LISBON (Reuters) – Portugal on Tuesday ordered the closing of nightclubs and bars and urged people to work from home for at least two weeks from Saturday to control the spread of Covid-19 during the holiday season.
“This is still not the normal Christmas we are used to,” Prime Minister António Costa said at a press conference. “If we don’t take these steps now, the consequences for everyone’s lives will be much worse after Christmas and New Year.”
+ Germany wants to allow contacts only between those vaccinated against Covid, says chancellor
Costa also announced capacity restrictions at stores and said a negative coronavirus test would now be required to stay in hotels or attend events.
Officials will also limit outdoor gatherings to 10 people per group on New Year’s Eve, when a negative test will be required to enter restaurants, casinos or attend parties in public spaces, Costa said.
Most of the measures announced by Costa were due to take effect in early January, but the current situation with the pandemic has forced the government to anticipate them, he added.
Portugal, which has one of the highest vaccination rates against Covid-19 in the world, with around 87% of its 10 million inhabitants fully inoculated, is facing an outbreak of infections along with the rest of Europe, in part due to rapid spread of the Ômicron variant.
Almost 50% of new coronavirus cases in Portugal are of the Ômicron variant, reported the national health institute.
(Reporting by Catarina Demony and Sérgio Gonçalves)
See too
+ Horoscope: check today’s forecast for your sign
+ Video: Driver leaves Tesla car on autopilot and sleeps on SP highway
+ Food stamps: understand what changes with new rules for benefit
+ See which were the most stolen cars in SP in 2021
+ Expedition identifies giant squid responsible for ship wreck in 2011
+ Everything you need to know before buying a crockpot
+ Discovered in Armenia most eastern aqueduct of the Roman Empire
+ US Agency warns: never wash raw chicken meat
+ Passenger attacks and pulls out two stewardess teeth
+ Aloe gel in the drink: see the benefits
+ Lemon-squeezing trick becomes a craze on social media
+ Lake Superior: the best freshwater wave in the world?
#Portugal #imposes #restrictions #Christmas #due #Ômicron