Portugal don’t want to relive last year’s holiday nightmare. A year ago, the country faced a violent epidemic wave, caused by the very strong contagion of the Delta variant, until it rose to the world’s number one rank in terms of deaths linked to Covid-19 (18,441 to date) in relation to the number of inhabitants.
A peak of 13,000 daily contaminations then caused a historic hospital crisis. And although Portugal broke the world vaccination record last September, António Costa’s socialist government does not intend to relive that, especially as decisive parliamentary elections are due to take place on January 30.
Mandatory teleworking
To avoid a new health crisis, and although the dominant virus this time is Omicron, a priori very contagious but less dangerous than Delta – mortality and hospitalizations in intensive care remain « stables », according to the General Directorate of Health (DGS) -, Portugal has anticipated through strict measures applied since December 25, including compulsory teleworking as soon as the functions performed allow it and the frequent performance of tests. At the same time, even if the country has the highest vaccination coverage rate in Europe, the vaccination campaign for the 3rd dose is being carried out at full speed.
→ ANALYSIS. In Portugal, Covid-19 hits immigrant farm workers
At the end of November, Portugal discovered the arrival of Omicron on the football field, when the Portuguese team of Belenenses SAD, decimated by the Covid, could not finish the match against Benfica. Thirteen of its players having tested positive for the new variant, the team had been reduced to six players and the match interrupted.
A “week of contention”
In early December, Portugal had only 3,000 daily cases on average, before an acceleration over three days (December 28, 29 and 30) and 72,698 infections. This Friday, December 31, it reached a peak of 30,000 cases.
To ward off the exponential rise in contamination, the Portuguese governmenttook a decision unique in Europe by declaring a “Week of contention” for the period from January 2 to 9, in order to stop the transmission of the Omicron variant. Even stricter measures will therefore be imposed on the Portuguese: all schools will be closed (from nursery to university), as will bars and nightclubs. And teleworking will be made compulsory wherever possible. The health pass is once again compulsory in restaurants and hotels, and a negative test is now required at the entrance to bars and nightclubs, including for people who have been vaccinated.
Special arrangements for elections
This same negative test (less than 48 hours before arrival for the antigen, less than 72 hours for the PCR) is also required of all travelers when entering the territory of mainland Portugal, whether by road, sea or air.
But, to everyone’s surprise, and like in many European countries, the Portuguese Directorate General of Health announced Thursday, December 30 that the period of isolation of asymptomatic people infected with Covid-19 will be reduced to seven days. Isolation of risky contacts will also be reduced from ten to seven days.
In view of the legislative elections scheduled for the end of January, the mayors have started to draw up plans providing for more places for the early voting on January 23 and an increase in the brigades for the vote of the confined, which could reach the figure of 600,000 people. .
.