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“We have to cut the New Year celebrations entirely”. This is how the Prime Minister announced this afternoon, via videoconference, that he would pull the “handbrake” on New Year’s celebrations. If 15 days ago it had already announced that in the last days of the year there would be more restrictive measures. that at Christmas, including the ban on driving between municipalities, now it went further and the seat belt was tightened even more, there will even be a curfew starting at 11 p.m. on December 31 and at 1 p.m. on days 1, 2 and 3. In the entire continental territory (Azores and Madeira are out). That is, the midnight celebration will have to be done at home. Each one in his own.
Everything to “protect Christmas.” “We will sacrifice the New Year to protect Christmas”the prime minister told reporters in a brief instructions in videoconference – since it is a full isolation -, explaining that this pull of the parking brake is due to the fact that “we are not yet where we would like to be”. The reduction in the number of new cases continues to decline, but not as rapidly as would be desirable and as previously. Costa has no doubt that the reduction is only due to the impact of the restrictive measures and, therefore, they will be maintained in the municipalities with very high and very high risk.
The only exception will even be on Christmas days, when the Government continues to put everything in the hands of Portuguese families – who trust that they will do everything possible to protect their own – but surely cases will skyrocket. the following days. Therefore, it is necessary to press the spring again after those two days of relief.
And if 15 days ago Costa extended the night curfew from December 31 to 2 in the morning (and restaurants could be open until 1 in the morning), now it’s over. The pick-up will be at 11 pm on the night of the 31st throughout the continental territory, and it will be at 1 pm on the holiday of January 1 and the weekend of January 2 and 3. More: it will not be possible to move between municipalities. “There will be moments of celebration in 2021, but this is not the time yet”he said, admitting that everyone is eager to celebrate the end of this “dark” year. But it will be better to wait until the middle of next year to do it.
Can I organize a New Years Eve party?
No, because the curfew will be at 11 pm across the country. In other words, if you stay with friends (or they in yours) until after midnight, you will already be in default when you return home. Public parties or parties open to the public had already been totally banned by the Council of Ministers for 15 days, as well as the ban on traveling between municipalities between midnight on December 31 and 5 in the morning on January 4. . That remains.
Can I spend midnight in a restaurant with champagne and friends?
No. It was here that the government backed down. 15 days ago, Costa said that the restaurants would be allowed until 1 in the morning of the 31st and until 3:30 in the afternoon, for lunch, on the 1st, but this is no longer the case. After all, the curfew is actually at 11 pm on the 31st and at 1 pm on the 1st across the country. So being able to dine, you can, but until 10:30 pm.
I live in Aveiro, can I go to the Algarve to spend the year on the 31st?
It is possible, if it is before the 31st. From that moment, there is a limit to the circulation between municipalities that extends until five in the morning of January 4 (date of return to school, after the Christmas holidays, and whose calendar will not change). But if you go to the Algarve you won’t have any other option to celebrate than to stay at home. Cancellation rules for New Years celebrations are for the entire continental territory.
Can I go to a friend’s house during the year?
The idea is not to. That is why there is a mandatory curfew from 11pm, before the New Year. Returning home after midnight on the grounds that you are returning home after leaving a social dinner is not one of the exceptions allowed by the state of emergency decree.
Can I go ashore at Christmas?
Can. There is no inter-county movement ban now or on Christmas days (only between December 31 and January 4). That is, you can travel wherever you want, as long as you do it within the mandatory collection times. If it leaves on the 23rd there is no problem, since circulation on public roads is allowed at any time for those in transit; and at Christmas and on Christmas Day you can circulate until 2 am. On the 26th, the curfew begins at 11 pm.
In my closest family we are 15 years old, can we all get together for Christmas? Or is there a limit of people?
There is no limit to the number of people. António Costa had already said it and he said it again tonight: imposing a limit would not work, the Government is making a “trust contract” with the families so that each one decides with conscience. There are European countries with a maximum limit of family reunions, but the Portuguese Government has decided not to enter people’s houses, warning, however, that “the utmost care must be taken in organizing Christmas.” “No one can lower their guard,” said the prime minister 15 days ago. Today he insisted again: “Christmas celebrations must be carried out with great care.” He appealed to the common sense that the Portuguese have already shown themselves to have but made a list of recommendations:
seek to gather as few people as possible;
be at the table only the time strictly necessary;
avoid closed and poorly ventilated spaces;
be with the mask as long as possible.
Can I organize dinner in a restaurant?
Yes. On December 24 and 25, restaurants may exceptionally operate until 1 in the morning, as António Costa said 15 days ago. Also on the 26th, which is Saturday, the restaurants could be open until 15:30. Costa did not change these data in the communication he made tonight, nor are there any changes in this regard in the statement from the Council of Ministers.
So on the 25th, can I have lunch with a family with someone who has not been to the restaurant?
Can. Although the Prime Minister says that it is not ideal for families to divide into bubbles and then move from one bubble to another, the Government will not meddle in this. Exceptionally, the restaurants may operate throughout the day on 24 and 25, until 1 in the morning. But beware: the limit of people at the table in restaurants is still 6.
I’m from Porto and, despite everything, I’m going to spend Christmas at my grandparents’ house, in Braga. Do I have to stay there to sleep?
No. As already mentioned, there are no restrictions on circulation between municipalities and the curfew is later, so you can travel between Porto and Braga on Christmas night as long as you do it until two in the morning.
I usually go to a Christmas concert with the kids on the night of the 25th, can I?
Yes it can. And without the restrictions on restaurant hours, because closing times do not apply to cultural establishments.
But then, with the exception of the 24th and 25th, will the curfew rule remain from 1pm the next few weekends?
Yes, in the riskiest counties. Both next weekend, December 19 and 20, and the following until January 7 (including the weekend after Christmas), the curfew continues to be from 1:00 p.m. in highly risky municipalities. high and extremely high (which you can check here), with all that this implies in terms of closing shops and restaurants. There is only one exception: it is that 15 days ago Costa had said that on the 26th the restaurants could be open until 3:30 p.m., and nothing indicates that that has changed.
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