DILI, 21 September 2020 (TATOLI)– The Covid-19 crisis team, has suggested that the government should avoid allowing people to enter Timor-Leste through the port, airport and land borders to prevent the transmission of COVID-19.
“The general coordinator together with the partnership and COVID-19 policy coordinator has given some recommendation to the government’s relevant Ministries to take stricter measures quickly to avoid people for entering Timor-Leste,” Coordinator of COVID-19 from Ministry of Health, Odete da Silva Viegas said on Sunday (21/08/020)
The team has made the recommendation because the team considering they have no human resources to control the movement of people at the borders.
“People who are illegally entering to Timor-Leste will bring the transmission risk within the communities,” she said.
At the same time the team also recommended to the Government to apply strictly sanction to Timorese and Indonesian who are trying to illegally enter to Timor-Leste.
“Government should implement sanctions to ensure rules are followed or they will continue to do the same illegal activities,” she said.
So far there have been no cases of community transmission in Timor-Leste; however, Timor-Leste has been spared the widespread outbreaks of neighboring countries.
In Spite according to the report from the World Health Organization (WHO), the COVID-19 cases in Indonesia rose by 4,176 within one day to 248,852, with the death toll adding by 124 to 9,677.
Journalist: Felicidade ximenes
Editor:Agapito dos Santos/Nick Kettle