Corona infection cases are increasing again in Portugal, and measures are now following.
Prime Minister Costa is even thinking out loud about a new lockdown.
Lisbon - The Corona Mutation Delta is currently paralyzing a popular tourist destination.
Due to the increasing number of corona infections, Portugal has issued new restrictions for the capital Lisbon at short notice.
Travel in and out of the capital region that is not absolutely necessary is prohibited from Friday evening to Monday morning.
A government spokeswoman said on Thursday.
800 of 1233 new infections nationwide had previously been recorded in Lisbon and the surrounding area.
In Lisbon, the delta mutation of the corona virus, which was first discovered in India, is currently spreading relatively strongly, said Presidential Minister Mariana Vieira da Silva.
"It is not easy to take such measures, but we thought they were essential so that the current situation in Lisbon does not spread to the whole country," she said.
Portuguese government reacts to rising corona cases
On Wednesday, the highest number of cases since the end of February was recorded in Portugal with 1,350 new infections within 24 hours.
Besides Portugal, only Spain is currently recording an increase in new infections in the EU.
There, the number of new weekly infections increased by 21 percent compared to the previous week, in Portugal the increase was 38 percent.
Portugal's President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa had vehemently rejected a possible further lockdown at the weekend.
The contagion rate alone does not justify drastic restrictions as long as hospital admissions are well below the winter high, he said.
Prime Minister António Costa expressed himself more cautiously: "Nobody can guarantee that we will not have to go back to the lockdown." Around a quarter of the almost ten million Portuguese have now received a full vaccination.
(dpa / AFP / frs)