Just announced: economic and social recovery plan with changes to lay-off program
English language coronavirus news in Portugal on June 4, 2020.
I’m sorry this is much later than usual. I had to wait for the latest from the Prime Minister’s big Economic and Social Stabilisation Program announcement.
By the numbers
Today we see the fewest deaths since May 15, and one of the lowest figures since the outbreak started to ramp up in the last week of March. It’s a positive development reflecting the general trend towards fewer COVID-19 patients in hospitals in recent weeks. Unfortunately, 17 more patients were taken to hospital today, mostly in the Lisbon and Tejo Valley region, which was responsible for 93% of today’s 331 new cases. That figure is down slightly from yesterday while new confirmed recoveries are up slightly.
Government announces big coronavirus comeback plan
The government has announced a wide-ranging coronavirus comeback program that includes cash payments for some workers who’ve lost income, changes to the simplified lay-off scheme and thousands of new jobs in health and social services. It’s part of the Economic and Social Stabilisation Program (PEES) approved by the Council of Ministers today, Público reports. Also included is a €351 payment in July to workers earning up to €1270 who lost income, namely through the simplified lay-off regime, and an extra September payment for those on the family allowance. The lay-off regime continues until the end of July, at which point only businesses that must remain closed on government orders (such as nightclubs), will remain eligible, Diário de Notícias reports. Other businesses can access modified arrangements aimed at getting people back to work.
On the health front, the government will integrate the 2800 health professionals contracted to fight the pandemic into the National Health System (SNS) and add another 2700 by the end of the year. Included in this is an ambitious push to reach the European average for intensive care beds per 100,000 (11.5), up from 7.4 now and 4.2 in 2012, which was the worst in Europe. In social services, another 3000 will be hired to work for Private Social Solidarity Institutions. There’s also some long-awaited assistance for the arts through a €30 million fund to help program events, €750,000 to help venues adapt to coronavirus restrictions and €3 million for independent venues.
Any move to reopen shopping centres in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area won’t come until next week, Público reports. The potential reopening, slated for June 15, will only be confirmed after the Council of Ministers meets on Tuesday and considers the epidemiological situation at the time. It’s bad news for the centres and various shops within them, whose representatives had been pleading for the green light to reopen facing mounting costs from months of closure. The news is worse for the nightclub sector, which Prime Minister António Costa can’t see opening any time soon given “there are no nightclubs with physical distancing”.
European Central Bank almost doubles debt-buying efforts
The bank has added another €600 billion to its bond-buying program, bringing the total to €1.35 trillion, Público reports. The debt purchases are intended to limit the impact on a struggling eurozone that ECB President Christine Lagarde said was suffering an “unprecedented contraction”. Italy and Spain have so far been the biggest beneficiaries of the Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme. Reuters has a report in English here.
Portugal ‘surprised’ by Spain’s plan to reopen the border
Spain has backtracked on its plan to reopen the border with Portugal on June 22, a move that caught the Portuguese government by surprise, Diário de Notícias reports. Foreign Affairs Minister Augusto Santos Silva had said the announcement didn’t fall within the “close cooperation” between the two countries on border management adding that the country responsible for opening the Portuguese border was “naturally Portugal”. Today Spanish Tourism Minister Reyes Maroto walked back the comments, putting the reopening date at July 1.
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In brief
German prosecutors believe Madeleine McCann is dead. The British girl disappeared in the Algarve in 2007, just before her fourth birthday. The public prosecutor’s office in Braunschweig, Germany, is investigating a German man, 43, on suspicion of murder. (The Guardian, English)
Hospitals are worried about the outbreaks in Greater Lisbon, but guarantee they can respond. Figures show hospitals in the area are a long way from capacity but some have more COVID-19 patients now than they did a month ago. Nationwide, 418 are hospitalised, with 56 in intensive care. (Diário de Notícias)
Tourism industry presents 99-point plan to government. The plan, which labels the return of tourism a “national imperative”, and calls for simplified lay-off and tax moratoriums to be extended.
On a lighter note
We’re all space nerds now after the history-making SpaceX rocket launch (New York Times) the other day, right? Yes? Excellent. In that case, tonight is your chance to see (with the naked eye) another part of Elon Musk’s interstellar ambitions, a trail of 60 satellites flying over Portugal. They’re part of the Starlink project, which eventually aims to provide global internet coverage from space via about 12,000 satellites. Space internet, wooh! You can read about the latest launch at The Verge in English and check out what time the satellites will be passing by your house here. They should be passing over Lisbon a little after 10pm. Ironically, the thing that lets us see them - sun bouncing off the sides - is a major pain for astronomers and something SpaceX is trying to fix.
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