TIRANA – All educational institutions in Albania have been closed for a two-week period and flights to Northern Italy have been cancelled until April 3, has said the Prime Minister, Edi Rama.
Mr. Rama made that announcement at an extraordinary government meeting held on Monday morning after two Albanian citizens were declared as affected by COVID-19 late last Sunday. Father and son, 54 and 28 years old, who traveled from Venice to Albania, are the two first cases made public in a country which although surrounded by neighboring countries hit by corona virus infection had not been affected.
“Following the protocol of the World Health Organization (WHO) the moment has come to cancel the flights with Northern Italy until April 3, and to close all educational institutions for a two-week period,” said Mr. Rama at the government meeting.
But the government head advised that in the current situation, as in any other unusual situations, it is indispensable to stay calm and to follow the rules of certified official sources.
In the meantime he announced that borders will not be closed. “The WHO does not recommend closure of borders. As a matter of fact, the border closure is a very drastic measure, which has been applied in very specific cases or related to very specific evidence something not existing in Albania,” said Mr. Rama.
He underlined that the Task Force set up by the government has worked intensively and continues to implement the plan of measures to prevent the spread of the infection and reduce the effect of Covid-19. “We are in continuous consultation with WHO as far as these measures are concerned.”
The PM warned all the affected persons coming from areas with an international outbreak or ‘red areas’, which are monitored strictly, that if they do not abide by the rule for self-quarantine, they will be fined.
It was tit-for-tat the reaction of the opposition Democratic Party (DP) through a former lawmaker and ex-health minister Tritan Shehu who lashed out at the government for its latest measures which he considered as a façade and not transparent.
According to him, Albania is in face of a warned fact and Monday’s government meeting showed that it is still continues to be in stagnation and statements on ‘safety’ are groundless. /argumentum.al
