Stockholm (KTN) — In a special session of Parliament, legislators in the National Assembly passed the Emergency Preparedness and Response Act 2020 (EPRA 20) with near unanimity in a remote vote when all Members of Parliament voted from home due to the GID-20 pandemic. The new law provided a broad definition of Valkyria's emergency powers and economic stimulus for everyone within the country facing hardship amid a national quarantine.

With the passage of EPRA 20, the bill gave power to the national government to invoke a moratorium on evictions for renters, homeowners, and small businesses; make direct payments of 2,000 Pacific credits each month to all Valkyrian residents, regardless of citizenship; and provide subsidies to businesses and trade unions among several other provisions. The legislation also bolsters the existing lockdown protocols invoked by the national government.

Immediately after its passage, President Kate Murphy invoked EPRA 20 and all of the powers granted to the government by the bill. The invocation has led to a five-week national lockdown that will continue the closure of all schools and non-essential businesses, enforcement of social distancing, and prohibition of all non-essential travel and gatherings of more than five people. The National Gendarmerie has been mobilised nationwide to enforce the lockdown.

Human rights organisations in Valkyria have acknowledged the need of such legislation for the pandemic but expressed concern about the bill's potential to be abused by the government in an effort to curtail civil rights and liberties. Malcolm Trelawney, the president of the Human Rights Protection Centre, noted that EPRA 20 could be regarded as "an expansion to the Expansion of Security Powers Act 2019" due to the security powers it grants to the government.

In contrast to human rights organisations, health organisations such as the Valkyrian Medical Association and Valkyrian Nurses Association have both announced their support for the bill and and the actions taken by the president. Emilia Stark, the executive director of the VNA, told KTN News that "a temporary curtailment of civil liberties is a necessary sacrifice to improve the public health of Valkyria during the outbreak".