State of Emergency extension

President Tallis signed the declaration yesterday that saw it also gazetted Friday.

The State of Emergency was extended based on subsection 3291) and paragraph 34(3)(b) of the Disaster Risk Management Act No. 23 of 2019. 

The extension was made based on the continuous global existence of COVID-19, the declaration stated. This is not the first time for the declared State of Emergency to be extended for the whole of Vanuatu. However, it was expected that this would happen as COVID-19 persists throughout some Pacific nations and the rest of the world.

The extension period shall be subject to advice from the National Disaster Committee.

The extension is applicable to the whole of Vanuatu and is aimed at strengthening international border control prevention measures and infection prevention and control standards in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The SOE falls under the ambit of the Disaster Risk Management Act No. 23 of 2019.

The Council of Ministers met last week and the discussed SOE extension.