TIRANA, April 17 – The Albanian government will waive all fines imposed on pedestrians and those who have used their vehicles in violation of the COVID-19 restrictive measures. The announcement was made by Prime Minister Edi Rama on Friday, who added that all confiscated driver’s licenses will be returned to their owners.
“We have decided today not to impose these fines and return all driver’s licences and vehicles. Next week, with the entry into force of the new Criminal Code, [we want to] let everyone start equally, “Rama said. So far, the Albanian police has fined 7,107 people for violation of the measures, and 1,941 drivers.
On Wednesday, the Albanian Parliament approved a modified version of the government’s proposal to make changes to the Criminal Code by introducing harsh prison sentences for violators of the Covid-19 measures.
The recently-approved changes stipulate that:
Violators of the government orders on whom an administrative measure has been previously imposed, is punishable by a fine or imprisonment of up to 6 months. The same offense, when committed in the exercise of commercial activity, thus endangering the health of people, is punishable by a fine or up to 2 years prison time.
Failure to comply with the quarantine or isolation order, or violation of quarantine rules, by the person carrying the infectious disease or not, is punishable by 2-3 years in prison. The intentional spread of an infectious disease with a high health risk , by a person who is a carrier of the disease or a person who intends to spread it, is punishable by 2-5 years in prison.
When this offense is committed through negligence, it is punishable by a fine or 2 years in prison. When this offense has caused serious consequences for people’s lives, the violator is sentenced to 3-8 years in prison.
Meanwhile, the government has prohibited the movement of citizens and vehicles from Friday at 5:30 p.m. to Monday at 5 a.m., excluding retirees who will be allowed to take walks until 11 a.m. on Saturday.
