Portugal’s parliament on Wednesday approved legislation to renew for a further 90 days the requirement to wear masks in public spaces outdoors – in addition to the requirement to wear them in closed spaces – a measure that has been in force since 28 October and would otherwise have expired on Sunday.
The bill, which was tabled by the govening Socialist Party (PS), was approved on its first, second and third readings with votes against from Chega and the Liberal Initiative (IL), abstentions on the part of the Left Block (BE), Communist Party (PCP), People-Animals-Nature (PAN), Greens and a non-attached member, Joacine Katar Moreira. In favour were the PS, the centre-right Social Democratic Party (PSD), People’s Party (CDS-PP) and a non-attached member, Cristina Rodrigues.
This is the third time the legislation has been renewed, but this time the PS tabled the bill, instead of the PSD, which had on Tuesday announced that it would not do so, on the grounds that it was “more coherent” at this stage of the pandemic for the governing party to take the initiative.
Faced with the possibility that the law would no longer be in force afte Sunday, PS leaders opted to table a bill to extend the temporary requirement for mask wearing on the street.
The legislation extends, under the same terms, the validity of the law already in force for a further 90 days, meaning thta it will remain in effect until mid-September, if it comes into force on 14 June as planned.
“Despite the evolution of indicators after the end of the state of emergency, as well as the positive evolution of the vaccination of the population, prudence in managing the Covid-19 pandemic and the phases of lockdown easing that have succeeded counsels against relaxing some measures adopted in order to prevent and mitigate the transmission of the SARS-Cov-2 virus and Covid-19 … particularly the most basic as the mandatory use of mask in public spaces,” reads the preamble of the legislation.
The PS thus proposed “a further renewal of the temporary imposition of the requirement to wear a mask when accessing, circulating or remaining in public spaces and public roads in cases where the physical distance recommended by health authorities proves impractical.”
Under the legislation, as before, fines of between €100 and €500 may be imposed for non-compliance.
Under the law, it is mandatory to wear a mask (which may not be replaced by a visor) for people aged 10 and over when accessing, circulating in or remaining in public spaces and public roads “whenever the physical distance recommended by health authorities is impractical.”
This requirement may be waived “in relation to persons who are part of the same household, when they are not in the proximity of others” or upon presentation of a medical certificate of incapacity or a medical statement attesting that the medical condition or cognitive impairment does not allow the use of masks.
It is also not mandatory to wear a mask when it “is incompatible with the nature of the activities that people are performing.”
Enforcement “is the responsibility of the security forces and municipal police” and non-compliance with the use of masks constitutes a misdemeanor, punishable by a fine of up to €500.
Portugal had had no deaths associated with Covid-19 in the 24 hours to midnight on Tuesday, but 890 new cases of infection, two-thirds of in the Lisbon and Tagus Valley region, according to the Directorate-General of Health (DGS).
The data showed that there are 11 more people in hospital with Covid-19, for a total of 307, and four more in intensive care, for a total of 70 patients.
The data from the DGS also showed 365 more active cases, for a total of 23,996, with 525 people reported as recovering in the last 24 hours.
Since the start of the pandemic in March last year, 17,037 people have died in Portugal as a result of Covid-19 out of 854,522 confirmed cases of infection.
