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One weekend after tougher measures to stop a third wave with no end in sight, the government amended its hand and tightened bans. Three days of extreme pressure in the hospitals and harsh criticism from the President of the Republic, the Opposition and the experts, led António Costa to ask the Portuguese for a “civic clash”.
It keeps schools open, but tightens trade restrictions, including a ban on balances and take-out in shopping centers, and gives large companies 48 hours to appoint workers on the spot. The key idea – repeated 11 times by António Costa – is “prohibition.”
When the measures in force were known since Friday, criticism multiplied that the exceptions were so many that the practical effect of the closure would be lost. This Monday, António Costa replied: “Don’t worry about the exceptions and focus on the rules: stay at home, drive only for the essentials.” The fundamental thing, he said, is work, food and leaving the house the minimum necessary to maintain “mental health.” And study.
The schools will remain open, although several experts recommend distance education for older students. Ending face-to-face classes, the prime minister justified, would be an “irreversible cost for life.” Last week, the government promised the school community that a massive testing campaign would be launched to detect infections before they develop into outbreaks.
Nominal list of workers
If schools remain open, ATLs will not close. The closure left many parents without a place to leave their children while they work. But work will also have to change.
Information provided by the security forces, the transport sector and mobile phone movements shows that 70% of the Portuguese ignored the regulations in force since Friday. Last week, António Costa said that telecommuting “is really mandatory.” Now, it reinforces that it can only circulate with a statement from the employer and gives 48 hours to service companies with more than 250 people to deliver to the Authority for Working Conditions a list with the name of the workers whose presence it does not dismiss.
The government wants the most visible security forces on the street. An official source from the GNR command told JN that the device will conform to the announced measures: “There are new schedules, for example, that will require an adaptation that will be planned in the next few hours.” And the PSP is prepared “to comply with all the decisions of the Council of Ministers,” said a source from the national leadership.
Call for “national unity”
The presence in the streets will be an impediment to non-essential movements, the Government hopes. Stores are prohibited from balancing and all establishments must close at 8 pm on weekdays and 1 pm on weekends and holidays, except for food stores, which close at 5 pm. The sale to the gate and the sidewalks of the promenade is prohibited, and the prohibition of circulating between municipalities on weekends returns. The pressure on the Executive was aggravated with Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa (as presidential candidate) accusing him of not having foreseen the third vacancy and Rui Rio asking for “serious confinement.”
When questioned, António Costa replied that this is not the time for the “struggle of political parties”, but for “national unity” and individual responsibility in complying with the new measures. It remains to be seen when they will take effect.
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