An update on restrictions // Far-right group threatens MPs and activists
Portuguese news in English on August 17, 2020
Hi everyone, it’s great to be speaking to you all again. A special thanks to my new subscribers and to everyone for being understanding about me taking a short break.
By the numbers
Well, it’s been just over a week since I’ve sent out an update but you really haven’t missed much in terms of the latest figures. The situation is more or less the same as the start of the month, although a higher percentage of cases are coming from outside the Lisbon and Tejo Valley region. The figure had dropped from a high of 75-80% in July to roughly 60%, with just less than half of the cases coming from that region in the past four days. The 325 cases recorded on August 13 were the most for almost a month.
The Directorate-General of Health has updated its daily infographic to be more useful and informative. Let me know if you prefer to see my old one.
Update on restrictions
Just as with the numbers, there haven’t been many changes to restrictions, with one exception that you may have noticed over the past few days. In most of the country, shops can now open before 10am, while in greater Lisbon, the 18 local municipalities (Lisboa, Cascais, Loures, Almada etc) now have the power to control opening hours, Diário de Notícias reports. Cascais has already taken advantage of that change to allow commercial establishments to return to normal opening hours, Observador reports. Wednesday’s Council of Ministers meeting also maintained the Lisbon Metropolitan Area (AML) in a state of contingency and the rest of the country in a state of alert until the end of August. Outside of the AML, day centres for at-risk and older residents were allowed to reopen from Saturday.
Click here for interactive version.
Far-right group threatens MPs and activists
There has been a flurry of concerning news about the reemergence of the far right in Portugal over the past week or so, culminating in rallies against racism in Porto and Lisbon on Sunday, Diário de Notícias reports. Hundreds gathered in the country’s two main cities to denounce racism and fascism and voice their support for freedom and civil rights. On Tuesday, three MPs and seven activists were sent threatening emails demanding they leave the country and quit political life within 48 hours, Público reported. If not, the email, signed by the New Order of Avis and the National Resistance, threatened measures would be taken against them and their families. It went on to proclaim that August would be the month of the fight against the nation’s traitors and the nationalist rebirth. That came after a “Ku Klux Klan parade” complete with white masks and torches outside the headquarters of SOS Racismo on Saturday night. The Judicial Police and the Internal Intelligence Service are investigating what they believe to be “an escalation” of groups, speech and narratives targeting black people, gypsies and immigrants and spreading “white supremacy”. The government has proposed police protection for the threatened lawmakers, Público reports, while Reuters notes (in English), that the president promised “zero tolerance” of racism.
Alentejo sparks pandemic concerns
The pandemic’s spread in Portugal’s highly rural Alentejo region is coming into focus in two towns more than an hour apart. The government is being criticised for its handling of outbreaks in nursing homes, particularly in Reguengos de Monsaraz – near the Spanish border – that killed 18 people. Secretary of State for Health António Lacerda Sales said 261 of 283 nursing homes in the region had been inspected, Diário de Notícias reports. His comments today came after another minister was criticised for saying the outbreaks in aged care facilities were “not too big” and admitting she hadn’t read a report from the Order of Doctors criticising the handling of the situation in the Reguengos de Monsaraz nursing home. Much further west in Mora, about an hour and a half from Lisbon, 40 cases have been confirmed in an outbreak Director-General for Health Graça Freitas described as “complex”, with more than 300 people potentially involved, Diário de Notícias reported. Twenty-four cases detected in nearby Montemor-o-Novo were “apparently related” to the outbreak in Mora.
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In brief
Portugal paid €4.5 million for 12 drones that still aren’t ready for fire season. The surveillance drones were meant to be operating by July 1 but won’t be flying until the end of August. (Diário de Notícias)
CP (Comboios de Portugal) wants a link between Oriente and the Cascais line. The passenger train operator’s €200 million plan would require an underground station at Alcântara-Terra. (Diário de Notícias)
Want a drink or to watch a concert at 2am? You can at the casino. Portugal’s casinos went back to normal operating hours (mostly until 3am) on July 1. In greater Lisbon they still have to close at 8pm. (Diário de Notícias)
The poorest workers have been hit hardest by the pandemic. 184,000 jobs disappeared from the three lowest pay brackets, 85% of which earned less than €600 after tax. The number of higher paid workers actually increased slightly in the second quarter and the two factors combined raised the average wage. (Diário de Notícias)
Belém Military Hospital rehabilitation costs more than triple (Diário de Notícias)
On a lighter note
For everything I love about Portugal, sometimes (okay, almost every minute of every day) I desperately miss good Thai, Vietnamese, Korean and Chinese food. This makes me intensely jealous of the people of Porto who seem to now be able to tick at least one of those boxes. Not one but two Korean restaurants run by young women from Seoul have opened in the north in the past few months and Diário de Notícias is full of praise for both. As good as the bibimbap from Ondo and the daeji galbi from Siktak are said to be, both women want their venues to be more than just restaurants so they’re planning workshops such as how to make your own kimchi.
I’m hoping to keep as many expats informed as possible, so please share this with any friends you think might find it useful.