The Albanian government on Sunday adopted an emergency law that allows people to be fined for various breaches of measures to contain the spread of the coronavirus, including holding social, cultural or political gatherings or selling food or medicines that do not comply with safety regulations.

Prime Minister Edi Rama said that anyone who complains about the heavy fines should understand that the penalties are “not [meant] to collect money for the state, but to protect the people from violations that threaten their health in this war situation”.

Social, cultural or political gatherings, either in enclosed or open-air spaces, are banned, and violators can be fined up to 5 million lek (40,000 euros).

“Entities or individuals who organise public or non-public activities, such as sporting or cultural ones or conferences, or mass gatherings in enclosed or open-air spaces, such as concerts, gatherings or public hearings, are to be penalised 5 million leks,” the law says.

Television stations are banned from having more than two people on their talk shows in the same room and will be fined 1 million leks (8,300 euros) for any violations.

The legislation also envisages fines for traders in food and medicines if for unacceptable price rises, and three-year bans for car drivers if they breach restrictions on movement.

Private hospitals that refuse to offer their capacities when required can be fined by up to 5 million leks (40,000 euros).

The highest fines, up to 10 million leks (83,000 euros), can be imposed on entities that trade in food or medicine without respecting safety rules designed to combat infections.

All fines will be automatically executable, which means they will be collected immediately, whether or not the suspect mounts a court challenge. Courts are notoriously slow in Albania and challenging such fine could take years.

The legislation, called a normative act, is a kind of emergency law that can be approved by the government with immediate effect without the need for the prior approval of parliament.

By Sunday, Albania had 42 cases of COVID-19 and one death. About 17 people are in hospital and three of them are in intensive care.

The rest, including three medics who contracted the virus from patients they treated, are in self-isolation in their homes.