The Minister of Health, Mrs Odete Maria Freitas Belo, and the Vice Minister of Interior, António Armindo, held a visit, on August 5th, 2020, to the integrated post of Mota-Ain, in Batugadé, to directly observe the conditions of the quarantine site for citizens who enter in to national territory.
The visit aimed to analyse the necessary improvements in the quarantine facilities at the border post of Mota-Ain.
The Minister of Health, during the visit, stressed the “need of coordination with the logistic part, for the infrastructures’ improvement, namely sanitary, in order to be able to accommodate more people”.
Odete Maria Freitas Belo said that she hopes that “improvement activities in this site will begin on the next week, especially in logistics terms”, “to respond to the current space limitations”, which requires that, “when many people use this entrance post, some of them have to be moved to quarantine sites, in Dili”.
On the other hand, the Vice Minister of Interior, declared that he will maintain a permanent coordination and monitoring of joint work with the Ministry of Health, in all entry posts.
“We work continuously with the Ministry of Health to monitor the situation, in order to guarantee the best way to prevent COVID-19. The Ministry of Interior, through the General Directorate of Migration Services and PNTL (National Police of Timor-Leste), Border Patrol Unit, keep joint work with the Ministry of Health surveillance teams , to continue monitoring the situation, through sorting and screening at all points of entry (at airports, seaports and land borders)”, explained the Vice Minister.
In addition, the Vice Minister of Interior asked to the entire population to remain calm and not to panic, since the government is making every possible effort to continue the prevention and control of COVID-19 in Timor Leste.