National Parliament authorizes President of the Republic to renew the State of Emergency for another 30 days
Following the Government's request to the President of the Republic and the positive opinions of the Council of State and the Supreme Council for Defence and Security, the National Parliament authorized today, August 24th, 2021, the President of the Republic to renew the declaration of the State of Emergency for the 17th time since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, between August 31st, 2021, 12:00 am, and September 29th, 2021, 11:59 pm.
The draft Law proposal to authorise the renewal of the declaration of the state of emergency was approved by the 54 deputies present at the plenary session with 38 votes in favour, 16 abstentions and no votes against.
After the publication of the Decree of the President of the Republic, the Government, through the Council of Ministers, will approve the implementation measures of the declaration of the state of emergency which will be in force from August 31st.
In his message to the National Parliament, the President of the Republic, Francisco Guterres Lú Olo, said that "in Timor-Leste the situation of public calamity caused by the Covid-19 pandemic has been seriously accentuated in the last few days, with an alarming increase in the numbers of infected, hospitalized and deceased". He also highlighted the "record of several health professionals infected, both in the public and private sectors".
In his letter, the Head of State said that besides the "adequate use of masks and social distancing, it is indispensable to renew the state of emergency, so that restrictive measures can also be renewed, but always adequate and adapted to the national reality with the aim of producing positive effects in the short term". "It is therefore necessary to adopt an important set of measures that prevent the importation of new strains of SARS-CoV-2 into national territory and allow for the containment of its spread among the population residing there," he added.
In his speech, the Prime Minister, Taur Matan Ruak, referred to the "worrying advance of the Delta variant of the Coronavirus, which is considered by specialists to be very contagious" and that "it is scientifically proven that the vaccine is the most effective means of preventing the most serious cases of the disease, increasing the possibility of avoiding the risk of death".
The Prime Minister also assured that "the fears that persist in the minds of some citizens and families, are unjustified by the fact that they only highlight the side effects, without mentioning that the risks are low, when compared to the enormous benefits of being vaccinated against the disease".
The Head of Government recalled that "the national vaccination plan is running at a good pace in all municipalities and regions", "allowing us to face the future with renewed hope" and expressed that he was "sure that by the end of the year we will be able to reach the much sought-after herd immunity estimated at around 80 per cent of the population".
He also said that there are "enough vaccines to cover the entire adult population" and that the Government is "preparing the services for the arrival of the Pfizer vaccines, supplied through the COVAX System, which will allow us to vaccinate our children from 12 years of age onwards".
The Prime Minister, called for "renewed efforts, mobilising our People and our Nation, for the need to face together this enemy that threatens the lives of our children and loved ones".
to read the Prime Minister's speech click here for the Portuguese version and click here for the tetum version
