
The Portuguese government introduces measures to reduce the spread of the coronavirus that's why an overnight curfew from 11 p.m. will come into force in Portugal on New Year’s Eve. It was reported by Reuters with reference to Prime Minister Antonio Costa.
Two weeks ago, Costa had said people would be able to return home before a 2 a.m. curfew on New Year’s Eve. But a previously announced reevaluation of measures took into consideration the current pandemic situation and forced the government to take a step back.
“The number of cases per week are dropping but not as fast as they were before,” Costa said.
Thus, people will not be allowed to leave their homes between 1 p.m. and 5 a.m. from January 1 to 3.
There is no limit on how many people can gather per household for Christmas and a ban on domestic travel will not be imposed between December 23-26.
At the same time, the prime minister urged people to avoid poorly ventilated rooms and, if possible, use face masks when meeting with their families.
Portugal, which has a population of just over 10 million, has recorded 362,616 confirmed cases of Covid-19 and 5,902 deaths.
As we reported earlier, the government of Spain approved the Christmas restrictions plan for the forthcoming festive season.
The agreed measures allow travel to visit family only but no leisure trips, with regional perimeter closures to be decided by the individual regions.