Government of Timor-Leste

Prime Minister, Taur Matan Ruak, accompanied by the Vice Prime Minister, José Reis, the Minister of Foreigner Affairs and Cooperation, Adaljiza Magno and the Minister of Defence, Filomeno da Paixão de Jesus, met, on September 10^th, 2020, at the Presidential Palace, in Dili, with the President of the Republic, Francisco Guterres Lú Olo, to discuss the security issues at the land border within the scope of COVID-19.

The main objective of this meeting was to discuss ways of preventing illegal entry into the country, in order to prevent COVID-19 community transmission, insofar as citizens who enter the country illegally may be infected with the new Coronavirus and transmit the virus in the community, causing a situation of public calamity.

Citizens who illegally enter the country, because they are not being subjected to health control and quarantine, of a minimum duration of fourteen days, imposed by the declaration of state of emergency and by the Government Decree that approved the measures for its execution, are a threat to public health.

When identified, national citizens who enter the country illegally are taken into quarantine and subjected to sanctions, while foreign citizens caught illegally entering national territory are deported.

The Government, together with the Unit of Border Patrol (UPF) and with the support of the Falintil-FDTL, have enhanced security along the entire land border and has identified several places normally used for illegal crossings.

The land border is opened every 17 days, in order to guarantee the time of preparation and disinfection of quarantine sites.

The current state of emergency period runs until 11:59 pm on October 4^th, 2020

Timor-Leste recorded, so far, a total of 27 cases of infection with new coronavirus, of which, 26 are already recovered from the illness, and there is one active case, a patient who is in isolation. There are currently 380 people quarantined in the government facilities and 142 people in self-quarantine.