New measures to tackle the spread of Covid-19 were announced by the Portuguese government last weekend and will come into force tomorrow (November 24).
Municipalities will be divided into four levels of Covid-19 transmission risk: moderate (under 240 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in two weeks), high (over 240 cases), very high (over 480 cases) and extremely high (over 960).
From tomorrow, there will be six “high risk” boroughs in the Algarve: Vila do Bispo, Lagos, Portimão, Albufeira and Faro, which were already on the list; and Lagoa, which has been added for the first time.
All other municipalities in the Algarve are considered “moderate risk”.
Boroughs considered “high-risk” will be facing night-time curfews from 11pm to 5am.
Businesses will also have to close earlier (10pm for shops and supermarkets and 10.30pm for restaurants and cultural events).
Lastly, remote working from home will be thoroughly checked by authorities.
One of the biggest changes for “high risk” boroughs will be the end of weekend curfews starting at 1pm.
However, nation-wide measures will also be applicable in these municipalities, such as the borough lockdowns planned between November 27 and December 2 and December 4 and December 9 as well as the closure of school and public administration services on November 30 and December 7.
Masks have also been ruled mandatory at the workplace.
