With the Delta variant spreading, Portugal brings
back curfews.
The highly
contagious Delta variant is surging in countries around the world, from
Indonesia to parts of Europe, leading governments to reimpose restrictions just
weeks after they had taken steps to return to ordinary life.
The latest
example is Portugal, which on Friday will impose a curfew from 11 p.m. to 5
a.m. in Lisbon, Porto and other popular tourism spots, reversing course after
it had reopened its economy to prepare for summer travelers.
Scientists
believe that the Delta variant may be twice as transmissible as the original
strain of the coronavirus. But in countries where high percentages of the
population have been vaccinated, the outlook is encouraging, with death tolls
and hospitalization numbers remaining low. The vaccines made by Pfizer,
Moderna, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson have been found to be effective
against the Delta variant.
In
Portugal, 34 percent of people are fully vaccinated, compared with about 46
percent in the United States, according to Our World In Data.
Portugal’s
new curfews are designed to discourage gatherings of younger people at night,
said Mariana Vieira da Silva, a cabinet minister. “This is a time to follow the
rules, avoid gatherings, avoid parties and seek to contain the numbers,” she
said.
The curfews
apply in 19 municipalities ranked as having a “very elevated risk” of Covid-19
and a further 26 with an “elevated risk.” On Thursday, Portugal reported almost
2,500 new cases, the highest daily rise since mid-February, although cases have
remained far below its January peak of more 16,000 per day.
In early
June, cases in the country had remained so consistently low that Britain
allowed its residents to visit without having to quarantine on return. But the
day after that announcement was made, London jolted Portugal by downgrading it
over concerns about the Delta variant.
London’s
decisions were especially significant because Portugal is a popular destination
for British tourists, including many who are eager to visit after a year of
pandemic lockdowns. The abrupt change in travel rules prompted thousands of
tourists in Portugal to catch early flights back to Britain ahead of a
quarantine deadline.
The
reversal in early June came less than a week after thousands of English soccer
fans had visited Porto, in northern Portugal, to watch the final of the
Champions League soccer tournament with no quarantine requirement.
Britain is
also facing a surge in Delta cases, although its number of death remains low
and hospital occupancy is rising much more slowly than in previous waves of the
pandemic. As in Portugal, most of Britain’s new cases are among people under
30, and public health officials say that vaccinating younger people is critical
to preventing new outbreaks.
— Raphael Minder
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