Museums, high schools and rooftops in Portugal reopen today

Two months after their closure, museums, gymnasiums and coffee rooftops reopen in Portugal today, in the second phase of the gradual lifting of restrictive measures imposed in the country to stem the pandemic. coronavirus, which hit the country hard earlier this year.

After the reopening of the primary schools on March 15, today it was the turn of the high schools to open, as broadcast by AMPE.

All areas of activity open to the public should to follow strict health rules. Up to four people can sit on rooftop café tables, while team sports in gyms and museums are still banned and must be adjusted accordingly.

“We expect to have very few visitors” due to the absence of foreign tourists, said Antonio Nudes Pereira, director of the Pena Palace in Sintra, about 30km from Lisbon.

“We expect a normal recovery in the summer” when “the vaccination process is more advanced in Europe” and when travel rules are more relaxed, added the director of one of Portugal’s busiest attractions, with almost 2 million visitors in 2019, of which more than 85% were foreigners.

Faced with an explosion of cases covid-19 After Christmas and New Year, Portugal saw its hospitals fill up, prompting the government to impose a second general lockdown in mid-January. One week later the schools closed.

In order for schools to open safely the government relies on conducting mass diagnostic tests and vaccinating teachers.

Under the Portuguese government’s opening plan, high schools, universities and venues will open on April 19, while restaurants will open in early May.

The health status is reviewed every two weeks, with the possibility of imposing restrictions in areas where a large number of cases are recorded.

Travel restrictions still apply at this time. Flights to and from Brazil and Britain have been suspended to limit the spread of new strains of the coronavirus, while controls at its land borders Portugal with Spain are extended until mid-April.