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The Prime Minister announced this Saturday the measures to combat covid-19 framed by the presidential decree of a state of emergency, which will indicatively be in force until January 7, including the Christmas and New Year periods.
On Friday, with the favorable votes of the PS, PSD and the unregistered deputy Cristina Rodrigues, the Assembly of the Republic approved the renewal of the state of emergency, a diploma opposed by the PCP, ENP, Chega and the Liberal Initiative, and the abstentions of the Bloco de Esquerda, PAN, CDS and the unregistered deputy Joacine Katar Moreira.
This presidential decree that renews the state of emergency until December 23, with a reference in the introduction to its “foreseeable” extension until January 7, has a content identical to that in force, that is, to maintain the norms that allow restrictive measures to contain the covid-19 by groups of municipalities, including the prohibition of circulation in certain periods or days of the week.
In the last public interventions, António Costa has already admitted that the Government can relax the regime of restrictions that will be applied during the Christmas period, but not in the New Year.
Given this perspective, the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, in his communication to the country that he made on Friday night, in which he announced the renewal of the state of emergency until December 23, said that he hoped that the “possible exception “in Natal to the framework of the restrictions to contain the covid-19” to be well understood and well lived “and not to cause” a subsequent lack of control, with a very high cost “.
“The idea is, therefore, not to endanger the Christmas spirit, but without concentrating on a single moment, and with greater respect for the rules that can prevent widespread family infections,” said Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.
Both the President of the Republic and the Prime Minister have registered less negative developments in terms of new COVID-19 cases since the first state of emergency was declared in early November.
At the end of the last meeting at Infarmed, in Lisbon, with the presence of the President of the Republic, representatives of the parties, and after a series of interventions by experts, António Costa concluded that “it was clear that the measures adopted have been producing results” , but stressed that “it is not yet possible to alleviate them”, warning that the beginning of January is a period of risk in terms of an eventual increase in infections.
“As everyone anticipates, necessarily at the beginning of January and February, we will have greater risks, either due to temperature issues, around Christmas time, or due to the confluence with other diseases, such as the flu. Therefore, we are on the right track, but it is necessary to follow this path in order to control and consolidate this situation.“, said.
On the same occasion, the executive president defended the existence of a period until January 7 for the duration of the measures to combat covid-19, including the Christmas and New Year periods.
At this point, António Costa pointed out that technically, from a legal point of view, the state of emergency is only valid for 15 days.
“Every 15 days a new initiative from the President of the Republic, a new government opinion and a new authorization from the Assembly of the Republic are necessary, but it is essential that people know how they can organize themselves from January 6 to 7. Technically it is this situation has been resolved ”, justified the Prime Minister.
The presentation of the measures of the new state of emergency is scheduled for 3:00 p.m., at the Palácio da Ajuda, Lisbon.
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