A state of health emergency scheduled to take effect in Portugal from Monday will be accompanied in most of the country by a curfew, Prime Minister Antonio Costa announced on Saturday.
During the week, there will be a night-time curfew, while the “ban on travelling on public roads” will begin at 1:00 PM on weekends.
The curfew will apply to 121 communes on lockdown since Wednesday, the Prime Minister said after an extraordinary cabinet meeting, adding that about 70% of Portuguese live in these communes.
"The only way to control the pandemic is to avoid social interaction,” the head of Portugal’s socialist government said. “These are essential measures to control the pandemic without imposing a new generalised lockdown,” like the one in the Spring, he explained.
Since early October, Portugal has seen its daily COVID-19 infections jump from 2,000 to 6,000.
Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa on Friday declared the state of health emergency, which will last at least until 23 November, to enable the Government to impose new restrictions aimed at stemming the spread of the virus.
During the first wave of COVID-19 infections, Portugal’s Government had imposed a six-week state of emergency.
The Brussels Times
