At today’s 45th session, the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia adopted decisions related to dealing with the coronavirus, which enter into force as of tomorrow, Thursday, 23 April, and refer to the reduction of movement restrictions and increase of the protection of citizens.

According to these decisions, every working day, from Monday to Friday, the citizens are allowed to free movement from 05:00h until 19:00h. The ban on movement from Monday to Friday in the whole country will start at 19:00h and will last until 05:00h.
Citizens over the age of 67 will be allowed free movement every working day from 05:00h until 12:00h. 
Young people up to the age of 18 will be allowed free movement from Monday to Friday from 13:00h until 19:00h. 
The new decisions, also, reduce movement restrictions on weekends. From now on, the weekend curfew shall start at 15:00h on Saturday and shall last until Monday at 05:00h.

On Saturday, people over the age of 67 will be allowed free movement from 05:00h until 11:00h, and young people up to the age of 18 will be allowed free movement from 12:00h until 15:00h.

At this session, the Government adopted the Decree with force of law for wearing personal protection to prevent the spread of coronavirus and protect the population during the state of emergency.

The Decision stipulates that every domestic or foreign natural person on the territory of the Republic of North Macedonia is obliged to wear personal protective equipment when leaving their home, i.e. when moving in public places and areas of open and closed type, in markets, in public transport and when entering closed spaces where there are groups of people (state institutions, markets, shops, banks, post offices, waiting rooms, health institutions, etc.).

Personal protective equipment includes any form of protection that covers the nose and mouth (a FFP2 respirator mask or higher standard, a disposable surgical mask, reusable cloth mask, a silk scarf or a shawl, a cotton scarf or a shawl, a bandana, and the like).
As an exception, every citizen may not wear personal protective equipment on their face if:
-    he or she wears special personal protective equipment on the face as part of performing their job,
-    is in the yard of a residential family house,
-    cycles or plays outdoor sports as individual sports activities,
-    travels in a passenger motor vehicle with persons, with whom he or she lives in a community or household or
-    moves in public places and open-air spaces and fully keeps the necessary minimum distance of at least two meters from other persons.

According to the Decree, all domestic and foreign legal persons on the territory of Republic of North Macedonia are obliged to take measures of precaution in their offices, companies and constructions, where they perform their activities. All physical persons that work there are obliged to wear personal protective equipment on the mouth and nose and ban the entrance and movement in these premises to all natural persons, who enter as visitors, and who do not wear personal protective equipment.

Today, a Decree was adopted with force of law for mandatory self-isolation during testing for presence of coronavirus COVID-19.

According to this Decree, all domestic and foreign natural persons, symptomatic and asymptomatic, who have been tested for the presence of coronavirus COVID-19 in their body, are placed in mandatory self-isolation from the moment of collecting the sample (swab from mouth, throat swab, nasal swab, blood, etc.) until a negative result is obtained.

The Decree stipulates that if the collection of sample is performed outside the home, i.e. the place of potential self-isolation of the physical person being tested, the person has the obligation without delay in the shortest possible time and in the fastest way, to go to self-isolation and avoid, as much as possible any contact with other persons on their way to the place of self-isolation.

The Decree stipulates that self-isolation lasts until a negative test result is received.

Self-isolation is carried out in the person’s home or in an apartment or a house where he or she can be completely isolated from the people he or she lives with (weekend house, apartment in which he or she does not live, and the like.).

During the period of self-isolation, the person in self-isolation must not go out at all, he or she should minimize the contacts with the people he or she lives with (if he or she cannot be completely separated) and he or she should follow the recommendations of the Ministry of Health regarding self-isolation.

Self-isolation can turn into home isolation based on a Decision on Health Supervision by the State Sanitary and Health Inspectorate, in accordance with the protocols for reduction of the importation, spread and dealing with the coronavirus COVID-19.

At this session, the Government adopted a Decree on the implementation of the Law on Trade during a state of emergency. With this Decree, the word shops/groceries is added to the list of trade facilities and it stipulates that retail trade facilities are allowed to have only one person per 20 square meters, whereas for retail trade facilities smaller than 20 square meters the ban refers to one person at a time.  
The Decree stipulates that the trader is obliged to provide protective equipment (masks and gloves) for the employees in the facility, and the employees are obliged to wear the protective equipment during all working hours.

Today, the Government adopted a Decree with force of law for implementation of the Law on Postal Services during the state of emergency, which stipulates that for establishing order and discipline when entering, while inside and when leaving the facilities, and the facilities where postal services are provided, during the state of emergency, the provisions of this Decree with force of law will be applied.

According to this Decree, postal service providers are obliged to provide security service at the entrance, inside and at the exit of the facility, in order to maintain the minimum required distance between persons in front of and inside the facility, to ensure mandatory hand disinfection at the entrance of the facility and mandatory wearing of a protective mask, scarf or shawl that will cover the mouth and nose of the user of the postal service who enters the facility.

Postal service providers are obliged to place relevant signs which mark the direction of movement and preserve the necessary minimum distance of two meters both inside and outside while waiting to be served. The signs shall be placed at a distance of at least two meters in front of any window/stand, where the clients need to approach for using their postal services, as well as at the entrance of the facility.

The Decree obliges postal service providers to carry out preventive disinfection at least once a week in the facilities where postal services are provided.
At today’s session, a Decree with force of law was adopted for implementation of the Banking Law during the state of emergency, which stipulates that for establishing order and discipline when entering and exiting the facilities of banks and savings houses where clients are served, the provisions of this Decree will apply.
According to this decree, banks and savings houses are obliged to provide security service at the entrance and exit of the facility, in order to maintain the minimum required distance between persons in front of and inside the facility, to ensure mandatory hand disinfection when entering the facility and not allow entrance into the facility to persons who fail to wear a protective mask, scarf or shawl for protecting their mouth and nose.
The banks and savings houses are obliged to place relevant signs which mark the direction of movement and preserve the necessary minimum distance of two meters both inside and outside while waiting to be served in front of any window, which clients need to approach for using their financial services, as well as in the diameter of 10 meters at the entrance of the facility.

According to this Decree, banks and savings houses are obliged to provide protective equipment (gloves and masks) to the employees who work in the facilities or have contact with clients, and are obliged to wear them during all working hours.

The regulation stipulates that banks and savings houses must not have more than the following number of persons together with their employees present at the same time:
-    more than 5 people in a facility of 50 square meters;
-    more than 10 people in a facility of 50 to 100 square meters;
-    more than 15 people in a facility of 100 to 200 square meters and
-    more than 20 people in a facility of more than 200 square meters.
At this session, the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia decided to reduce the prize fund of the prize game ,,My VAT, My Prize” and to allocate the means to the Fund for aid and support in dealing with the crisis caused by the coronavirus COVID-19.
The Government reached a conclusion to recommend the Joint Stock Company for organizing games of chance ,,State Lottery of the Republic of North Macedonia” to allocate funds in the amount of 4,383,410.00 MKD to the donor account opened within the General Secretariat of the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia designated for donations from legal entities and individuals for dealing with the COVID-19 epidemic.

The Government assigned the Ministry of Finance, the Public Revenue Office and the State Lottery of the Republic of North Macedonia to conclude an annex to the agreement for joint organization of the prize game “My VAT #MyPrize” and assigned the State Lottery of the Republic of North Macedonia to amend the Rules for organizing the prize game “My VAT #MyPrize” and to make a technical adjustment for the implementation of its decision.

According to the Decision on amendments to the decision on movement restriction, the Government today adopted the Decision on determining the schedule of working hours in the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia, ministries and other state administration bodies and it is determined that working hours in these institutions start at 07:30 or 08:30 and end at 15:30 or 16:30, with a total duration of the working day of eight hours.