Today is Wednesday, the 18th of March, 2020 and this is the second post of the day.
Shortly after 8:00 PM this evening, the Portuguese president, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, declared a national state of emergency. This is the first time a measure involving harsh restrictions on civil liberties has been implemented since the years of the dictatorship of António Salazar who ruled Portugal from 1932 to 1968.
It follows the declaration of a State of Public Calamity, on Tuesday, in the northern community of Ovar, and after over a week of exhortations to the public to “stay at home”.
As some newspapers were reporting earlier today, citizens of Ovar have already been found breaking the rules of quarantine imposed by the government under the ‘calamity’ measures.
Ovar is about 25 km south of Porto in the northern part of the country.
In other words, President Marcelo refuses to take any more chances.
Under the national state of emergency, further restrictions on air traffic in and out of the country beyond those imposed in agreement with the rest of the EU on Tuesday are possible.
As a result of the EU agreement, all flights out of Europe will be suspended as of midnight tonight, with Portugal making exceptions for countries with a ‘strong Portuguese presence’ (Canada, the United States, Venezuela, South Africa, Brazil and the so-called PALOP countries of Africa).
The above photo, taken two weeks ago in the picturesque town of Alté, sums up our feelings at this moment in the current crisis.