The Prime Minister, António Costa, announced, this Saturday, the measures approved in the Extraordinary Council of Ministers, and that will take effect in the State of Emergency, which starts Monday.
Costa said that “the effort we have to make now is fundamental to contain the growth of the pandemic”, remembering that the goal is “a safe Christmas”.
The Prime Minister pointed out that health professionals “are excellent” but will not “be able to do the job without the help” of the Portuguese.
Thus, for 15 days, from 00:00 on 9 November to 23:59 on 23 November, the decree approved by the Council of Ministers determines:
– The prohibition of movement, in (121) determined municipalities with high risk, in public spaces and roads daily between 11 pm and 5 am, as well as on Saturdays and Sundays between 1 pm and 5 am, except urgent and urgent travel;
– The possibility of performing body temperature measurements, by non-invasive means, to control access to the workplace, public services or institutions, educational establishments and commercial, cultural or sports spaces, means of transport, in residential structures, establishments health facilities, prisons or educational centers, and access to the controlled location may be prevented whenever there is a refusal to measure body temperature, or if the person presents a result higher than normal body temperature;
– The possibility of requiring diagnostic tests for the covid-19, in the access to health establishments, residential structures, educational establishments, professional establishments in the entrance and the exit of national territory – by air or by sea – and other places, by DGS determination;
– Strengthening the screening capacity of public health authorities;
– The mobilization of human resources to control the pandemic. The mobilization of human resources to reinforce the tracking capacity (eg: conducting epidemiological surveys, tracking contacts, tracking people under active surveillance).
The Prime Minister recalled that “if there are limits to circulation, there will also be restrictions on commercial activity”, stressing, however, that “restaurants will be able to work either for home deliveries and take-away”.
Costa also said that “there are no exceptions” to the mandatory collection, namely for the next two weekends.
“There are no exceptions, the only one that exists is only in the morning of Saturday and Sunday,” he said. “It is a strongly restrictive measure of people’s freedom and essential to contain the growth of the pandemic,” he admitted.
The government official also admitted the possibility that, every 15 days, more counties will enter the list of high risk. “There are counties off the list that will unfortunately make the list,” he confessed.
Know in detail the measures of the New State of Emergency approved by the @govpt. #COVID19 #We are ON
– Portuguese Republic (@govpt) November 8, 2020
– .
