Portugal re-imposes night-time curfew amid coronavirus surge

Lisbon, Jul 2 (EFE).- A night-time curfew in Portugal’s main cities including Lisbon and Porto came into effect Friday after a surge in coronavirus cases driven by the Delta variant across the country.

The 11 pm to 5 am curfew will be imposed in 45 of Portugal’s 278 counties and affect approximately 4 million people.

Portugal reported 2,436 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, 56% of which were accounted for in the capital Lisbon.

The 14-day incidence rate has reached an average 189,4 cases per 100,000 people.

In Portugal’s main tourist destination, the Algarve, the incidence rate has reached 823 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.

Portuguese residents have resigned to the new rules, hoping that this is the last of a wave of restrictions they have experienced in the past year.

“We are all fed up with this and we want to get out,” a student from Lisbon, Raquel Clemente, told Efe.

Ana Paula, who manages a restaurant in the heart of Lisbon, fears the new restrictions will affect tourism even though she recognizes it is the only solution to curb the virus.

“People are tired of the situation,” she told Efe.

Carlos Vaz, who runs a tobacco shop in Lisbon, also fears the restrictions which have already made him lose 70% of his business.

A total of 31% of Portugal’s 10 million residents have been fully vaccinated against the effects of Covid-19.EFE

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