With an increase in the number of cases, the Portuguese authorities have decided that Porto, Faro, Braga, Setubal and other Portuguese municipalities must step back into deconfinement and have the same rules that apply to the capital Lisbon. The measures include time and capacity restrictions for shops and restaurants. The big news of this week is now the obligation to present the vaccination passport or a negative test in order to be able to go to the hotel or to the restaurant! Lisbob, the expatriate assistant, tells you all about this new measure.
Portugal imposes the vaccine passport or negative test to go to a restaurant or a hotel, Porto and the Algarve are falling into deconfinement.
Unlike the United Kingdom, which has just announced the abolition of all sanitary measures, Portugal is sinking into a particularly gloomy summer. The Portuguese government met like every Thursday to assess the situation and decide on the next steps.
Much of the Lisbon Metropolitan Area (AML) is already in "red" with stricter rules than the rest of the country, but it is no longer alone. Indeed Porto, Faro, Braga, Setubal and 25 other municipalities follow the same path as Lisbon.
The 26 municipalities with more than 120 cases or 240 cases per 100,000 inhabitants that follow Lisbon are:
Alcochete
Alenquer
Arruda dos Vinhos
Avis
Braga
Castelo de Vide
Faro
Grândola
Lagoa
Lagos
Montijo
Odemira
Palmela
Paredes de Coura
Portimão
Porto
Rio Maior
Santarém
São Brás de Alportel
Sardoal
Setúbal
Silves
Sines
Sousel
Torres Vedras
Vila Franca de Xira
In addition to telework becoming mandatory, the hours of establishments are changing:
Cultural shows must end at 10:30 p.m.
Shops must close at 9:00 p.m. on weekdays and at 7:00 p.m. on weekends and public holidays in the case of a food store, otherwise closing at 3:30 p.m.
On the catering side, the number of people per table is reduced to six on the terrace and four indoors, and hours are also reduced, closing at 10:30 p.m. on weekdays and at 3:30 p.m. on weekends and public holidays;
Weddings and baptisms now have a 25% capacity and citizen stores have face-to-face service by appointment only.
The new measure that will make people talk is the obligation to present the vaccination passport or a negative test in order to go to a restaurant or hotel! In details, in areas considered to be at high risk and very high risk, in addition to the curfew at 11 p.m., people who wish to go to the restaurant must have the vaccination passport or a negative test. This obligation will apply for the moment from Friday 7 p.m. to Monday morning.
This measure will be the same for hotels and Airbnbs in the whole country, and even during the week.