Starting on Saturday, May 1, the land border between Portugal and Spain will reopen. After 3 months of land restrictions, Portugal announces the end of the calamity. António Costa, the Portuguese Prime Minister, announced that the incidence rate of new cases of COVID-19 per 100.000 inhabitants in 14 days has evolved positively in the country. The number of new cases has dropped from 118 cases on March 9 to 66 cases on April 29, and the virus transmissibility index is now 1.
In view of this improvement, the Prime Minister announced the reopening of the land border with Spain on Saturday, May 1, which was closed on January 31. During all this time only freight traffic was allowed.
Of the 278 municipalities in Portugal, only eight will continue to be in disrepair, while the rest began to relax anti-COVID measures, taking important steps towards a new normalcy.
Restaurants, cafes, patisseries and cultural halls will be able to start operating until 22:30 every day, and weddings, baptisms, communions and other family celebrations can take place with a capacity of 50%.
However, capacity restrictions spaces are maintained. Restaurants, cafes and patisseries will have a maximum limit of six people per table indoors and ten people per table on terraces.
Another important step towards the normalization of commercial activity is that all shops can be opened until 21:00 during the week and until 19:00 on weekends.
This reopening of the borders was received with "enormous enthusiasm" by tourism companies. Hotels will be able to receive tourists starting this weekend.