In order to combat the coronavirus epidemic, the Portuguese authorities announced an extension of the state of emergency, which will be in effect between 00:00 on 9th and 11:59 p.m. on 23rd December, and which will surely be extended until at least January 7th. In addition, 113 Portuguese counties are now listed as areas with stricter rules. Lisbob, the expatriate assistant, tells you all about the extension of the state of emergency and the rules of the 113 counties involved.
New state of emergency in Portugal: 113 counties at very high risk
Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa said last Saturday that the government's strategy was to keep the program already in place until Christmas, and then to reduce holiday restrictions a bit. In the case of Christmas and New Year, the measures already announced will be the subject of an evaluation on the 18th to confirm the trend of improvement regarding the Covid-19 pandemic.
In November, the Portuguese executive had already divided the 278 municipalities of the continent into four groups, according to the level of risk of transmission - moderate, high (between 240 and 480 cases per 100,000 inhabitants), very high (between 480 and 960) and extremely high (over 960).
The updated lists can be found at www.covid19estamoson.gov.pt.
For the next two weeks which start today (until 23 December 23:59), there is no ban on movement of municipalities across mainland Portugal and stricter rules are therefore maintained for territories with very high high risk (35 municipalities) and very high risk (78), including the ban on driving on public roads between 1 p.m. and 5 a.m. on weekends between 12 p.m. and 1 p.m. and between 7 p.m. and 8 p.m.
Here is the risk level map for mainland Portugal:
On working days, the home confinement period in the 113 very high-risk municipalities does not begin until 11 p.m. and commercial establishments must close until 10 p.m. Restaurants, cultural and sports facilities must close until 10:30 p.m. (catering establishments can operate until 1 a.m., but only for home deliveries).
In high-risk counties (now 92), the ban on driving on public roads is maintained until 11 p.m., with the general obligation of home confinement, between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. every day, with exceptions. Commercial establishments must close until 10 p.m. Restaurants, cultural and sports facilities must close until 10:30 p.m. (catering establishments can operate until 1 a.m., but only for home deliveries).
Eight municipalities in the Lisbon metropolitan area have now moved from the very high level to the high level (Odivelas, Oeiras, Seixal, Setúbal, Sintra, Amadora, Cascais and Vila Franca de Xira), over the next two weekends they will n 'therefore have no traffic restriction in the afternoon. The same is not true for Almada, Barreiro, Lisbon and Loures, the only territories in the metropolitan area that remain at very high risk and, therefore, with greater restrictions.
In the Porto metropolitan area, nine counties have gone from extremely high to very high risk and the other eight remain at the most severe level, so in practice there is no change from the last fortnight. The 73 municipalities currently with a moderate level of transmission continue to have no compulsory home confinement, but commercial establishments cannot open before 10 a.m., with the exception of hairdressers, barbers, beauty salons, restaurants and the like, cafes, tea rooms, etc. , driving schools and technical inspection centers for vehicles, as well as gymnasiums.
In these cases, most commercial establishments close between 8:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m., and the closing time, in this interval, can be fixed by the mayors of city councils, as well as the opening time, subject to a favorable opinion of the local health authority and security forces.
