Needless and useless to recall how many times I have told you all that the Covid-19 is an invisible enemy and how many of you raised the voice over an alleged political game, saying this an international conspiracy and that I was doing this because I was a dictator, an autocrat who feared protests and so on and so forth.

However, I am not blaming any of you for getting upset and angry because of the total lockdown; I am not blaming anyone who wanted to go back to work, to return to normal, nor those who more and more over the weeks started to wrongly believe that the fantastic result we achieved in the first stage was neither related to the measures put in place nor to the sacrifice that all Albanians made. I do not blame even those who, with their political games, conveyed scandalous messages and examples through statements and even street rallies.

When week after week we decided to lift the measures and completely relax the movement, the work and interaction, we were fully aware that the reopening would bring with it the risk of forgetting, but we did the right thing. We would do it again if we were to go back right to where we used to be and we took timely measures, by designing the right safety guidelines for everyone.

I agreed and I do agree with many people, who increasingly, day after day and week after week, demanded for a return to normalcy, by increasingly stating that the health of the household economy couldn’t be weakened beyond a certain point.

On the other hand, we have willingly chosen the path of advice and understanding rather than punishment or shutdown of businesses for failure to comply with safety guidelines, because we wanted to be understanding; we wanted to do whatever it takes and whatever we can to make it easier for everyone and mitigate and relieve the trouble that befallen us all. We knew it and we said that the infection numbers would increase and this is the most normal thing, the most natural consequence in the wake of the reopening and this is actually what is happening to all countries, somewhere more and somewhere less.

In the meantime, I have and we have constantly called for your understanding about the need for a new solidarity in compliance with the rules and order. Everyone should respect the rules, because police and troops can help control the closure, but no way can they discipline the reopening unless the citizens follow the practice.

I have not changed my mind: the economy falls and rises again, but the dead cannot be resurrected. Nobody has died of starvation in Albania, but the other side of the coin is that a restoration of the lockdown would be crushing to Albania, to every family and the resources of economic recovery. What I would like to share with you and everyone should know that if we are to continue this way, unfortunately we will have to restore lockdown again and deal with much more repercussions and a more severe scar than the one left by the first lockdown.

However, I don’t want to go over details about what we would be through if we are to restore the lockdown, because I don’t even want to think that this would happen, because I am confident and I am convinced we are still in time. It is still in our own hands to control the return of the invisible enemy, yes, the invisible enemy, that has not left, even for a single day, never, and it is there, wherever we give it a chance.

The new infection numbers, as you see, are worrisome, yet under control. The number of tests has increased, while the frontline healthcare professionals are coping with the situation with dedication and commitment which is nothing short of heroism. Our readiness and response capacity has ramped up through increased investments and equipment in the event of situation when we would have to cope with the worst, but the fate of this battle hinges on the citizens and businesses rather than the medical professionals, hinges on their will to observe the guidelines. Above all, its fate could be decided by the social distancing in the circumstances of a new reality, which shouldn’t be the same it used to be prior to this war.

After broad and lengthy conversations and discussions with experts and the Minister of Health over all these days, I want to notify you as following:

First, we will no longer allow any sort of gathering, including the political ones, while everyone will be allowed to go to work and the freedom of movement is guaranteed, freedom of expression has never been questioned, but gatherings bringing together a higher number of people than their allowed number according to the security guidelines will no longer be allowed.

The State Police should do their job without any distinction to anyone in every square kilometre of the Republic of Albania and whoever participates in gatherings or grouping larger than the allowed number in line with the safety guidelines will face direct penalties individually.

Second, no tolerance approach will also be enforced against any business activity or any individual for failing to respect the safety rules.  I am sorry, but I have to remind you that in addition to fines, they risk being deprived of their liberty if they are found violating the safety guidelines and directly endangering the health of the people they serve.

Third, the citizens themselves will be allowed to travel freely without any time restriction and without having to apply for authorizations of whatsoever, but they will face penalties if they violate the social distancing rules in common public spaces.

Brothers and sisters, I apologize thousands times, but this shouldn’t be the case. We can’t go further this way, if we don’t want to kill the elderly and the physically most vulnerable individuals through the irresponsibility of indifference to the rules and instead succeed to the end of this war. Whoever wonders “what this war is, because there is no war going on? What is this enemy, because there is no enemy? What is this virus, since there is no virus,” they have never had an idea what they are talking about, but amid the increasing infection numbers, as everyone is seeing for themselves, and with the virus’ emergence with dangerously high number of new cases, the danger is that of a catastrophic scenario, they should at least go silent and comply with the rules just like everyone else.

The virus is legless, yet it makes use of the legs of human stupidity and, in this case, there is no other option available, but the zero tolerance approach anywhere it shows up.

This is a moment when we need to think and work together for the country’s recovery. We must think and work together to alleviate the burden of all those who create jobs and generate employment. At the same time, this is the moment to accelerate the development pace at a stage when after we have shaped our ambitious new national plan of Albania 2030, we will need to show step by step with each other and for each other that we managed not only to cope with the risk in terms of health, but also meet the challenge in terms of economy.

I am very confident that if today we all do those annoying, yet simple tasks of social distancing and protecting ourselves and our families, we are on a good track and, next year, we will start to see the fruits that we had not thought of before after the two blows we sustained, the earthquake and the global shock that hit us too, the Covid-19 pandemic.