Portugal will be subject from Friday to a second "
general
"
confinement
to curb the Covid-19 epidemic, which has reached new records in the country, Prime Minister Antonio Costa announced on Wednesday (January 13).
Read also: Portugal: the outgoing president tested positive for coronavirus
The new health restrictions will correspond "
essentially
" to those which had been in force in March and April, but this time the schools will remain open, as will the courts or the churches, he specified after a extraordinary council of ministers.
"
The rule is simple: each of us must stay at home
», Underlined the head of the socialist government, thus confirming the closure of non-essential shops, cafes and restaurants.
Exceptionally, voters will be able to vote in the first round of the presidential election on January 24.
Those who wish can even do it early on this Sunday.
On the other hand, the authorities will now require a negative test for Covid-19 for passengers disembarking at the country's airports, Foreign Minister Augusto Santos Silva said earlier.
To stem the second wave of the pandemic, the Portuguese authorities had imposed partial confinements and curfews in the most affected regions in November.
But, after easing these restrictions for the Christmas holidays, the transmission of the virus has accelerated, and this country of ten million inhabitants reached new records on Wednesday, with 156 dead and 10,556 cases detected in a single day. .
"
We are living simultaneously the most dangerous moment but also that of the greatest hope
", declared the Prime Minister, alluding to the heavy toll of the pandemic and to the vaccination campaign launched at the end of December across Europe.
