PRIME MINISTER UNVEILS NEW MEASURES FOLLOWING THE COUNCIL OF MINISTERS MEETING
Most of the country will move on July 1 to a situation of alert due to the pandemic of covid-19, with the exception of the Metropolitan Area of Lisbon, announced today the Prime Minister.
At a press conference held at the end of the Council of Ministers meeting, António Costa said that most of the country will move from a calamity situation to an alert, while the Lisbon Metropolitan Area (AML) will move to a “contingency situation” (intermediate level) and 19 parishes of AML maintain the “situation of calamity”.
For most of the country, which will pass the alert situation at 00:00 on July 1, António Costa underlined that “it does not mean returning to pre-Covid normality”.
In view of the growth in the number of infected with covid-19 in municipalities in the metropolitan area of Lisbon, the Government decided on special measures for 19 parishes, involving the municipalities of Amadora, Odivelas, Sintra, Loures and Lisbon.
These parishes maintain a situation of calamity, however, in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area the state is lowered to a situation of contingency. The rest of the country moves to a situation of alert (the lowest of those established in the Basic Law of Civil Protection.. Generally speaking, mitigation measures will be in force to July 12.
The measures for 19 AML parishes (Freguesias) are:
– Civic duty of home confinement (remaining at home except for essential reasons)
– Banned fairs and marketplaces
– Gatherings limited to 5 people
– Reinforcement of surveillance of mandatory confinements by joint Civil Protection, Social Security and Community Health teams
– Healthy Neighbourhoods Programme (a programme to be coordinated by Helena Roseta).
Rest of the AML are those measure announced on 22nd June
These measures are in addition to those approved for the rest of the Metropolitan Area (which has “fallen” from a calamity to a contingency situation). Please see the SCP page here
– Closure of commercial establishments at 20h00 (except: in catering for meal service and take-away; super and hypermarkets (until 22h00); fuel supply; clinics, offices and vets; pharmacies; funeral homes; sports equipment
– Ban on selling alcohol at petrol stations
– Gatherings limited to 10 people
The decision was announced, this Thursday, by António Costa, after the meeting of the Council of Ministers.
The 19 parishes affected by the duty of confinement are six in the municipality of Amadora and four in Odivelas. In the municipality of Lisbon, the only parish is Santa Clara and, in the municipality of Loures, two parish unions are at stake: Sacavém and Prior Velho, and Camarate, Unhos and Apelação.
In Sintra, there are the parish unions of Queluz / Bela’s, Massamá / Monte Abraão, Cacém / São Marcos, Agualva / Mira Sintra, Algueirão / Mem Martins and the parish of Rio de Mouro.
In addition, there will be a strengthening of surveillance of mandatory confinements by joint Civil Protection, Social Security and Community Health teams.
In mainland Portugal as a whole (which will go from a situation of calamity to a situation of alert) the rules will be as follows:
– Mandatory confinement for patients and persons under active surveillance
– Rules on physical distance, mask use, occupancy, schedules and hygiene are maintained
– Gatherings limited to 20 people
– Prohibition of alcohol consumption on public roads.
– Fines of 100 to 500 euros (individuals) and of one thousand to five thousand euros (corporations).