Declining Status Of COVID-19 In Portugal Encourages Crowded Public Places

Photo illustration (Luca Dugaro / Unsplash)

JAKARTA - The lockdown option is an important step in preventing the spread of COVID-19. Due to this success, many countries around the world began to loosen their territorial closure policies, including Portugal.

Portugal, which initially declared its country a national emergency, is slowly starting to downgrade it to only a 'disaster' status. On that basis, Portuguese citizens began scattering to enjoy outdoor activities again starting Monday, May 4.

Launching Reuters, the policy of easing the lockdown was immediately greeted with joy by all Portuguese citizens who have been at home for six weeks carrying out the government's appeal to curb the spread of COVID-19. As a result, parks and beaches all over Portugal are starting to get busy again.

One of the residents who took advantage of the momentum by taking his family for a walk to the city center was Rodrigo Garcia. He also joked that loosening the lockdown for him was like breathing free air from a prison.

"It feels like being released from prison. We've been going here and there, but with the end of the state of emergency, we feel much freer," said the man.

Even so, at some locations, such as beaches, Portuguese citizens were only allowed to do sporting activities such as surfing and regular sports, and were not allowed to form a crowd.

At the same time, Portuguese police officers continue to urge citizens not to stay outside public spaces for long, to keep wearing masks, and to ensure that people keep their distance or physical distancing.

"Even if your status has been downgraded, the best thing is to stay at home as best you can," said police officer Sofia Gordinho while speaking to those on a picnic in Lisbon's Campo Martires da Patria park.

"If people want to sit in the sun for a while, that's okay. But, we ask them to move so that other people can come without being too crowded," he added.

So far Portugal has confirmed 25,282 cases of COVID-19 transmission. Among them, there were 1,043 cases died.