The Viana do Castelo Chamber “will not allow or authorize activities with amusement equipment until September 30” due to the covid-19 pandemic, despite the Government order that authorizes the operation of carousels.
Following the diploma published last week, regarding the resumption of the activities of the carousels, without allowing the opening of spaces such as parks for children or party halls, Lusa questioned, in writing, the 10 city councils in the district of Viana do Castelo, but only five responded.
The mayor of Viana do Castelo, the socialist José Maria Costa, said that “in this time of uncertainty and unpredictability in the face of ignorance of the evolution of covid-19 and of a possible second wave, the municipality, in a sense of prudence, responsibility and respect for life, it will not allow nor authorize activities related to amusement equipment until September 30th ”.
“It was with great responsibility and regret that we had to restrict the participation of the Viennese people to many activities, devotions and cultural and religious events with a deep sense of community and identity, such as the almost centennial pilgrimage to Santa Luzia and the pilgrimage of Nossa Senhora da Agonia and , recently, the Volta a Portugal by bicycle. We are all called upon to have collective responsibility and to reduce unnecessary risks in the prevention of covid disease and its spread ”, maintained the Mayor.
José Maria Costa added that “the health of the people of Viana will always come first and that respect for life is a supreme value that, for the autarchy, must be above all”.
“We cannot give contradictory signals to our society and, above all, we must protect and relieve the pressure, with the prevention of the National Health Service that has been under a high stress in the last few months”, he stressed, referring that he has not yet entered , in the municipal services, any request for the installation of carousels.
In Caminha, the mayor, the socialist Miguel Alves, recalls that within the Alto Minho Intermunicipal Community (CIM) it was decided “not to authorize the holding of parties, pilgrimages and processions, the main aspect of this prohibition being linked to the panoply of amusements that revolve around these festivities ”.
“At the moment, I have no request and, therefore, no prospect of authorizing the placement in public space, in the municipality of Caminha, of amusement equipment or the like. However, I do not completely rule out the possibility of authorizing any installation as long as a structured proposal arrives at the municipality that proves its usefulness for the strategy defined for this summer and the scrupulous compliance with all safety and hygiene rules issued by the Board. -General of Health or by other entities with competence to do so ”, he specified.
In Ponte de Lima, the Mayor, Vítor Mendes (CDS), stated that the municipality has not yet received requests for the resumption of amusement equipment activities, but does not rule out the possibility of being able to authorize it.
“Each case will be properly analyzed,” said Vítor Mendes.
In Vila Nova de Cerveira, the independent mayor Fernando Nogueira recalled that “the operation of amusement equipment and the like must observe the guidelines and instructions defined by the Directorate-General for Health, in a technical opinion specifically prepared for this purpose”.
“Given that the DGS guidelines for this type of equipment are not yet available, the municipality will analyze, in due course, the necessary procedure for opening these spaces”, he said.
The mayor said that his “greatest concern” is the Leisure Park of Castelinho, next to the Minho River, “due to its greater use and impact, due to the offer of a wide and differentiated set of playful and pedagogical skills”.
“We want it to be able to function fully again, but always in agreement and respecting the guidelines issued by the DGS, guaranteeing all the safety conditions of its users. We have no record of formal requests for reopening, but we have seen a natural impatience on the part of the little ones ”, he explained.
In Paredes de Coura, the Chamber chaired by the socialist mayor Vítor Paulo Pereira admits “to be able to authorize, this year, the installation of amusement equipment as long as there are requests and all the conditions recommended by the health authorities are fulfilled”.
“At the moment we have no record of any orders,” he said.
The Government order “aims at lifting the suspension of activities related to amusement equipment and the like, respecting equipment usually called ‘carousels’”, says a note released last week by the Ministry of Economy, reminding that the obligations of the licensing regime for traveling venues, as well as technical and safety standards.
In Portugal, 1,662 people out of 46,818 confirmed as infected died, according to the most recent bulletin from the Directorate-General for Health.
The disease is transmitted by a new coronavirus detected in late December in Wuhan, a city in central China.
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