Lisbon is Slowly Getting Back to Normal
24 August 2020
The Lisbon area suffered specific restrictions due to the increase of new COVID-19 cases. However, it all changed on 21st August 2020, with businesses such as shopping centers and street commerce returning to their normal operating hours. The only exceptions to these new rules are the cafes, that must close at 9 pm, and gas stations, that maintain the prohibition on selling alcoholic beverages, even though they can now return to their usual schedule.
The Municipality made these alterations given the clear improvement of the epidemiological situation in Lisbon area, and states that at the moment, in Lisbon, “a smaller number of daily new cases is being reported, and most economic actors are well adjusted to the new operating procedures set by the Health Authority”. Therefore, it is considered that the city is ready for a “progressive expansion of the economical activities operating hours”.
In the meantime, Portugal will go into a state of contingency starting 15th September 2020. Currently, the country is in a state of alert, apart from Lisbon, which will maintain its state of contingency until the referred date. The government explained that the goal is to take preventive action, and new measures will soon be announced.
Luís Maria Branco | Lawyer
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