Government bans circulation to and from the Lisbon Metropolitan Area on weekends

Given the high incidence of Covid-19 cases in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area (AML), the Portuguese government announced this Thursday that it has decided to reinstate the ban on movement to and from the AML on weekends. A measure that comes into force at 3 p.m. on Friday.

According to the Minister of State for the Presidency, Mariana Vieira da Silva, the main objective is to prevent “the high incidence of cases from being transported out of this region [Lisbon Metropolitan Area].”

This is not a total ban, as there will be exceptions, the minister said, giving work-related situations as an example. Mariana Vieira da Silva also said that this measure was not expected. “It is new, given the territorial inequality,” she noted. “It is not a pandemic control measure, it will not make the numbers go down. It will contain [the pandemic] in this territory, not spreading it to the rest of the country.”

The government is thus awaiting “more detailed information” on the pandemic situation and the weight of the new variants and only on that basis will new measures be adopted. “At this moment, with the information we have, the incidence seems to be much higher in the AML than in the rest of the country,” said Mariana Vieira da Silva, justifying this decision.

In the last epidemiological update, on June 9, Lisbon – along with three other municipalities – did not advance in the deconfinement process and is currently on alert, as it registers over 240 cases per 100 thousand inhabitants.

Municipalities included in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area (AML):

• Alcochete,
• Almada,
• Barreiro,
• Amadora,
• Lisbon,
• Loures,
• Mafra,
• Moita,
• Montijo,
• Odivelas,
• Oeiras,
• Palmela,
• Seixal,
• Sintra,
• Sesimbra,
• Setúbal,
• Vila Franca de Xira.