Government wants to avoid closing schools due to single infection // UK travel corridor reportedly at risk
Portuguese news in English on August 31, 2020.
By the numbers
The weekend brought less than ideal news, with 374 and 320 cases before today’s slight drop. Active cases have now been on the increase for more than two weeks straight and both hospitalisations (349) and numbers in intensive care (41) have ticked up very slightly in recent days. That’s an indicator that usually lags behind case numbers but slightly in front of deaths. A jump in cases nationally has been noticeable since Wednesday, coinciding roughly with the first sustained period for months in which more cases have been detected outside of greater Lisbon than in. The North has recorded an average of 127 new cases per day over the past week, compared with 158 in the Lisbon and Tagus Valley region. The Algarve, recorded 37 new cases on Saturday – reportedly its worst daily result ever – on the back of an outbreak at a football club.
Government wants to avoid closing schools due to single infection
The return to in-person teaching is the government’s biggest short-term test, Prime Minister António Costa says, as reported by, Diário de Notícias. The Socialist Party leader said the country could not have the same level of remote learning as in the last school year, insisting all school groups would have to prepare contingency plans in case of an outbreak. “We have to avoid that one infected person means the whole school is closed.” he said, adding that remote learning on TV would continue for situations in which the only solution was to send students home. The PM also encouraged everyone to download the StayAway Covid tracing app, which unfortunately seems to be only available for people with Apple or Google accounts registered in Portugal for the moment.
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Political festival allowed 16,500 people (down from 33,000)
Capacity at the Portuguese Communist Party’s (PCP) large-scale Festa do Avante! (Forward! Festival) has been reduced to 16,563, half of what organisers predicted, Público reports. The annual festival’s realisation and eventual capacity has been the subject of much controversy due to fears of spreading the coronavirus through mass gatherings. More than 40 local businesses in the Seixal area, across the river from Lisbon, will shut their doors as it takes place from September 4 to 6 out of “precaution” and to “mitigate risk”, Público reports. The Directorate-General for Health had been under increasing pressure to publicly release the health rules it had defined for the event. This was done on Monday, revealing a limit of 2000 people at the main stage, mandatory mask wearing and a ban on serving alcohol after 8pm. The PCP complained the measures were more demanding than those for shopping centres and book fairs and complained critics were attacking the party, not just the event.
UK travel corridor at risk
There’s growing speculation Portugal will be dropped from the UK’s “air bridge” as the seven-day infection rate ticks above 20 per 100,000 people. Paul Charles, whose travel agency has correctly predicted the government review three weeks in a row, told The Telegraph it would take a “miracle drop” for Portugal to stay on the list. No changes have been confirmed at this stage but if you have plans to visit the UK you should be watching Transport Secretary Grant Shapps Twitter account like a hawk, particularly on Friday, when the changes are normally announced. The potential bad news comes as new figures show a slight improvement for the tourism sector in July, with roughly a million guests, down 64% from last year, Público reports.
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In brief
Young people unemployed by the pandemic do not see “a door, nor an open window’. Three young people tell the stories of months of job hunting. (Público)
Who are the anti-maskers? In Portugal, there are few. Hundreds protested against masks and pandemic safety measures in Paris, thousands in London and 18,000 in Berlin. But thankfully only a handful showed up in Lisbon and Porto. (Diário de Notícias)
From Thursday. smokers can be fined €25-€250 for throwing their butts on the ground. Venues without ashtrays can cop fines of €250 to €1500. (Público)
National Statistics Institute confirms 16.3% drop in GDP in the second quarter (Público)
Party of about 200 in Gaia ends with rocks thrown at police and one detained (Público)
On a lighter note
It’s always nice to stop for a second and look at the trees. If you do so this month in Lisbon, there’s a chance they might be looking back at you. Inflatables artists Filthy Luker and Pedro Estrellas are showing Outro Olhar (another look or perspective) until September 29 throughout Praça Duque de Saldanha, Avenida da Liberdade, Restauradores, Rossio and Cais do Sodré. You can read a bit more at Cultura na Rua but I saw it first in Time Out. It’s part of the Lisbon Green Capital 2020 programming.
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