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Angola in a state of emergency until 24 May after NA accepted another extension

This Friday, the National Assembly unanimously approved the President's third request to extend the state of emergency for a further 15 days, which renews the set of measures in force to combat covid-19.

: Angop
Angop  

With the endorsement of the National Assembly, João Lourenço will thus be able to extend the state of emergency for another 15 days.

The current state of emergency ends at midnight on Sunday 10th May. The new state comes into force on that day and continues until midnight on May 24.

In a letter sent to parliament, João Lourenço stressed that the risk of the disease spreading remains, with 36 positive cases reported in the country, two of which resulted in deaths and 11 people recovered.

João Lourenço stressed that in the last week the first cases of local transmission were registered, considering that "the moment continues to recommend prudence and the adoption of a series of extraordinary measures, only possible in a state of emergency".

In their speeches, the parliamentary groups were in favour of extending the state of emergency.

The leader of the MPLA's parliamentary group, Américo Kuononoka, said that the factors, causes and reasons behind the introduction of exceptional measures in the framework of the state of emergency "continue to evolve towards possible dangerous and more worrying levels".

The MPLA's parliamentary group said it was "unconditionally in favour of the local transmission of eight cases, bearing in mind that the primary objective of the state of emergency is to avoid the expansion of covid-19, by cutting EU transmission, with adjusted and balanced measures".

For his part, the leader of the parliamentary group of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), Liberty Chiaka, justified the favourable vote by understanding that the defence of human life is above any interest.

"As a matter of fact we understand, and it is our deep conviction, that the preservation and the realization of the dignity of the human person are supreme interests of the State", said Liberty Chiaka, pointing out that in this phase of struggle against a visible enemy they are partners.

The leader of the parliamentary group of the Broad Convergence for the Salvation of Angola - Electoral Coalition (CASA-CE), Alexandre Sebastião, said that the extension of the state of emergency for the third time is still necessary given "the new indicators with infected citizens in some neighbourhoods".

"Meanwhile, there is an urgent need to make in the provinces not affected by this pandemic, greater openings, which give the local population the freedom to create the direct or indirect conditions for the flow of products to the city of Luanda, this one that deserves more rigor," he said.

For the leader of the Social Renewal Party (PRS), Benedito Daniel, the presidential decree is necessary to safeguard and reconcile the immediate social and economic objectives of the population, which are their daily concern, in order to establish a balance between prevention and the daily life of citizens.

"We vote in favour of extending the state of emergency, and it is the right thing to do in order to protect the lives of Angolan citizens," he said.

Lucas Ngonda, representing the National Front for the National Liberation of Angola (FNLA), said that the most worrying thing at the moment is the shift from imported cases to those of local contamination.

"It is disturbing because, on the one hand, so far we have no testing in the communities, and on the other hand, we see a slowness in the testing of suspected cases in institutional and home quarantines," he said.

The country entered a state of emergency on 27 March, due to the spread of covid-19 in Angola and the world, and since then it has remained so.

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