Portugal relaxes state of emergency

Portugal has downgraded its state of emergency to a category of “calamity”, as the rate of new coronavirus infections reached its lowest since the beginning of the outbreak, six weeks after a state of emergency was declared.

A three-phase reopening plan begins on Monday, after a six-week state of emergency when people were urged to stay indoors except for brief exercise, and most non-essential services were shut.

Beaches remain closed other than for water sports and exercise, but under the lesser state of calamity spending time in parks is no longer strictly forbidden. Still, police officers were out in force on Sunday urging people not to linger and to maintain social distancing.

Spared the huge tolls in neighbouring Spain and some other Western European nations, Portugal reported 25,282 cases of the new coronavirus on Sunday, just 0.4% more than the day before, and 1,043 deaths in a population of 10 million people.

Via EPA-EFE/MANUEL FERNANDO ARAUJO

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