and capacity management.
In addition to the Prime Minister, the following members of the Government participated in the meeting: the Minister of Health, Odete Maria Freitas Belo, accompanied by her Vice Minister, Bonifácio Maucoli dos Reis, the Minister of State Administration, Miguel de Carvalho, accompanied by his Vice Minister, Lino de Jesus Torrezão, the Minister of Defence, Filomeno da Paixão de Jesus, the Vice Minister of the Interior, António Armindo, the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Julião da Silva, and the Vice Minister of Finance, Sara Lobo Brites. The meeting was also attended by the Director of the Integrated Crisis Management Centre, Brigadier General João Miranda “Aluk”.
