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The President of the Republic anticipated, in intervention to the country, what was already clear: there will be a certain relaxation of the restrictions at Christmas time, to “allow families the desired and legitimate meeting” at Christmas. But he appealed to a “sensible civic maturity” so that the “possible exception that is expected is well understood and lived in December to avoid a dreaded third wave in January.”
“All the facilities are bad and prevention is imperative. Throughout December, as in early 2021 ”, he underlined, in an idea that he insisted on throughout the intervention.
He addressed mainly the Portuguese, but between the lines he left a message to the Government, when he said that, in the “search for a regime” that would allow this Christmas relief, it is desirable to avoid “the concentration in a single moment” of the meetings with the family “and with greater respect for the rules that can prevent widespread family infections.”
The Council of Ministers meets this Saturday to define the restrictive measures that will mark the festive season, not only in the scope of the state of emergency approved by parliament for the next 15 days, but they should be in force until January 7.
On the horizon of Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa are not only the movements within the country, but also the visits of Portuguese living abroad, to whom he addressed in particular, asking “those who arrive for the festivities”, such as those who are here , that “do not waste the great sacrifices” made by all. “Sacrifices that have justified, and continue to justify, reinforced public intervention in the most affected economic, social and cultural spheres,” he stressed.
“All this to save new total confinements, even if they are located”, as the sanitary fence imposed this week in Rabo de Peixe, in the Azores. “All this so that we do not enter 2021 with a further worsening of the pandemic, even before vaccines can have visible effects on the greater number of those who are not yet immunized,” he stressed.
The framework is to keep, if possible
The President began by justifying the renewal of the state of emergency, highlighting that, despite the “average slowdown in the number of new cases,” the “pressure” on the number of hospitalizations and patients in intensive care, as well as the number of deaths, continues . “The level of infections allows us to foresee that the attention to health structures cannot decrease,” he added.
On the other hand, he warned that “the arrival of vaccines to all Portuguese who wish, without excluding anyone and less by age groups”, will take months, so “do not create too many expectations that lead to disappointments.”
He then explained that the decree that establishes the framework of rights that the Government can restrict in the execution of the state of emergency is not only identical to the previous one, but must be the one that will remain until January 7, after another renewal in Natal time, on the 23rd, to comply with the constitutional deadlines.
“The goal now is to extend the horizon to a month” so that people can “know what to expect at this time of Christmas and New Year. But he also warned that, in 15 days, “it will be seen if the now defined table is confirmed.” In other words, if something goes wrong until Christmas Eve, everything can change.
In any case, explained the professor of Constitutional Law, the entire ritual will have to be repeated a few days before Christmas: “There will be a new presidential initiative, party hearings, government opinion, vote in the Cortes” and, probably, a new statement to the country. . An explanation that seems to be aimed at parties that are increasingly critical of the state of emergency.
For the end, he left the usual praise for the Portuguese, saying that in these last 15 days in particular, “they have demonstrated a massive and impressive adherence to the measures adopted by the Government, with already visible results.” And, quoting António Damásio in an interview with PUBLIC, “with the generosity, patience and calm” that the Portuguese “always show”.
He ended by expressing “total confidence in our collective resistance.” With that confidence we will be able to guarantee a better start to 2021 ”, which is, after all,“ our fundamental objective: a year 2021 that allows us to quickly forget the year 2020 ”.
