[ad_1]
“I hate being authoritarian, I don’t want to be authoritarian, but we have to control this pandemic,” says António Costa, defending that “if we don’t control it now, we will be in a worse situation in a few weeks.”
Speaking to journalists, on the sidelines of a meeting in Brussels with the president of the European Commission, António Costa said that he does not see any difference between forcing the installation of the Stay Away Covid projection application and other measures that the Government was forced to do. to take to control the pandemic in recent months.
“You ask me if you were authoritarian? He also had the authority to keep bars closed. It is also authorized to have imposed the closure of many companies. It was also authoritarian to prevent people from leaving the municipalities during Holy Week, ”António Costa responded.
“If you ask me if I like it, no, no, because I don’t like bans,” he says. “But there is one thing I see: we cannot be afraid that the numbers will increase.”
The Prime Minister clarified that the requirement to have the tracking app on the phone only applies to those who can. And he assured that he was aware that “there are risks that must be avoided from the point of view of data protection”, considering that this is not the case with the Stay Away Covid application, “with the anonymity conditions that the application has.” António Costa considers that it would be “unthinkable” to implement “a solution that violates data protection.”
The government wants fines of up to 500 euros for not wearing a mask and the StayAway Covid app
António Costa says that he understands that there is fatigue on the part of the Portuguese, but understands that “people have been devaluing the risk” of contagion. “Perhaps, because there is an incidence now mainly in an age group in which the symptoms of the infection are not so obvious, the perception of risk is lower and people tend to devalue the risk.” An attitude that the Prime Minister considers “very dangerous”, taking into account that the evolution of the pandemic “is serious”.
For Christmas, António Costa suggests that the Portuguese reorganize and rethink the planned parties. “We know that there are many people who live in the cities and have roots in other parts of the country and have to move, but they all have to organize themselves to have smaller meetings, maybe have dinner with some and have lunch with others or as they see fit, We are not going to make a decree too much to say how Christmas is organized ”, explains the Prime Minister.
“It is unimaginable to adopt such drastic and authoritarian measures at Christmas as those we adopt at Easter by prohibiting people from moving from one municipality to another,” he guarantees. Because “Christmas is an exceptional time for parties and family gatherings.”
