Kosovo introduces new coronavirus measures as infections surge

Kosovo Government has reintroduced new coronavirus measures which will enter into force Wednesday as the country is battling a sharp rise in Covid infections in recent weeks.

The Government of Kosovo held a meeting Tuesday and approved the decision of the Ministry of Health to introduce new COVID-19 measures as of Wednesday including movement restriction between 22:00 and 05:00 and the closure of restaurants and bars until April 18. Additionally, the Government has decided to prohibit public gathering of more than ten people, funerals, and weddings. Also, the Government ordered closure of schools from 12 to 18 April. Kindergartens will stay open.

All foreigners entering Kosovo will need to present a negative PCR test no older than 72 hours, apart from those who sign a declaration that they will leave Kosovo’s territory within three hours.

According to the Kosovo Government statement the decision adopted at today’s meeting of the Government of Kosovo includes the following measures:

1. This decision applies to the entire territory of the Republic of Kosovo.

2. Foreign nationals entering Kosovo, including those with temporary or permanent residence permits in Kosovo, coming from high-risk countries according to the official ECDC list, must have a negative RT-PCR test for COVID-19 done in the last 72 hours, based on the principle of reciprocity.

3. The following are exceptions from point 2:

3.1. If the foreign citizen enters Kosovo through the airport or through land border crossing points and leaves Kosovo within 3 hours through the airport or land border crossing points, provided that at the entrance they sign the declaration that he will leave Kosovo within 3 hours;

3.2. Foreign nationals working as professional transporters (drivers), provided that they comply with the international transport protocol for protection against COVID-19;

3.3. Foreign citizens passing through Kosovo through organized transport by bus or regular international line, transit, provided that a declaration is signed that they will leave the territory of Kosovo within 5 hours;

3.4. Foreign diplomats accredited in Kosovo and their families.

4. All citizens of Kosovo, upon entering Kosovo must present a certificate for a negative RT-PCR test made no later than 72 hours before entering Kosovo, otherwise they must self-isolate for 7 days.

5. Exceptions from point 4 of this decision are the citizens of Kosovo who have left Kosovo in the last 24 hours.

6. In public and private institutions only staff who perform essential services are obliged to be present at work. The heads of public and private institutions are obliged to define the essential staff for the needs of the institution upon the entry into force of this decision.

7. Public or private employers are instructed to create the conditions for performing work duties from home for other workers who are not essential staff for the needs of the employer. The employer is obliged, in cooperation with the employees, to define the job positions that can be performed from home.

8. Within the Office of the Prime Minister, in ministries, executive agencies, regulatory agencies, including their local branches, the senior management officer should ensure that, as far as possible, public officials perform their work remotely.

9. With regard to point 8, depending on the nature of the work, the physical presence of the official at the workplace may be required only for as long as is necessary to perform the task requiring physical presence. This rule does not apply if the nature of the official’s work requires them to be physically present during all working hours (especially when the nature of the work relates to the health sector, the security sector, direct services to the citizen, the organization of government meetings, archive or other cases depending on the specifics of the institution).

10. Regarding points 8 and 9, the senior management officer and the directors of the departments must be in the workplace during all working hours. In case of impossibility, the director of the department shall be replaced by a division leader.

11. Wearing a mask covering the nose and mouth is mandatory, in all cases except:

11.1. When driving alone or with close family members;

11.2 When running and cycling;

11.3 When walking outside residential areas and not in groups with more than 4 people of the same family.

12. Public and private institutions are obliged to keep hand sanitizers and face masks in accessible places at the entrance of the building and indoors.

13. Public and private institutions are obliged to place visible signs at the entrance of each building on the rules of conduct for protection from COVID-19 (including the sign prohibiting entry into the building without masks, respecting the distance, etc.)

14. The relevant officials of public institutions, private enterprises and any other entity are obliged to carry out disinfection and ventilation of enclosed spaces.

15. From 7 April until 18 April shall be prohibited the circulation of citizens from 22:00 to 05:00, except:

15.1. Urgent cases (to seek medical help, purchase medicines, provide care or medical assistance, to avoid damage or to escape a risk of injury);

15.2. Movement of health and safety personnel, as well as for the operators performing public works and services;

15.3 Economic operators that ensure the functioning of the supply chain (including the transport of goods / services), but provided that they are equipped with a special permit from the EDI system of the Tax Administration of Kosovo.

16. All public and private institutions of pre-university education (from 12 April to 18 April) and all public and private university institutions (from 7 April to 18 April) are obliged to organize the form of educational activity according to the instructions provided by the Ministry of Education, Science, Technology and Information. Pre-school and primary education institutions shall continue to operate normally, respecting the measures and recommendations against COVID-19.

17. The exams are exempted from Point 16 and they can be held physically in all public and private higher education institutions, respecting the measures and physical distance and in groups of 10 persons.

18. Dormitories and student’s cafeteria shall suspend their activity from 7 April to 18 April 2021.

19. All public and private institutions of all educational levels are prohibited to organize extracurricular activities, such as excursions, group walks, various parties of teaching staff or pupils – students.

20. Ministry of Finance, Labour and Transfers is instructed to release the beneficiaries of social and pension schemes managed by MFLT from regular submission for evidence purposes, as required with the relevant laws.

21. All gatherings with high risk of spreading the infection, with more than 10 persons (such as meetings, seminars, training sessions, homages) are prohibited. Exceptionally, regardless of the number of persons, it shall be prohibited post-funeral gatherings and weddings.

22. Meetings of the Assembly of Kosovo, meetings of the Government, or the meetings of special public interest are prohibited.

23. Funerals attended only by the close family are allowed.

24. The operation of shopping centres indoors is prohibited, except for essential services provided therein, such as food market and pharmacies, from 7 April to 18 April, whereas the operation of shopping centres outdoors is allowed, respecting the measures and recommendations for the control, prevention and fight against the COVID–19 pandemic.

25. Indoor food markets are obliged to limit the maximum number of customers who can be in the store at once according to the rule – 1 person per 8m2. Markets are obliged to indicate at the entrance the maximum number of customers allowed to be in the store at once.

26. Customers are obliged to respect the physical distance of 2 meters.

27. Gastronomy services are obliged to suspend their operation from 7 April to 18 April. Also, gastronomy services are prohibited even indoors in markets, bakeries, kebab restaurants, and gas stations.

28. Gastronomy services are allowed only in “take away” services, “delivery by order” and “drive-through”. The “delivery by order” service is allowed to operate even after 22:00, after being provided with a special permit by the EDI system (TAK).

29. In hotels and similar accommodations, the service of drinks and food is allowed only in the rooms.

30. The activity of public markets of vehicles and animals is prohibited.

31. Slaughter of animals is allowed only in the premises authorized for this purpose.

32. Public transport is allowed to work using up to 50% of capacity.

33. Taxis are allowed to work with one (1) passenger in the back seat or up to three (3) if they are family members.

34. Subordinate institutions of MCYS and municipalities (such as theatres, libraries, philharmonic, galleries, ensembles, ballet, cinemas, youth centres, museums, cultural centres with groups and similar), are allowed to operate from 5:00 to 21:00 using up to maximum 20% of the space/areas of respective facilities for all activities (both in performance and in exercises).

35. Sport activities are allowed only for professional purposes, both indoors and outdoors, without public, and in compliance with the national and international sport protocols.

36. Exceptionally from Point 35, indoor activity in fitness halls and gyms is prohibited.

37. Use of gyms and fitness halls for individual recreational activities is allowed only outdoors.

38. The Ministry of Health shall be obliged to issue instructions to clarify points of this Decision, as necessary.

39. The Minister of Health, FVAK and Kosovo Police are obliged to supervise, in compliance with the Municipal Emergency Headquarters, the enforcement of this Decision and provide the Office of the Prime Minister with weekly reports (every Friday at l6:00).

40. The Minister of Health, KHUCS and NIPHK are obliged to provide the Office of the Prime Minister with a weekly report (every Friday at 16:00) on the implementation of measures, state in the health institutions, the epidemiological situation, as well as the forecasts for the next two weeks.

41. The Minister of Health is obliged, based on Law No. 07/L-006 on Prevention and Combating the Covid-19 Pandemics in the territory of the Republic of Kosovo, to issue operational decisions depending on the epidemiological situation and the recommendations of the NIPHK.

42. The Kosovo Police and the responsible inspectorates are obliged to supervise the implementation of measures and other decisions in implementation of Law No. 07/L-006 on Preventing and Combating Covid-19 Pandemics in the Territory of the Republic of Kosovo.

43. The competent bodies are obliged to impose punitive measures against violators of measures in accordance with Law No. 07/L-006 on Preventing and Combating Covid-19 Pandemics in the Territory of the Republic of Kosovo and other applicable laws.

44. The Ministry of Health is the only authority mandated to interpret this Decision, while other institutions may provide clarifications on the respective categories to which this Decision applies only after the approval of such clarification by the Ministry of Health.

45. The Government Decision No. 01/63 dated 11.02.2021 is hereby repealed.

46. This Decision enters into force on the day of its publication in Official Journal of the Republic of Kosovo and shall remain valid until another decision.

The measures taken under this decision are based on the reasoning that:

– The factual situation, based on the analysis of the Covid-19 epidemiological situation by the National Institute of Public Health on 3 April 2021, shows that 11,577 positive cases were reported in the last two weeks (19.03.2021 to 01.04.2021), of which 150 fatal cases, while the case-fatality ratio (CFR) is 1.29%.

– From 8 February 2020 to 01.04.2021, 434,893 persons suspected of being infected with the SARS-CoV-2 virus were tested. Of these, 92,198 cases were diagnosed with Covid-19 or 21.2% of the samples tested were positive. Until 01.04.2021, 76,402 cases or 82.86% of those infected were recovered, while currently there are 13,902 active cases (15.1%). Based on the number of detected and confirmed cases over the days, an increasing trend (16.7%) of active cases is noted, while there are 13,902 current active cases compared to the number of active cases before the November measures – a total of 13,784 with a peak on 2 December 2020, which represents an increase of 0.8%.

– NIPHK tested 147 SARS CoV-2 positive samples with Real Time PCR for the detection of British variant B.1.1.7 and South African variant B.1.351. These samples were received from all regions of Kosovo, which had tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 in recent days. Of the total number of the samples tested, 97.27% of them had the British variant and none had the South African variant. This situation of the British variant prevalence requires that the exposure to COVID-19 be minimized as much as possible and its prevalence be slowed down, so that the capacities of the hospital service remain affordable and manageable.

– In this situation of public health emergency, it is necessary to restrict freedom of movement, freedom of assembly, the right to privacy, and the freedom of service delivery and business administration. These restrictions are based on Law No. 07/L-006 on Preventing and Combating Covid-19 Pandemics in the Territory of the Republic of Kosovo and, as stated by health experts from the NIPHK and WHO, are strictly necessary when the epidemiological situation is aggravated.

– The timelines set out in this Decision serve as a necessity for the infection curve to decrease, but depending on the assessments of the epidemiological situation, these timelines may be extended through a new decision. Depending on the epidemiological situation and the effect of these measures, new measures may be taken, which may be harsher or lighter than the measures set out in this Decision.

– Based on the epidemiological research of cases with COVID-19 and contact tracking by the NIPHK, the following have been identified as potentially super-spreading events of infection: gastronomy; public institutions; work in offices/common places; shopping centre; schools; gatherings of persons, with special emphasis on funerals and various parties.

The measures above were taken in pursuance of three objectives:

– Minimize exposure to COVID-19 and slow its spread so that public health capacities are not flooded beyond their limit;

– Preserve the mental and physical health of citizens.

– Keep economic activity open to the extent possible.

– Therefore, this Decision was taken based on the recommendations provided by NIPHK, evaluated by the Committee for coordination and assessment of the Covid-19 emergency situation, to take the necessary measures to prevent, manage and control COVID-19 infection in the territory of the Republic of Kosovo, taking into account the provisions of the Law No. 07/L-006 on Preventing and Combating COVID-19 Pandemics in the territory of the Republic of Kosovo.