UK adds Portugal to 'air bridge' list but tourist operators say damage has been done
Portuguese news in English on August 21, 2020.
By the numbers
Another 219 cases means we're more or less in line with the two-week average, given more cases are generally found towards the end of the week. Comfortably more than half are again in greater Lisbon but the north has also been recording a higher number. The number of active cases has been rising slowly for more than a week now.
UK drops quarantine requirement for flights from Portugal
If you’re British, you’re probably already across this long-awaited change. You can now fly into the UK from Portugal, without quarantining. It’s a big deal for tourism but many operators say the worst of the damage was already done when Portugal was left off the first “air bridge” list at the start of July. Even a big jump in visitors in the following months can’t make up for a summer without Brits. But the change is massive for the hundreds of thousands of Portuguese living in the UK and the tens of thousands of Brits who call Portugal home. You can read more in The Telegraph here.
Lisbon bar fights nightclub rules
A Lisbon bar is fighting the law brought in forcing bars and nightclubs to operate as cafes if they won't to reopen, Diário de Notícias reports. The July 30 Council of Ministers ruling allowed the venues to reopen but frustrated operators who in faced having to shut nightclubs at 8pm in Lisbon and 1am in the rest of the country. José Manuel Castro, lawyer for bar Elefante Branco, said proceedings in the Sintra Administrative and Fiscal Court, sought to anull the laws, arguing only the Assembly of the Republic had the power to make them, not the Council of Ministers. The venue's owner said the aim was not to return to a normal nightclub situation, just prolong opening hours until at least 3am.
In brief
Vulnerable groups and carers will have priority for COVID-19 vaccine (Diário de Notícias)
Ryanair warns of "savage cuts" to operations in Portugal. Human resources director Darrell Hughes said the company was in survival and reconstruction mode, not recruitment mode and warned of cuts across Europe. (Público)
Spain is the European country with the most cases per 100,000 (Público)
On a lighter note
With all summer music festivals cancelled, it's nice to see some culture returning even if it's not how we expected. Lisbon's edgy music and art festival, Iminente, returns from September 9-19 and has announced a new form: half in real life, half online. Still held at the abandoned Panorâmico de Monsanto, Iminente will hold capped capacity artist workshops within the grounds where you'll get to interact and shape the art along with conversations and debates. There will also be a public art park with large-scale sculptures and works curated by Underdogs. To avoid stages and crowds, the music festival half is moving online.