Timor-Leste Covid-19 Survey Round 6 – May 2021
The coronavirus outbreak continues to cause shock in Timor-Leste, and the Government continues its efforts to protect citizens via the implementation of various restrictions. The week when the survey was conducted, Timor-Leste was under its 14th State of Emergency; there were 1,315 active cases of Covid-19, and all 13 municipalities, including RAEOA, had a sanitary fence. The research aims to understand the concerns and challenges of the Timorese people and their attitudes towards the government during the Covid-19 period. Between May 1 to 8, 2021, Mata Dalan Institute (MDI) conducted 404 phone interviews. The same methodology for this perception survey mimicked the surveys conducted in December 2020 and February 2021. In the May survey, the respondents answered that Timor-Leste is moving in the wrong direction (52%) compared to (48%) in the right direction, this was the first time that the number had dropped since the surveys began in May 2020. In the May survey, the trust of the Government’s continued to drop from 54% to 34% compared to the previous survey in February 2021, the lowest number ever recorded. In the February Survey, respondents approved (52%) vaccination plans in the country, while 34% were neutral and 10% did not approve. Related to the recent flood and cyclone in April, (27%) of respondents were a little affected, (8%) were affected a lot, and 60% were not affected at all (60%). The results of this survey series will help inform the Government of Timor-Leste and donors on developing policies and programs relating to Covid-19. This research is supported by Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
