Kosovo Govt Tightens Freedom of Movement Restrictions

Outgoing Health Minister Arben Vitia told a press conference on Monday evening that starting from April 15 at 6am, people in Kosovo will not be allowed to leave their houses for more than 90 minutes a day.

The reason for the intensification of the restrictions lies in the government's expectations of a significant increase in the number of cases during the next couple of weeks, before a gradual but steady fall.

People will be allocated time slots according to their identity card numbers to leave their homes to carry out essential tasks, Vitia said.

"Then there will be disinfection of the spaces where this number of citizens has circulated," he added.

Based on initial calculations, about 40,000 people will be out of their homes at any one time, he said.

Vitia said that people can go out for "food and medicine, as well as for financial tasks and needs".

However, they are "obliged to wear masks or other coverings for the mouth and nose when going out onto the streets", he added.

People cannot go out accompanied, unless they have special needs or are under the age of 16.

Anyone over the age of 65 is recommended not to leave the house at all, unless there are urgent health reasons. There are also strict regulations governing the use of vehicles.

Failure to comply with the measures are punishable by fines of 1,000 to 2,000 euros for individuals and 3,000 to 8,000 euros for legal entities, while officials at legal entities can be fined from 500 to 1,500 euros.

The measures are to stay in place until May 4 and apply to the whole of Kosovo. However, Serb-majority municipalities have not respected all the government's measures in the past so it remains to be seen whether the new ones will be observed.

BIRN...