LISBON (AP) – Portugal announced new incentives Thursday for those who receive the COVID-19 booster vaccine, exempting them from isolating themselves unless they live with someone who tested positive.
Starting Monday, those who have had the booster shot in the past two weeks will no longer have to show a negative test in order to attend public events and other venues, Prime Minister António Costa announced.
Also, those who have received the booster vaccine will not have to isolate themselves, unless they are living with someone who is infected. That implies that some 270,000 people among the 400,000 who are currently in quarantine will be able to leave.
“This is an incentive … to get the booster shot,” he stated.
In addition, the government is removing the requirement to isolate yourself in case a colleague from work or school tests positive. That move had brought home large numbers of work colleagues and schoolchildren from entire classrooms.
The new rule is in response to staff shortages and protests in schools across Europe, as the omicron variant has spread and infected a record number of people.
The new rules will go into effect next week. Negative tests will continue to be necessary for everyone entering Portugal by air. The obligation to work from home was extended from January 9 to 14.
The government is awaiting recommendations it requested from the attorney general’s office on how to hold the general elections scheduled for January 30, Costa said.
Due to the havoc caused by the omicron variant, hundreds of thousands of people are likely to be homebound by election date and authorities are looking for ways to pay amid the health crisis.
Costa indicated that 89% of the 10.3 million inhabitants of Portugal are fully vaccinated. About 3 million people have received the booster shot.
The number of new cases in Portugal reached a record high of almost 40,000 on Wednesday, but hospitalizations remain far fewer than before. In recent weeks in Portugal, the number of daily deaths from coronavirus has been less than 20.
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