Government of Timor-Leste

The President of the Republic, Francisco Guterres Lú Olo, following the Government's request, decreed today, September 3^rd, 2020, the extension of the state of emergency for a further 30 days period, between September 5^th, 00:00 am, and October 4^th, 11:59 pm .

Given the worrying evolution of the epidemiological situation and the proliferation of registered cases of COVID-19 infection, both at regional and global levels, and in order to avoid and neutralize the risks of SARS-CoV-2 spreading, thus protecting public health and the National Health System response capacity, the Government decided, at the meeting of the Council of Ministers on  August 26^th, 2020, to propose to the President of the Republic the Declaration of the State of Emergency.

Following the positive advices of the State Council and the High Council of Defence and Security, the National Parliament authorised the President of the Republic to declare the state of emergency’s extension for the fifth time since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, considered to be indispensable facing the situation development in the world and particularly in neighbouring countries.

In his speech, during the debate in the National Parliament on the request for authorisation to extend the state of emergency, Prime Minister emphasised the high number of “people infected in 206 countries and territories”, “on their way to the 26 million”, who have already “caused the death of more than 800 thousand people”. The Head of Government also highlighted the situation in the region, namely “in the neighbouring country which has had a large increase of cases and which demonstrates a great danger of imported cases and infection to our country”, so “we have to resort to the state of emergency, limiting rights and freedoms to our population, in order to exercise greater control and cases’ identification, mainly at our borders, as well as to strengthen health measures and compulsory quarantine, in order to treat the infected and avoid community transmission among our population”.

Prime Minister also stated that “all this effort is aimed at tracing the imported cases and treating them, preventing locally transmitted cases and saving lives”.

The government will now approve the measures to imp