DÍLI, July 8, 2020 (TATOLI) – The Major General of Timor-Leste Armed Forced, Lere Anan Timor, urged all the citizens to comply with the prevention measure for the coronavirus by legally crossing the borders of Indonesia and TL.
“I appeal to all citizens to continue with the legal entrance from the bordering region Nusa Tengara Timur (NTT) and avoid illegally crossing the border, to prevent COVID-19 transmissions,” Lere told the journalists after meeting President at his office, Aitarak Laran, Dili.
Lere said although Timor-Leste is now free from virus, neighboring countries such as Indonesia which is very close to Timor-Leste, is continue recording high numbers of active cases and because of this Timorese citizens should comply with the prevention and mitigation standards implemented by the World Health Organization (WHO) and Ministry of Health (MH).
Timor-Leste has no active cases of COVID-19, the first confirmed case by the health authority was on March 21, and the last confirmed case was on April 24, totaling 24 positive recorded cases.
The Integrated Crisis Management Centre (CIGC) confirmed, on May 15, that a 24th patient has recovered from the virus. And the country recorded zero active cases, with no reported deaths from the virus and no cases of local transmission.
The 24 recovered patients were all mostly young students- illegally arriving from the bordering region Nusa Tengara Timur, which includes the city of Kupang, was one of the country’s last provinces to confirm a positive case of the virus.
Journalist: Nelson de Sousa
Editor: Nicholas Kettle/Francisco Simões
Translation: Nelia Borges
