insiderblmPortugal’s government is meeting to discuss plans for easing the lockdown that has been in place on the mainland for almost two months, even as its parliament is set to renew the national state of emergency until the end of March.
Lawmakers will this afternoon debate and vote on a presidential decree proposing a new 15-day period of emergency – the maximum allowed under the constitution – from next Thursday.
With both the governing Socialists and the main centre-right opposition in favour, the legislation is sure to pass.
The president, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, and the prime minister, António Costa, dined together last night after the former sent the draft decree to parliament.
Earlier, the minister of economy had said that the conditions were in place for some restrictions to be lifted “before Easter” but that it had still not been decided which ones and how fast.
A lockdown was imposed across the whole of mainland Portugal on 15 January, with face-to-face classes in schools suspended a week later.
Portugal’s infection rate has in recent days been the lowest in Europe, but for several weeks earlier in the year it topped global rankings for new cases and deaths.
