Portugal backtracks as delta variant grips Lisbon

(26 Jun 2021) Restaurants and cafes in Lisbon are now only permitted to stay open until 3.30 p.m. on weekends, as lockdown easing in the Portugese capital is put into reverse.
Two months after Portugal began to ease a prolonged lockdown, the Lisbon region is now facing tighter restrictions driven by the coronavirus' delta variant, which now accounts for more than 7 in 10 new infections in the capital.
The Lisbon region, where some 2.8 million people live, has gone back to a 3.30 p.m. closing time for restaurants and cafes at weekends, with limits on how many customers can be served.
Restaurant owners say the early closing time will result in a "great loss" for their businesses.
Paula Mateus, who owns a restaurant in the capital, said it is particularly difficult as they are not permitted to open on Sunday evening when Portugal face Belgium in the last-16 of the Euro soccer tournament.
Among other restrictions, wedding and baptism venues will be allowed to fill only 25% of their capacity, down from the current 50%. Travel into and out of Lisbon is also not permitted at weekends.
Portugal reported 1,568 new infections Saturday, 1,039 of them were in the Lisbon region. Officials say hospital admissions are increasing at a "worrying" level.
Prime Minister António Costa warned that the problem isn't just in Portugal: Experts predict the delta variant, which originated in India, will account for 90% of new infections across Europe by the end of August, he said.
The number of hospitalizations and patients in intensive care went up by 30% and 26% over the past week, respectively, said Cabinet Minister Mariana Vieira da Silva.
Portugal was the worst-hit country in the world, in terms of weekly infections, in January. But an extended lockdown contained the spread.
Since the pandemic began, Portugal has officially recorded around 869,000 cases of COVID-19 and some 17,000 deaths.

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