• Special by:
  • ECO News e Hugo Amaral
Special

Photo gallery: Lisbon in standby. See how the coronavirus is stopping the Portuguese capital

Services, companies and closed commercial spaces. Fewer people on the streets. ECO went for a walk in the Portuguese capital, which, forced by the Pandemic, is slowly stopping.

Schools, kindergartens and universities closed. Museums and monuments also closed. Restaurants and shopping spaces following the same path. The Covid-19 is even slowly stopping Lisbon. In the streets of the Portuguese capital, movement is increasingly scarce. The tourists, those who are still here, are the ones who are most noticeable when occupying the esplanades (the ones that are still open) while the Portuguese queue up at the supermarkets, pharmacies and public services.

Hugo Amaral/ECO

At 10 a.m., a small group of Asian tourists strolls in front of the Belém tower. Most of them wear protective masks and don’t even take pictures. They seem a bit disappointed because they cannot visit the monument that is closed, but at the same time resigned to the situation.

A little further on, in the Jerónimos Monastery, the scenery is all the same. There is practically no one in the area except for another group of tourists (also Asian) who listen carefully to the explanations of the tour guide who accompanies them. They stay outside by the bays placed by the civil protection in one of the side doors of the monument.

By mid-morning, on a normal day, the Terreiro do Paço would be full. But normality is not a thing these days, and Lisbon is no exception. The flow of people is much smaller in that area. Tourists, essentially. Some occupy the esplanades while others take photographs of the arch that opens the way to Rua Augusta. And at this point, no one seems to look suspiciously at those who make themselves protected with gloves and masks. On the way from Chiado to Luís de Camões Square, you can hear some vents of concern and a certain feeling of a city in “standby” mode.

In other parts of Lisbon, far from the riverside area, the flow of tourists is no longer noticeable. In the Laranjeiras citizen’s shop, the Portuguese line up. Nothing new. But today the queue has an explanation that brings a preventive argument. People enter slowly in order to avoid large crowds inside the building.

In the back, more lines. This time to enter a supermarket that has, temporarily and starting today, a new schedule. It closes at 5:00. At least as long as the Pandemic alert lasts. Until when? Nobody knows.

  • ECO News
  • Hugo Amaral
  • photojournalist