New restrictions start on Christmas Day // Special measures and testing rules for Christmas and new year
Portuguese news in English on December 23, 2021.
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By the numbers
Case numbers continue to skyrocket. We cracked 10,000 today for the first time since early February. At the same time, the number of COVID-19 patients in hospital, intensive care and actually dying has flattened off and even fallen slightly over the past week. We know that hospitalisation etc lags behind case numbers by a few weeks so it’s hard to know what will come next on that front and I’m definitely not going to predict it. The Omicron variant was already responsible for 47% of all COVID-19 by Tuesday and was set to become dominant this week, Público reports.
Note: I’m going to try to take next week off for a bit of a break between Christmas and the new year. But if any major changes happen, I’ll be sure to update you.
New restrictions start on Christmas Day
With the pandemic worsening at a fairly rapid rate, the government will bring in a series of restrictions starting on Christmas Day, Público reports. Basically the so-called week of containment has been brought forward and extended, bringing mandatory working from home, the closure of bars and nightclubs and stricter testing requirements. There are no travel restrictions but everyone is being urged to avoid contacts outside of their immediate family from Christmas Day until January 10 (given Christmas Eve is the major celebration focus in Portugal), when schools, childcare and creches are expected to reopen. The nightlife sector is furious and has warned the hastened closing will prompt illegal parties, Público reports. My newsletter last week had some tips for safer socialising.
In other rules, occupancy will again be limited in commercial spaces. If you’re leaving the country, the rules remain the same. You’ll need to present a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours of arrival or a rapid antigen test taken within 48 hours. The government has promised an update on how things are tracking on January 5.
Special restrictions and testing requirements for Christmas and NYE
There are special restrictions on December 24, 25, 30, 31 and January 1. You’ll need a negative test to enter a restaurant, casino or New Year’s Eve celebration, which will be very limited in any case. Public gatherings of more than 10 people will be banned, along with drinking in public. Negative tests will also be needed to access tourist establishments, accommodation, concerts, sporting events and other similar events across the entire containment period. You can now take six free pharmacy tests a month, up from four. Some local councils such as Lisbon, where you can take a free test every three days, are offering more. Self-tests are also valid to use over this period, so long as they’re supervised at the door of the venue, Diário de Notícias reports.
Omicron cases less likely to end up in hospital, studies show
We’re learning vastly more about Omicron every week. The latest understanding is that a smaller percentage of Omicron patients are going to end up in hospital than Delta patients, the Financial Times reports. But there are two massive caveats. First, Omicron’s greater infectiousness means it can still overwhelm a health system — If you have significantly more cases, even a small percentage of them is a lot of people in hospital. Second, Omicron cases may just be showing up as less severe because it’s more likely to infect people who are vaccinated or have been previously infected. That means a greater share of people getting infected already have some protection against the virus. John Burn-Murdoch explains this much better than I ever could in the FT article and tweet thread below.
Vaccination
As the importance of a booster shot becomes clearer, Portugal is falling behind the rest of Europe on that front. While still the most-vaccinated country in Europe, Público reports less than a quarter of the population (23%) have received a booster, 14th in the European Union. That would appear to be due in most part to the age limits in place for booster doses, given Prime Minister António Costa’s claims 83.5% of the eligible population over 65 have been boosted. The online booking portal is now open for everyone over 55 (or over 40 with Janssen) to receive a booster and children aged 8-11 to be vaccinated (only on the weekend of January 6-9).
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In brief
Government bans post-christmas sales. No sales promotions from December 25 to January 9 to avoid retail crowds. (Público)
Man who led vaccination campaign to become Navy Chief of Staff. Three months after the previous chief was told he wouldn’t continue in the role. (Público)
Three SEF inspectors and six security guards charged with torture. Latest charges over death of Ukrainian citizen Ihor Homeniuk. (Diário de Notícias)
Working from home rules change halfway through containment period. New rules requiring companies to compensate workers for working-from-home costs and enforcing the famous right to disconnect kick in on January 1. (Diário de Notícias)
On a lighter note
I’m going to keep banging on about this sort of thing because I think being able to easily watch movies with subtitles is one of the best ways to help with learning a language. After the (I think/hopefully) success of Glória, its first Portuguese TV show, Netflix will next year release five Portuguese films, Diário de Notícias and Lusa report. They’re already existing films rather than being produced by Netflix but hopefully they’re worth a watch and mean more good, readily accessible Portuguese content to come. Boas festas!
Please keep sharing on Facebook, in real life or anywhere else you see people a bit confused by the latest news.
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