The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, signed this Friday the Government decree that “establishes the terms of the exceptional measures to be implemented during the state of emergency” due to the Covi-19 pandemic.
The President of the Republic and Prime Minister met today in the late afternoon at the Palace of Belém, in Lisbon, a source from the Presidency told Lusa.
“The President of the Republic signed the Government Decree establishing the terms of the exceptional measures to be implemented during the state of emergency, decreed by the Decree of the President of the Republic no. 14-A / 2020, of 18 March, in response to the COVID-19 disease pandemic “, can be read in a note on the Presidency page.
The Government met again today in the Council of Ministers to discuss measures of social and economic support for the population affected by the pandemic of Covid-19, after on Thursday having presented a first batch of measures to implement the state of emergency.
The meeting started at about 10:30 am, again at the Ajuda Palace, in Lisbon – the place chosen to make it possible for a greater distance between all those involved – having been interrupted in the late afternoon so that the Prime Minister, António Costa , if he met with Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, an agenda that was not disclosed.
After the signature of the President of the Republic of the decree that was approved by the Council of Ministers, the prime minister endorses the decree, which is then sent to the National Press-Mint for later publication in Diário da República.
The decree will take effect at 00:00 on Sunday.
Duty of “home collection”
Among the measures already presented on Thursday, by António Costa himself, the duty of “home removal” for the general population stands out, a “special duty of protection” for people “over 70 or with morbidities” and mandatory isolation only for patients with Covid-19 or who are under active surveillance.
In the latter case, if mandatory isolation is not fulfilled, patients will incur the “crime of disobedience”, and the Government admits, if necessary, to also define a sanctioning framework to punish those who break the special duty of protection and withdrawal.
Citizens subject to home care can travel on public spaces and roads to “travel to emergency shelters for victims of domestic violence or human trafficking, as well as children and young people at risk., by application of a measure decreed by a judicial authority or Commission for the Protection of Children and Youth, in a residential or family home “, the diploma reads this Friday approved by the Council of Ministers.
Veterinarians and animal caregivers can travel during a state of emergency
Among the authorized travels on the public road are “travel by veterinarians, animal keepers for medical-veterinary assistance, caregivers from colonies recognized by the municipalities, volunteers from zoophilic associations with dependent animals who need to go to shelters of animals and animal rescue teams “.
These justifications that authorize circulation in the presence of a state of emergency that takes effect at midnight on March 22, are set out in the article that determines a general duty of home collection and that provides for situations in which one can leave the house.
The document, in its article 22, also states that the the Minister of Justice will articulate with the superior councils – of the judiciary and of the Public Prosecutor – and with the Attorney General’s Office “the adoption of appropriate measures to effect the access to the law and the courts, to safeguard the rights, freedoms and guarantees injured or threatened with injury “.
Public service establishments closed, but with exceptions
For economic activities, the Government defined as a rule that establishments with public services must close, with the exception of essential goods “for day-to-day life”, and that the rest must remain open.
The closure of Lojas do Cidadão was determined, for example. Among the exceptions to the closure of establishments with public service are grocery stores and supermarkets, gas stations, pharmacies and bakeries, among others, which will thus remain open.
JThe establishments connected to the restaurant “must be closed in their public attendance”, but the Government encourages them to remain in operation for home delivery and take-away services (collection in the store).
Those over 70 and the chronically ill, health professionals and the security and protection and relief forces, armed forces and people who provide social assistance have priority in trade, the Government decreed.
“Retail establishments or services that maintain their activity in terms of the preceding articles must give priority to persons subject to a special duty of protection, under the terms of article 3, as well as, phealth professionals, elements of the security and protection forces and services, personnel of the armed forces, and the provision of social support services “, is determined in number 1 of article 14.
The Government decree also defines that “those responsible for the establishments must inform, in a clear and visible way, the priority service right provided for in the previous number and adopt the necessary measures so that it is carried out in an organized manner and with respect for the rules of hygiene and safety “.
“Funerals are conditioned”
One of the determinations of the decree is related to religious celebrations and other events. “It is forbidden to hold religious celebrations and other worship events that involve an agglomeration of people”, the decree reads.
The diploma also establishes that “funerals are subject to the adoption of organizational measures that guarantee the absence of clusters of people and the control of safety distances, namely the establishment of a maximum attendance limit, to be determined by the local authority that exercises the management powers of the respective cemetery “.
Public transport capacity reduced to one third of seats
The law states that it is mandatory for passenger transport operators to clean vehicles, following the recommendations established by the Ministry of Health.
And still “reducing the maximum number of passengers per transport to one third of the maximum number of seats available”, aiming at this measure to guarantee the “adequate” distance between users and to reduce the danger of contagion of the covid-19.
These measures are determined by the members of the Government responsible for the area of transport, to whom they also establish “the concrete terms and conditions in which the transport of goods must occur throughout the national territory, in order to guarantee the respective supply”.
The Minister for Transport may also take additional measures “which are appropriate and necessary to limit the circulation of public means of transport in order to preserve public health”, as well as adopting acts that are considered “adequate and indispensable to guarantee mobility services, ordinary or extraordinary, in order to protect people and goods” and maintain road, rail, port and airport infrastructures.
Health and civil protection authorities can enact civil requisition of goods
It is determined that the authorities may request “namely health equipment, respiratory protection masks or ventilators, which are in stock or which will be produced after the entry into force of this decree”.
“By decision of the health authorities or civil protection authorities may be requested any goods or services of legal persons under public or private law, that are necessary to fight the disease COVID-19 “, says the decree.
The Government may temporarily request industries, factories, workshops, health centers or other facilities to guarantee public health in the context of the covid-19 pandemic.
As a “guarantee of public health”, the minister of health can issue orders and instructions necessary to ensure “the supply of goods and the functioning of services in production centers affected by the scarcity of products necessary for the protection of public health”, says the diploma .
It can also determine “temporary requisition of industries, factories, workshops, fields or facilities of any kind, including health centers, services and private health establishments”, also establishes the decree.
The decree also establishes “the temporary requisition of all types of goods and services and impose mandatory benefits on any entity, in cases where this is appropriate and indispensable for the protection of public health, in the context of the emergency situation caused by the SARS epidemic. -CoV-2, as well as for the treatment of COVID-19 “.
Security forces will monitor state of emergency
The Government’s diploma establishes that it is up to the security forces and services to inspect the closure of establishments and cease the planned activities.
The police will also supervise people who are “obligatory confinement” in hospitals or homes, in particular patients with covid-19 or who are under active surveillance, at the risk of “crime of disobedience”.
To this end, the decree states, health authorities inform the security forces and services of the place of residence about the application of mandatory containment measures.
During the state of emergency, security forces will advise people not to concentrate on the public road and recommend that all citizens comply with the general duty of home pickup.
“The security forces and services permanently report to the member of the Government responsible for the area of internal administration the degree of compliance by the population with the provisions of this decree, so that the Government can assess the situation at all times, namely the need to approval of a sanctioning framework for violation of the special duty of protection or the general duty of home care “, says the decree.
The document also indicates that the entities of the Ministry of Health communicate to the member of the Government responsible for internal administration the general guidelines of the health authorities.
Deadline period for military service contracts suspended
During the period of the state of emergency “the counting of the effective service period is suspended for the purposes of calculating the maximum duration limit of the contracts “established in the Military Service Law and the” termination of the contractual contract by the military “that is found at the end of the trial period is no longer allowed .
The Military Service Law provides that the duration of effective service under a contract “has a minimum duration of two years and a maximum duration of six years”, the counting of this period being suspended during the period in which the state of emergency is in force.
MAI coordinates structure for monitoring the state of emergency
The Minister of Internal Administration (MAI) will coordinate a structure for monitoring the state of emergency enacted to deal with the covid-19 pandemic.
The structure for monitoring the state of emergency is composed of representatives of the governmental areas defined by order of the prime minister and representatives of the security forces and services, according to the Government decree that materializes the measures of the state of emergency.
This structure will monitor and produce regular information on the situation “without prejudice to the competences of the Secretary General of the Internal Security Service and the Security Coordinating Office”.
TAP can be requested for flights returning nationals to Portugal
The airline TAP may be required to operate flights for Portuguese citizens to return to Portugal, according to the decree.
The diploma “establishes the terms of the exceptional measures to be implemented during the state of emergency”.
According to the law, it will be up to the members of the Government responsible for the transport area to “adopt the necessary measures to ensure the participation of the national airline in operations aimed at supporting the return of national citizens to national territory”, either with scheduled flights or with flights operated especially for that purpose.
It will also be up to the government of the Transport area to define rules for the civil aeronautics sector, including “measures for the screening and organization of international airport terminals and flexibility in airport management”.
According to the document, guidelines on the presence of workers in the provision of essential minimum services can also be defined, even if the level of professional categories is adapted, vacations, working hours and stopovers.
The new coronavirus, responsible for the covid-19 pandemic, has infected more than 265,000 people worldwide, of whom more than 11,100 have died.
In Portugal, the Directorate-General for Health (DGS) today raised the number of confirmed cases of infection to 1,020, 235 more than on Thursday.
The death toll in the country has risen to six.
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