Saltar para conteúdo
Historical XXII Government - Portuguese Republic Back to Government in Office

News

2021-11-25 at 18h32

Portuguese Government reinforces the use of masks, digital certificate and testing

Council of Ministers press conference on 25 November 2021
Portuguese Prime Minister António Costa at the press conference following the Council of Ministers, Lisbon, 25 November 2021 (Photo: João Bica)

The Government approved the reinforcement of measures such as using masks, digital certificates and testing at the Council of Ministers meeting to contain the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Following the Council of Ministers meeting in Lisbon, Prime Minister António Costa referred that the situation of calamity will be resumed as of 1 December to allow for the necessary legal framework, suited to the measures justified and proportionate to any that may be taken.

He highlighted two general recommendations: self-testing whenever possible, especially before the December celebrations, and to implement teleworking whenever possible to "avoid excessive contact that will worsen the pandemic".

António Costa noted that the Government interventions will be focused on using three instruments: masks, digital certificates, and tests.

"Masks are now mandatory in all closed spaces that the Directorate-General for Health hasn’t exempted", he claimed, adding that the digital certificate will be "mandatory to go to restaurants, tourist facilities and local accommodation, events with allocated sears, and gyms".

Mandatory testing

The Prime Minister also listed the situations where testing is mandatory in order to enter certain locations or engage in certain activities:

- visiting elderly homes

- visiting patients who are admitted in any health facility

- all major events, regardless of their nature, cultural or sporting, that are held in improvised locations, without allocated seats and all sports halls, covered or outdoors

- nightclubs and bars.

The Prime Minister also highlighted that testing will be compulsory for anyone to enter national soil, regardless of the point of departure or passenger’s nationality.

"In this sense, we recall that the airlines are bound to only allow people who can prove they have been duly tested to board flights to Portugal. They cannot carry to Portugal anyone who hasn’t been duly tested", he added.

António Costa lamented that the airlines aren’t meeting their obligation and announced that the fine to be applied will be "20 thousand euros for each passenger who disembarks on national soil without having been duly tested".

"We will worsen the additional penalties that may lead to those airlines having their licences to fly to national soil suspended", he added, underlining the Government’s intention to maintain the borders open and civil aviation operating.

The Prime Minister also noted the tightening of controls at airports, hiring private security firms for the systematic checking of all passengers who enter national soil. 

"Each airport will have an area reserved for keeping anyone who has been illegally transported to Portugal without being tested, so they can be tested, and all accommodation and meal expenses of anyone who tests positive and has to stay under quarantine until being able to return to their point of origin will be borne by the airline in question.

"A week of containing contacts" in January

The Council of Ministers also approved "a week of containing contacts" from 2 to 9 January to ensure January 2022 isn’t like the "tragic January 2021".

In this context, the Prime Minister urged all citizens to restrict their contacts outside their family circle and the Government set a week of mandatory teleworking, closing bars and nightclubs and a "slight change to the school calendar".

The second term will only begin on 10 January, but to make up for this, Carnaval half-term will be two days shorter, and Easter break three days shorter.

Boosting vaccination

The Prime Minister reiterated that the vaccination plan is defined and claimed that everyone eligible for the booster (people aged 65 or over and whose second shot was more than 5 months ago, people who have a medical prescription for the vaccine, people who have been infected and recovered (more than 150 days), as well as people who were vaccinated more than five months ago with the Janssen dose) will be vaccinated by 19 December.

"Vaccination will continue. And, as many times before, it is up to the scientific authorities to decide on boosting at any given time. The Government ensured what was up to it to ensure: to procure the necessary vaccines for all the necessary doses in a timely manner", António Costa stated.

As for the European Medicines Agency recommendations to vaccinate children aged 5 to 11, António Costa underlined that the Government is awaiting the decision by the Vaccination Technical Committee, but it has already assured 762 thousand doses of the Pfizer vaccine – 300 thousand due to arrive on 20 December, and a further 462 thousand in January.

"We will have the necessary conditions for the recommended vaccination", he guaranteed.

Ministeries:
Prime minister