Portugal Decides to Extend Mask Rule Until End of August
The Minister of the Presidency of Portugal, Mariana Vieira da Silva, said that a resolution that extends the state of alert throughout the territory of Portugal until August 31 had been approved, the Portugal News explains.
Apart from making such an announcement, the Minister explained that everyone would continue to be required to wear a face mask on public transport, AtoZSerwisPlus.pt reports.
Asked whether the measures might get eased again after the summer season is over, the Minister said that if the infection cases continue to increase and the overall situation worsens, the authorities may decide to impose additional ones.
Despite the increase in infection cases in Portugal, the country continues to permit restriction-free entry for all travellers. All incoming travellers, regardless of their country of origin, can enter Portugal for all kinds of purposes even if they do not hold a valid vaccination, recovery, or test certificate.
However, even though the country dropped all of its entry rules earlier this month, the authorities highlighted that everyone is still obliged to wear a face mask in public transport and when accessing nursing homes and healthcare facilities.
The data from the World Health Organization show that Portugal has reported 27,595 new infection cases in the last seven days only.
As for the vaccination rate, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control shows that Portugal administered a total of 24,763,055 vaccine doses as of July 21. According to ECDC, 94.5 per cent of the entire adult population has completed primary vaccination, 79.3 per cent have received a first booster shot, and another 5.9 per cent have received a second booster shot.
Just recently, the EU Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, Sella Kyriakides, called on all EU Member States to start preparing for a new COVID-19 wave that is expected to occur in autumn and winter.
The Commissioner said that the EU countries have been registering a significantly high number of infections and advised that everyone gets vaccinated to avoid hospital admissions.
“We need to act now to address this and be prepared for autumn. Vaccination remains our strongest protection against severe disease and death,” the Commissioner wrote on her official Twitter account.
In addition, the Commissioner recommended that persons over the age of 60 as well as those vulnerable receive an additional booster shot.
