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Praça dos Poveiros, one of the most frequented places at night in Porto, had almost all restaurants closed on Tuesdays or at 10:30 p.m. At Republic of Dogs, Alex Ramos spoke to the Lusa agency while serving the only customer at the counter.
“A normal Tuesday, at this time [22:15], the house would be made up “, said the person in charge of the establishment, before venting” they are living the worst days of the year “
And he continued: “people do not come and the Government does not want them to leave home.”
With the first weekend in close confinement, Alex Ramos looks to Saturday and Sunday ready to try his luck.
“During the week we organize and adapt our operations so that on Saturday and Sunday we can deliver meals at home,” he said.
Further down, on Rua Passos Manuel, almost in front of the Coliseu do Porto, an unusual emotion left its mark because Café Santiago is so sought after by Francesinha lovers.
The appearance of closing times collided with the desire of customers to eat there, at a table in the living room, but it could not be and the solution was to pack all four meals and go home for dinner.
José Pereira, head of the café, described to Lusa “an uncertain future” where he only sees “unemployment, because there are houses that will not endure” the lack of clients and time to serve them.
“At this time [22.30] I would have at least half a house, but since the pandemic came it has been getting worse day by day, “he lamented, before explaining that on Saturday” he does not know what will happen, because they open at 11:00 and the Government orders. close at 1:00 p.m. The boss has not made up his mind yet. Sunday is already a day off, ”he said.
Served with the four francesinhas in a bag, Miguel Magalhães spoke with Lusa about “adaptation” and “understanding”: “our intention was to eat the francesinhas here, but by closing time we had to change our plans and we are going to eat at home” . because we don’t want the restaurant to pay us a fine. “
And he continued: “Whether we agree or not, we have to adapt to situations. We don’t know tomorrow, if we are going to have a job, then we can’t always go out to dinner.”
The clock read 23:00 and there were very few people on the street. Only on Avenida dos Aliados, at stop 600, it was possible to see a dozen people, at a safe distance, waiting to get on the bus.
And in a Porto devoid of people and open commerce, there are only homeless people, exempt from decrees, doing what they can and asking for help from those who pass by. The weather hasn’t changed that much for everyone.
It is time to cross the Douro River, following the Ponte do Infante until the Gil Eanes Rotunda, in Vila Nova de Gaia, where the PSP installed a device to control circulation between municipalities.
In the dialogue with Lusa, the Hugo Correia subcommittee reported a “generalized acceptance” by the population of the sensitization carried out by the authorities, but also pointed out “a lack of awareness of the civic duty of gathering the home” on the part of some drivers, who estimated “about 20%” of those who ordered to stop the first two nights.
“There are undoubtedly much fewer people on the road. Traffic has been drastically reduced, which we are pleased to see as it reveals that the law is being followed and people are concerned about the situation,” the subcommittee added.
On the ground, PSP mounted a device with 20 policemen, five vehicles and a motorcycle, reinforced with elements of various valences, Hugo Correia said.
Portugal entered a state of emergency at 00:00 on Monday with new measures to combat the covid-19 pandemic, such as the night curfew in 121 counties that register more cases of contagion.
Eight months after the start of the pandemic, on March 2, Portugal returns to the state of emergency until November 23 (the first period was between March and May).
Among the restrictive measures are the mandatory night curfew during the week (between 11 p.m. and 5 a.m. and on weekends from 1 p.m.) in the 121 municipalities with the highest risk of contagion.
These 121 municipalities, which cover 70% of the resident population, include all municipalities in the metropolitan areas of Lisbon and Porto.
