Government of Timor-Leste

The President of the Republic, Francisco Guterres Lú Olo, following Government’s request, decreed today, March 31^st, 2021, the renewal of the State of Emergency, for another 30 days, between April 3^rd, 2021, 00:00 a.m.,  and May 2^nd, 2021, 11:59 p.m.

The Government have decided, at the meeting of the Council of Ministers of March 24^th, 2021, to propose to the President of the Republic the renewal of the State of Emergency, for another thirty days. After the positive opinions of the Council of State and the Superior Council of Defence and Security, the National Parliament authorized, today, in Plenary session, the President of the Republic to declare the renewal of the State of Emergency for the 12th time since the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tomorrow, at the meeting of the Council of Ministers, the Government will approve the implementation measures for the State of Emergency.

The Prime Minister, Taur Matan Ruak, in the debate  in the National Parliament on the application for authorisation for the renewal of the State of Emergency Declaration, called on the members of the National Parliament "to renew the confidence and support expressed to the Government in recent months, authorising the renewal, for the twelfth time, of the State of Emergency Declaration, a fundamental and irreplaceable instrument that allows us to prevent and combat this potentially deadly disease".

The Head of Government stressed that, "in view of the means, resources and infrastructure available in the country", has been given "special priority and attention to border control, as it is the main source of infected cases".

Despite the success achieved,  "for about ten months", in the "difficult mission" “of surveillance, monitoring, prevention and mitigation of essentially imported cases", the  "situation changed dramatically", from December 2020,  "with the growing and continued emergence of new infections, whose aggravation justified the approval of more serious and demanding measures, during the last State of Emergency".

The Prime Minister reaffirmed that "the Government continues to make efforts, in contact with various international entities, to ensure timely access to vaccines, in accordance with the [Government's] commitment to immunize the entire population by the end of this year".

However, "until the arrival  [of vaccines] takes place, it is the responsibility of all of us to help prevent Timorese from dying because of this virus" and "the  attitude of each of us will ensure the protection of our own lives and save the lives of others."

The Prime Minister has called on all citizens, authorities and civil society organisations to unite in the fight against this disease.

According to the data announced yesterday, March 30^th, 2021, by the Integrated Crisis Management Centre, Timor-Leste records a total of 567 accumulated  cases, since the beginning of the pandemic, of which 382 are active cases. In Dili,  between  March 7^th  and March 30^th, 2021, a total of 415 infected were counted.

The new Coronavirus has affected more than 128 million people worldwide, causing the death of more than 2.8 million people.