Timor-Leste: COVID-19 Pandemic Response -Leste Red Cross (Cruz Vermelha de Timor-Leste, CVTL) International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies

Federation-Wide Internal Situation Update for Timor-Leste per 17 July 2020 Reporting period: Week covering 10 – 16 July

CVTL personnel elaborating the information on COVID-19 prevention to increase respective community awareness through door to door approach (CVTL/2020)

Partners Supporting the Country

Movement Partners CVTL is supported by IFRC, ICRC, Australian Red Cross and Singapore Red Cross.

Non-Movement Partners

Ministry of Health set up inter-ministerial team to respond to the pandemic. Other agencies involved are WHO, IOM, Oxfam, NGO Maluk Timor.

Context

Global Updates The global daily incidence continues to exhibit an overall increasing trend as confirmed cases have reached almost 4 million globally and almost 600,000 people are known to have died from the virus, while over 8,4 million are known to have recovered. The pandemic has been ongoing for 6 months, and it continues its recent trend of exponential growth, largely driven by major epidemics in the Americas which continues to be heavily impacted accounting for 7,016,851 (52%) of total confirmed COVID-19 cases globally and 132,700 (59%) of newly reported cases.1 Broadly, the Central and South American regions are still major COVID-19 hotspots, including Brazil and Mexico. The region represents 6 of the top 13 countries globally in terms of

1 https://myemail.constantcontact.com/COVID-19-Updates---July-17.html?soid=1107826135286&aid=St1TPvPlHs4 accessed on 17 July

daily incidence, including Colombia in 7th, Argentina in 8th, Peru in 9th, and Chile in 13th. Moreover, the total number of COVID-19 deaths in Latin America and the Caribbean has surpassed those in the US and Canada, as Latin America and the Caribbean are now reporting over 146,515 cumulative deaths, while the US and Canada are reporting over 144,451 cumulative deaths. Globally, the top countries in terms of total daily incidence are US, Brazil, India, and South Africa. This week, Brazil reported 45,403 new cases and remains rank 2 in terms of daily incidence, following only the US. Meanwhile India reported its highest daily incidence to date with 32,695 new cases and South Africa reported 13,172 new cases with daily incidence steadily increasing throughout the week.2 Restrictions are being re-imposed across Asia-Pacific as cases rise3 Lockdowns and strict social-distancing restrictions are being re-imposed across Asia Pacific, where a growing number of cases is fanning fears of a COVID-19 resurgence in countries that had success at containing the initial outbreak of the virus and now many nations in the region are finding cause to pause the reopening of their economies. Hong Kong is introducing strict new measures to tackle a third wave of COVID- 19 cases; indoor dining in restaurants will be banned from 6:00 PM to 5:00 AM, masks on public transport will be mandatory and public gatherings will drop from 50 people down to 4. The move comes after Hong Kong reported a record number of 41 locally transmitted infections on 13 July. South has cancelled plans to reopen its border to New South Wales and Melbourne is in the second week of a six-week lockdown while in Queensland anyone who has visited two areas in Sydney’s western suburbs must quarantine for two weeks. In India, the tech capital—Bengaluru has begun a week-long lockdown after a surge in cases from 1,000 on 19 June to nearly 20,000. While in the Philippines, parts of Manila will return to lockdown after the country recorded the biggest rise in daily COVID-19 deaths in Southeast Asia. Tokyo confirmed a one-day record high of 224 cases on 9 July—the first time there have been over 200 infections in the country since 17 April. Globally, the number of total confirmed cases has exceeded 10 million. As of 17 July 20204, the total global cases are as follows: Total Confirmed Cases Total Deaths Total Recovered Total Affected Countries 14,190,386 599,232 8,455,592 188 Timor- Leste Updates Meanwhile in Timor-Leste, as of 17 July 2020, the total cases are as follows:5 Total Confirmed New Confirmed Total Tests Total Active Total Total Deaths Cases Cases Cases Recovered 24 0 3638 0 24 0

Timor-Leste remains free of COVID-19 cases as the country has not registered a new case since 24 April and the last patient of COVID-19 recovered on 15 May. As of 17 July, Timor-Leste had confirmed 24 cases of COVID-19 which all have already recovered with 0 deaths. To date, Timor-Leste has tested 3,638 people which resulted in 3,505 negative tests and 109 pending tests. A total of 2552 people have completed their 14 days mandatory quarantine while 224 people are still in the government’s quarantine facilities (205 are in Dili, 4 in Covalima and 15 in ) and 110 people in individuals’ houses. The State of Emergency in Timor-Leste has now been dissolved and the responsibility of continuing to respond and prepare for further outbreaks in the country have been handed to Ministry of Health. The borders withing the country are opening once a week (every Wednesday). The nation is currently focusing its prevention and mitigation actions in four municipalities that share a border with Indonesian territories, namely Bobonaro, Covalima, Oecusse, Atauro and Dili. Furthermore, as the situation in the country has shifted, the government is also turning its attention towards economic recovery. Employment Support amid the pandemic On 15 July, the president promulgated the first amendment to the decree-law on employment support measures in response to the COVID-19 pandemic for Timorese citizens whose employment has been

2 Source: https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/situation-reports/20200717-covid-19-sitrep-179.pdf?sfvrsn=2f1599fa_2 accessed on 17 July 3 Source: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-07-14/coronavirus-update-covid19-who-warning-tedros-us-vaccine-testing/12451120 accessed on 17 July 4 Source: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/?utm_campaign=homeAdvegas1?%22%20%5Cl%20%22countri accessed on 17 July 5 Source: Ministry of Health https://www.facebook.com/MinisteriodaSaudeTL accessed on 17 July

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affected during the state of emergency.6 This promulgation follows the Council of Ministers’ approval of the first amendment to decree-law No. 16/2020, of 30 April specifically to articles 14 and 16. This financial support to employment within the scope of the government’s COVID-19 response is intended to address the reduction of income of workers and the financial difficulties experienced by employers to ensure the maintenance of jobs. On the basis of this decree-law, the government • through the National Social Security Institute will pay workers enrolled in the social security contribution scheme with a subsidy equivalent to 60% of their salary. Humanitarian Agencies in the Country This week, continued trainings for professional health workers were provided by MoH, Hospital Nacional Guido Valaderes and (NHGV) supported by WHO, St. John of God Health Care, and USAID conducted COVID-19 Case Management Training in Covalima and Oecusse municipalities, participated by 15 health care workers from Covalima and 80 health workers from Oecusse comprising of doctors, nurses, midwives and pharmacists. In addition, the increased vulnerability of those with noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) to becoming severely ill and dying from COVID-19 calls for ramping up of efforts for prevention, management, and control of NCDs. Therefore, the MoH and Directorate of Ermera District Health Services, together with WHO, trained 36 multidisciplinary health professionals in the two-day orientation on the tools and processes of integrating and implementing the updated people centred Package of Essential Noncommunicable Disease (PEN) interventions.7 As schools in the country are reopening, many are still closed due to lack of access to clean water and hand washing facilities. Some organizations have supported the installation of hand washing stations, such as UNICEF which has supported the Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sport by providing 13,000 buckets with taps to schools across country.8 In addition, the government announced on Friday that it received USD 1 million in funding from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to tackle hunger and poverty over the next six months, which have been exacerbated due to pandemic restrictions on trade and work. The support will be mainly targeted at vulnerable households living in Suai, Bobonaro, Oecusse, Baucau and Dili, where there is serious concern regarding malnutrition, and invested in the local food production by local farmers. This project will run from July to December this year under the joint control of the Ministry of Agriculture and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).

CVTL Response Update

In response to COVID-19 pandemic, as of 17 July 2020, CVTL COVID-19 preparedness operations have been conducting the following programs:

Health and Hygiene Promotion and Services • Continuing efforts to disseminate information related to COVID-19 pandemic to the community in rural and urban areas, and distributing posters on COVID-19 prevention to 13 municipalities—especially strengthening the dissemination activities in Dili as it shares borders with high-risk areas such as Covalima, Oessue, Bobonaro Municipalities and also Indonesia. • Conducting the door to door approach for disseminating information related to OCVID-19 to ensure that all communities understand the pandemic situation, along with public sensitization on COVID-19 prevention through megaphones in all 13 municipalities

6Source: https://presidenciarepublica.tl/2020/07/president-of-the-republic-promulgates-first-amendment-to-decree-law-on-employment-support- measures/?lang=en accessed on 17 July 7 Source: https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/searo/timor-leste/14-07-2020-tls-sitrep-51-ncov-eng.pdf?sfvrsn=afc1f25f_2 accessed on 17 July 8 Source: https://www.guideposttimor.com/ accessed on 17 July

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• Continuing with health and hygiene promotion on COVID-19 prevention to students and teachers in several schools as the country is reopening schools that meet the standard of health protocols to reopen schools amid COVID-19. • Continuing with the installation of handwashing stations in several municipalities, especially for schools and public places. This week CVTL has installed 7 handwashing stations with capacity of 200 litters and 1 hand washing stations with capacity of 2300 litters, with details as follow: ▪ Installed 2 hand washing stations in schools in Dili (Sao Carlos Bebora and Escola 20 de Setembro Metinaro) ▪ Installed 4 hand washing stations in Lequidoe Health Post, Municipalities (200 litters and 2300 litters) ▪ Installed 1 hand washing station in community neighbourhood in Barauna, Bikeli Village, Atauro Island. • Scaling up disinfectant spraying activities as the country is reopening several public facilities—both indoors and outdoors such as tents in CVTL HQ, Vera Cruz Health Post, quarantined sites, malls, universities, and schools. • Monitoring facilities in Tasi-Tolu quarantine site—handwashing stations and tents for people who still have to undergo the mandatory 14 days quarantine. • Setting up 6 tarpaulins in Lequidoe Health Post, Aileu Municipality to support facilities in the health post and packing down 1 tent in Dili Convention Centre. • Providing disinfection and sterilization training to UNETL (União Nasional Eskuteiru Timor-Leste) or Timor-Leste National Scout Union. A total of 24 scout members (15 males and 9 females) attended the training at CVTL NHQ.

Risk Communication and Communication Engagement and Accountability • Distributing KIE Medias on how to safely engage communities during COVID-19 pandemic and RFL Key messages. A total of 4 standing banners and 833 posters on how to safely engage communities along with 500 posters on RFL Key messages have been distributed to 2 municipalities in border areas (Oecusse and Dili). The distribution will continue to Bobonaro and Covalima by next week. • Participating in a radio talk show by Metro Radio to share about CVTL responses during the pandemic. CVTL Health Coordinator was participating in the talk show. • Finalizing community perception survey on COVID-19 report. This report will be translated from English to Tetun and disseminated internally to all CVTL branches on 28 July. • Developing community feedback collection form through KoBo tool with support from IFRC. This form will be used to collect feedback from communities regarding CVTL responses during the pandemic. • Broadcasting a short video on hygiene promotion—students washing their hands on CVTL Facebook page. • Interviewing the scout members who were trained on disinfectant guidance training by CVTL

Institutional Readiness • Developing the overall National Society Response (CVTL COVID-19 Response Plans) as the pandemic situation has shifted in Timor-Leste. • Introducing the new IT Manager to support CVTL COVID-19 response activities. • Submitting a fundraising proposal to NSIA (National Society Investment Alliance) as a part of fundraising program in supporting the sustainability of organization. The NSIA is a pooled funding mechanism—a joint initiative by IFRC and ICRC, providing flexible multi-year financing and support for the development of National Red Cross and Red Cross Societies to strengthen their capacity in delivering relevant and effective humanitarian services.

Communication Management • Producing media monitoring contents related to COVID-19 updates in Timor-Leste to support Communication and Media Monitoring updates developed by IFRC CCST Indonesia and Timor-Leste. • Continuing with the promotion of CVTL’s COVID-19 operation activities through the CVTL Facebook page by uploading photos during CVTL COVID-19 operation. • Submitting articles relate to CVTL response on COVID-19 which will be published on APRO Newsletter. • Preparing the summary of RCRC 7 Principals and COVID-19 information that will be broadcasted through local radios in several municipalities.

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• Arranging and inviting medias to cover the symbolic ceremony for awarding ANZ Bank Timor-Leste with platinum card membership at CVTL NHQ. External Relations • Holding a symbolic ceremony for awarding ANZ Bank Timor-Leste with Platinum Card Membership as an acknowledgment of ANZ Bank Timor-Leste’s support to CVTL COVID-19 Operation. The platinum card membership is awarded to people or organization that contribute in value more than USD 500 to CVT. The membership will last for a year and the members will always be invited to any CVTL events or celebrations. • Participating in a regular online coordination meeting with IFRC to update on CVTL activities. This week CVTL was focusing on providing feedback on CVTL Interim Report for Japanese Government, updating guidelines of dead body management, producing risk communication materials, and as requested by Secretary State of Civil Protection to procure PPE from Indonesia.

IFRC Appeal and Bilateral Support

The IFRC is appealing for CHF 1.9 billion (USD 1.95 billion) globally to urgently scale up its global response to curb COVID-19 rapid spread and support National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies all over the world in health care, prepositioning of goods, risk communication and community engagement, epidemic control and community case management, strengthen the emergency operation centre for epidemic/pandemic under response framework, lessons learned from the global network of local responders, cash grants for families, and mitigating impacts of large outbreaks. Out of the CHF 1.9 billion, CHF 450 million will be raised through the IFRC Secretariat in support of National Societies. IFRC may raise additional support as needed based on national risk analysis.

Out of this appeal, a total of CHF 324,000 confirmed funding is allocated for Timor-Leste.

Operational Strategy

The overall operational objective is to contribute to reducing morbidity, mortality, and social impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak by preventing or slowing transmission and helping to ensure communities affected by the outbreak maintain access to basic social services and can support themselves in dignity. CVTL is receiving package 3, equivalent to CHF 200,000 to undertake the activities outlined in the Emergency Plan of Action (EPoA) for 6 months. Under the coordination with the Timor-Leste inter-ministerial team established by the Ministry of Health, CVTL supported by IFRC will provide PPE, medical equipment relevant to COVID- 19 treatment, and implement risk communication programmes.

IFRC CCST Jakarta has established a COVID-19 response operation cell that will assist CVTL in designing and monitoring the implementation of the operation plan.

Sectoral Updates: For the period of reporting, IFRC has supported CVTL in various activities as shown in the below table:

Sectors Updates Health • IFRC health team hosted technical meeting along with IFRC WASH team, RCCE, and CVTL colleagues. The discussion was about technical support for CVTL COVID 19 operation continuation. Currently, the health promotion activities are still being conducted in 13 municipalities, with the main focus shifted to the 3 districts that borders Indonesia. • Reviewing CVTL’s plan and budget revision under its domestic response plan for Covid-19 operation • Continue to support PPE procurement and delivery to Timor Leste for Covid-19 operation WASH • CVTL continues to install handwashing station with various water tank size from 200 liters to 2200 liters. It has been installed in public areas in Dili and in 13 municipalities including in some schools. Still many

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requests from the school and public facilities to CVTL to be supported with handwashing stations. • The hygiene kit for household to support CVTL COVID-19 operation activity is under procurement process. A total of 2000 hygiene kit is expected to be distributed to vulnerable communities in needs by August 2020. CEA • Finalizing the community perception analysis report • Producing draft presentation of the result of community perception survey in Timor-Leste • Drafting key messages for dissemination activities in cross-border areas Media Monitoring and • Updating the routine content for next week which will be broadcast on Policy Analysis Twitter with a thematic focus on the Installation of Handwashing Stations. National Society • CVTL is still preparing for distribution activities on RFL messages to Development communities at the border area, including coordination with the local leaders to support the implementation of activities at the border areas.

For more information, please contact:

Anacleto Bento Ferreira; Secretary General, CVTL Jan Gelfand, Head of CCST Jakarta mobile: +670 7742 9380 mobile: +62-811 9690 8324 email: [email protected] email: [email protected]

Joao Pinto Soares; Health Coordinator mobile: +670 7733 3554 email: [email protected]

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