Portuguese Prime Minister Costa calls for a state of emergency over corona | Abroad

The last Covid-19 state of emergency was declared in March by President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and lasted six weeks.

Under Portuguese law, the state of emergency is limited to 15 days, but can be extended indefinitely for periods of 15 days if required.

Stricter measures

The president is expected to declare the emergency in a televised address Monday evening and parliament will then have to approve it, formalities in both cases.

On Saturday, the government already introduced stricter measures, such as a civic obligation to stay at home, except for trips to work, school or shopping. This applies in 121 municipalities, including the main regions of Lisbon and Porto.

A state of emergency would pave the way for further measures, such as stricter restrictions on the movement of people, suspension of the right to strike and restriction of public gatherings.

Curfew

Costa said the emergency will not be as drastic as it was in March, but a curfew could be introduced if necessary.

Portugal has recorded a relatively low number of infections (144,341 cases) and 2,544 deaths from Covid-19. But the daily number of new cases peaked at 4,656 on Friday, the highest number since the start of the pandemic. Testing for the virus has also increased.

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