Portugal reached it is peak of infections at the beginning of April. Since then the curves for infections as well as deaths are falling.
These developments resulted in the Portuguese government to end the State of Emergency and to implement a three-phase plan to ease restrictions of the lockdown, which started on May 4. The plan opens up different sectors of the economy every 15 days.
The government is very much aware of the risks associated with opening the economy and are monitoring the pandemic closely.
Even though Portugal's population of 10.3m has 22% of its citizen older than 65 years and hence as a country is more vulnerable to the Coronavirus than other countries, the spread has been contained comparatively well to it is neighbours Spain and Italy. As of May 8, Portugal has only 27,268 confirmed cases and 1,114 deaths. The peak of infections took place on. Deaths peaked on April 16 and have since been decreasing. At the time the seven day moving average was 32 deaths per day. With 49,000 tests per million people Portugal also has one of the highest testing rates world wide (as of May 8).
Portugal's virus reproduction rate ‘R’ is 0.94, implying less than one other person gets infected by someone with the virus. The rate of new infections has slowed since 23-25 March figures show.
For now citizens are reminded to stay at home when necessary, including working from home where possible and keep social distance of 2m when outside or running errands. The use of face masks are mandatory in public transport (only 2/3 of capacity can be used), services, shops and supermarkets. Initially small neighbourhood shops, car dealerships, hairdressers and bookshops will open. Any services are by appointment only and can not be walk ins. Individual sports like golf, tennis, swimming (in the ocean) and surfing are permitted. Libraries, archives, zoos, aquariums and similar venues are allowed to open now.
Police has been giving out facemasks to those that did not have them initially and are now giving fines for those that do not follow this. New rules for hygiene and sanitation have been put in place and will be revised if necessary. Detailed information can be found here https://covid19estamoson.gov.
From May 18, bigger street shops can open. Restaurants, bakeries, cafes and terraces can open with max 50% capacity, before that only take-away or home deliveries are allowed. Museums, monuments and palaces, art galleries and other cultural spaces can open.
From June 1, shops larger than 400m2 and shopping malls can re-open as well as cinemas, theaters, auditoriums, and showrooms.The government is also working on a contact-tracing mobile app to assist in the monitoring of new cases.
From June 1, shops larger than 400m2 and shopping malls can re-open as well as cinemas, theaters, auditoriums, and showrooms.The government is also working on a contact-tracing mobile app to assist in the monitoring of new cases.
If you are planning to visit Portugal and like to stay at one of our apartments, feel free to reach out to us with any questions you may have about the situation in Lisbon and Portugal. More info on the easement, including airport information can also be found here https://www.visitportugal.com/
Stay safe and healthy,
your LD Apartments Family,
your LD Apartments Family,
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