It was further determined the suspension of school activities on the eve of a holiday on November 30 and December 7 and there will be a point tolerance in the Public Service these days, to have “a month of December as calm as possible”, justified António Costa.
The leader announced that from the list of risky municipalities in Portugal 17 municipalities will leave: Aljustrel, Alvaiázere, Beja, Borba, Caldas da Rainha, Carrazeda de Ansiães, Ferreira do Alentejo, Fornos de Algodres, Golegã, Santa Comba Dão, São Brás de Alportel, Sousel, Tábua, Tavira, Vila Real de Santo António, Vila Velha of Ródão and Vila Flor.
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The “risk map” in Portugal, which meets European criteria, is now divided into four levels: “Extremely high risk”, in which 47 municipalities are now located; “Very high risk”, with 80 counties; “High risk”, with 86 counties and, finally, “moderate risk”, in which there are 65 counties.
In “high risk” counties, where there are more than 240 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, the ban on traffic on public roads will be maintained between 11 pm and 5 am and the action to monitor compliance with telework will be increased, which according to the Prime Minister is not being met in all places where it is mandatory.
“Where teleworking is mandatory, it will really be respected”, said the head of Government, adding that the Minister of Labor, Solidarity and Social Security, Ana Mendes Godinho, has already given authorization for “effective actions to verify compliance with this obligation “.
In these municipalities the closing of commercial establishments until 22h00 and restaurants and cultural facilities until 22h30 remain mandatory.
For “very high and extremely high risk” counties, with more than 480 cases per 100 thousand inhabitants, additional measures will be taken. On Saturdays, Sundays and holidays of December 1 and 8, circulation on public roads will be prohibited and the closing of commercial establishments between 1:00 pm and 5:00 am is mandatory.
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Also in these places, it will be mandatory to close commercial establishments from 3 pm on the eve of a holiday (November 30 and December 7).
António Costa stressed that the list is dynamic and will be reviewed every 15 days, in line with the review of the state of emergency. “In the coming months, the measures to be adopted will be modeled so that they adjust as best as possible to the actual reality in each municipality”he explained.
Further on, asked about a possible further extension of the state of emergency in Portugal, the Prime Minister said that he would be “very surprised” if this state does not apply at Christmas, claiming that the content of the measures being adopted are less intense , but with greater temporal extension.
“I would be very surprised if there was no state of emergency at Christmas, because that means that the evolution of the fight against the epidemic would have been very fast “, he affirmed.
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Economic support measures
The general measures applicable to the entire national territory will remain, namely the mandatory use of the mask in the pubic way and in a set of closed spaces. The novelty is that, from now on, the mask will also be mandatory in workplaces, except when workstations are isolated or when there is physical separation between different posts.
“Viruses are also transmitted at work and the mask also protects against virus transmission at work,” explained António Costa.
The prime minister also announced economic support measures due to the state of emergency. The Apoiar.pt program, worth 1.550 million euros, will be one of them, loans of 750 million euros and 160 million euros non-repayable are foreseen.
Other economic support measures will be immediate access to Progressive Recovery Support, as well as postponement of payments to Social Security and quarterly VAT.
Support for restoration will be maintained in all municipalities where activity restrictions are maintained, that is, in those with more than 240 cases per 100 thousand inhabitants. Next week there will be a reduction in commercial rents.
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The measures were announced by the Prime Minister at the end of the extraordinary meeting of the Council of Ministers. António Costa began his speech with a thank you to all the Portuguese for the effort they are making yet another weekend, “sacrificing their freedom”, also reminding all those whom the measures are hurting financially, namely those working in the catering and trade sectors.
Incidence rate “extremely worrying”
The leader stressed that the number of new Covid-19 cases in the country remains “extremely worrying”, although, week after week since mid-October, there was a consecutive decline.
“However, these results are still insufficient. We still have a lot to strive for in order to achieve the desired result”, he warned.
António Costa underlined that we must persist to reverse the growth of new cases and “crush this extremely high incidence rate” and that it represents “a threat to the health of all, to the functioning of the NHS and it is a very tough challenge for all health professionals who are doing their best to cure patients who are already infected ”.
At the end of the speech, already in response to journalists, the Prime Minister rejected the dichotomy between opening up the economy and combating the Covid-19 epidemic and stated that your Government is united around a vision of balance on the measures to be adopted.
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Asked about the confrontation of opinions between defenders of the primacy of the economy and sectors that want absolute priority to fight the health crisis, the leader of the executive replied: “There is no such dichotomy”.
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“The law is clear”
António Costa was also asked about the PCP congress that will bring together 600 people next weekend, in Loures, in a state of emergency.
Showing a sheet with the state of emergency law, “of September 30, 1986, a very old law that has remained unchanged”, the Prime Minister considered that “the law is clear and exhaustive” since “meetings of statutory bodies of political parties, unions and professional associations will in no case be prohibited, dissolved or submitted to prior authorization “.
“It is not for the Prime Minister to comment on the decisions of the different political parties. The Prime Minister is simply responsible for respecting the functioning of the different political parties and the options they make,” he replied.
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The authorization in parliament to prolong the state of emergency until December 8 had votes against by the PCP, PEV, Chega, Liberal Initiative and by the non-registered deputy Joacine Katar Moreira, while BE, CDS-PP and PAN abstained.
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