This message was sent by KISS FM Solid Gold Sunday 5th April
Message to Community
“Good morning everyone
There is little doubt that people are becoming more accustomed to a change of life that has affected us all, as a result of the new Coronavirus.
These changes will be with us for some time but, how long this takes is up to us. It is in our hands. If we stay at home, except for essential trips, it will be over much quicker. If we stay home, the risk of us and our families being infected, is much reduced. And – if we stay home, we will greatly help the nurses, doctors and emergency services, upon whom, we all depend.
The coronavirus pandemic increasing affects Portugal, albeit at a slower rate than some countries. The Government has been swift to introduce further measures to help mitigate the situation here – these appear to be working but it will take time.
The main one, was on second of April, extending the State of Emergency law until 17th April. A decision will then be taken as to where or not to extend it further. Such as a decision will be based the information and advice of health experts.
Apart from this law, there are many other measures in place, including those to help protect businesses and individuals, who have been disadvantaged by this crisis. As we know, such laws can be complicated to understand. At Safe Communities we are making every effort to explain some these, especially those concerning the emergency law itself.
People are naturally and rightly concerned about the possibility of people from the big cities, moving southwards, to enjoy their holidays in the Algarve. I share this concern The Government has therefore, rightly in my opinion, restricted movement between municipalities for the Easter period 9th to 13th April.
There are some exceptions to this, such as for “health reasons or urgency, or due to work obligation expressly stated in the law”. We have received considerable feedback from within the foreign community regarding these and other measures.
There is, without doubt, a general sense of responsibility, civic mindedness and determination to overcome this and get back to a normal way of life. We all understand that this is a collective battle that requires everyone’s contribution. The work undertaken by charities and other volunteers throughout Portugal is highly commendable: from making donations to providing support to those in need. Please support them.
Our volunteer team of professionals, at Safe Communities Portugal, has been there since day one. We will continue to try and provide the best service to the foreign community in Portugal, as far as resources allow. We work 7 days a week to ensure there is no lapse of services at the weekend. Our information and services are available to everyone, so please feel free to use them. It is essential that everyone follows the Facts not hearsay and supposition.
We are continuing to work closely with government and of course the British Embassy Consular team who do tremendous work. Official information can be found on the Gov.UK travel advice website Portugal page, which is essential reading if you are travelling. This, and other useful information is regularly updated. Please visit the Brits in Portugal Facebook page which contains important information.
We thank everyone who has shared our work throughout the country, by Facebook and for visiting our site. We also thank the media and KissFM for promoting this as well.
For those who do not have internet or do not use social media, we are also sending this information by email through our newsletter. If you would like to volunteer your services in the area of communication, then please contact David Thomas at info@safecommunitiesportugal.com
Lastly we all owe a considerable gratitude of debt to the fantastic work being undertaken by the health authorities, doctors, nurses, ambulance crews, civil protection and police personnel to keep us all safe – WELL DONE.
For official information and advice please visit the SNS and Civil Protection websites and to help you in English the Safe Communities home page
https://www.safecommunitiesportugal.com/ Click red box Coronavirus Covid 19.
David Thomas
President Safe Communities Portugal