Situation Room and Prime Minister Taur Matan Ruak analyse options to resolve the economic impact resulting from the health fence
Prime Minister Taur Matan Ruak received, this Friday, March 19th, 2021, at the Government Palace, the Director of the Integrated Crisis Management Centre (CIGC – Portuguese acronym), Brigadier General João Miranda “Aluk”, accompanied by the Situation Room team, to discuss the activities of the Situation Room – Integrated Crisis Management Centre, within the scope of the 11th State of Emergency period, and, in particular, to examine options and solutions to combat the socio-economic impacts on the population, in Dili, resulting from the health fence.
“Today we met with the Prime Minister, to update the data, since the beginning of the implementation of the 11th State of Emergency period until today, and to see what difficulties we have faced, what has already been done and what we still need to do, to deal with this situation of COVID-19. What economic impacts are affecting our community, and how can we respond to this situation, in order to minimize these negative effects. This was the main reason for this meeting with the Prime Minister.”, explained the CIGC Director to the press, after the meeting with the Head of the Government.
In addition, the Former Head of the Military House of the Presidency of the Republic stated that, with the increase in the number of COVID-19 cases, there is the possibility that the health fence period in Dili will be extended, so that the COVID-19 sentinel team may continue to identify the people who have contacted closely with the confirmed cases, and isolate them, in order to avoid community transmission.
Regarding the students from the municipalities, who are studying in Dili, and who are currently facing economic difficulties, due to the effect of the health fence, the Director of the CIGC stressed that the Situation Room had already planned to give these students the opportunity to return to their home municipalities, but for this to happen, they must first take the COVID-19 test (Swab Test) and wait for the laboratory result. As soon as they have a negative result, the Situation Room will authorize them to departure from Dili.
