LISBON, Nov 1 (NNN-AGENCIES) — PORTUGAL’s government announced new lockdown restrictions from Nov 4 for most of the country, telling people to stay at home except for outings for work, school or shopping, and ordering companies to switch to remote working.
A day after daily coronavirus infections hit a record high, Prime Minister Antonio Costa said the measures would cover 121 municipalities, including the key regions of Lisbon and Porto. The affected areas are home to about 70 per cent of Portugal’s population of roughly 10 million.
The lockdown list includes municipalities where more than 240 new infections have been registered per 100,000 people for the past 14 days, and will be reviewed every 15 days, Costa said in a televised news conference.
“If nothing is done, the rise in infections will inevitably lead us to a situation of failure of our health system,” he said.
“We have a very tough month ahead of us. It is more likely we will add more municipalities than we drop from that list next time,” he said.
Portugal has recorded a comparatively low 141,279 infections and 2,507 deaths, but daily cases hit a record 4,656 on Friday before retreating to 4,007 on Saturday, when the death toll rose by 39.
A total of 1,972 people are in hospital after a non-stop increase in hospitalisations over the past two weeks, with 286 people in intensive care units.
The health system, which prior to the pandemic had the lowest number of critical care beds per 100,000 inhabitants in Europe, can accommodate 800 COVID-19 patients in ICUs.
Movement between Portugal’s municipalities had already been prohibited between Friday and Nov 3 to reduce risk of virus transmission during the All Saints holiday.
AUSTRIA: Austria also announced a partial shutdown that will see restaurants and bars closed for four weeks, cultural, sports and leisure activities canceled, and residents asked to stay home after 8pm as the government tries to stem a sharp rise in coronavirus infections.
Chancellor Sebastian Kurz said the restrictions will apply from Tuesday until the end of November. Restaurants and bars will be closed except for deliveries and takeout, and hotels closed to tourists.
Companies affected by the shutdown will be compensated with 80 per cent of their revenue from last November, but will have to keep on their employees.
The new restrictions include a curfew telling Austrians to stay at home between 8pm and 6am, although they can go out for reasons that include exercising and going to work.
Kurz said the curfew is intended as a “ban on visits” and to prevent private parties that have driven infections. He called for people to work from home where possible.
The chancellor characterised the new restrictions as a “second lockdown,” but they are more lenient than the ones Austria applied during the first phase of the pandemic.
This time, non-essential shops and hairdressers are to stay open. The government also aims to keep schools and kindergartens open, though Kurz said older high school students and universities will be switched to distance learning.
Austria has reported 301.1 cases per 100,000 residents over the past seven days. That compares with 110.9 in neighboring Germany, which is imposing a somewhat lighter four-week partial shutdown starting Monday.
The nation of 8.9 million people has reported more than 106,000 confirmed cases, including 1,097 deaths, since the pandemic began.
Kurz said there has been a “massive acceleration … almost an explosive rise” in infections over the last week and Austria’s health system would be overburdened if the government doesn’t act now.
ITALY: Italy recorded 31,758 new coronavirus infections over the past 24 hours, the health ministry said, its highest daily tally since the start of the health crisis and up from the previous record of 31,084 posted on Friday.
The ministry also reported 297 COVID-related deaths, compared with 199 on Friday. — NNN-AGENCIES
