COVID Portugal’s covid status updated here

[jungleboy]

For those considering walking the CP, please be aware that coronavirus cases in Portugal are on the rise. Yesterday (Saturday, 10 October), 1646 new cases were recorded, the most in a single day since the pandemic began (source: Reuters) and the third straight day over 1000. The last three days are three of the four biggest days in terms in number of new cases.

This chart from the John Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center shows the trend in visual form. The day we started walking the CP on Sep 1 there were 231 new cases but it has gone steadily up since then.



The prime ministers of Spain and Portugal met in the last couple of days and both said they are not considering closing the border. Here is an article about that in Portuguese.

 

[Zac123]

The numbers are correct, but wouldn't you be more friendly to the pilgrims and explain the regions where they are infected?
Most about 90% are in the Lisbon and Porto area.
Many places do not pass by pilgrims, such as the municipalities of Loures, Amador or Sintra in the Lisbon region.
In the rest of the country, the focus is on nursing homes.

The daily bulletin of the Directorate-General for Health (DGS) reveals that Lisbon (+467), Sintra (+339), Loures (+179), Cascais (+156), Guimarães (+129) and Amadora (+124) are the municipalities with the highest increase in infections in the last seven days.

According to the same document, Loures and Amadora exceed the three thousand infected and Cascais overcomes the barrier of two thousand cases. Of the total number of municipalities, 209, that is 69%, recorded at least one more confirmed case of Covid-19 in the last seven days.

Lisbon continues to occupy the top of the table with a total of 6,517 infected with the new coronavirus, followed by Sintra (5,441), Loures (3,092) and Amadora (3,038).

Why not take a path that does not pass through infected areas?

 

[Terry Callery]

Lisbon continues to occupy the top of the table with a total of 6,517 infected with the new coronavirus.

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On All Saint's Day in 1755, the Great Lisbon Earthquake killed a third of the great cities' 275,000 inhabitants.

85% of Lisbon's building were destroyed by the initial quake or by the fires that burned for four days after.
The quake was centered 120 miles off Cape Saint Vincent and a giant tsunami hit Lisbon Harbor 40 minutes after the earthquake and drowned many people who survive the initial event.

The resilient Portuguese rebuilt the city including the Basilica dos Martires which was finished 29 years after the 1755 event and is the place in Lisbon where many start the Portuguese Camino - doing the entire Portuguese route. It is were I started ---so that's how I learned some of the history,

Many of the world's great forests are places that a few hundred year's ago were burnt to the ground.

Yes this is all really bad - but the Phoenix always rises from the ashes

I no longer watch the news - following all this day to day is too depressing, trying to take the long view that this too will pass

 

[Calisteve]

For those considering walking the CP, please be aware that coronavirus cases in Portugal are on the rise. Yesterday (Saturday, 10 October), 1646 new cases were recorded, the most in a single day since the pandemic began (source: Reuters) and the third straight day over 1000. The last three days are three of the four biggest days in terms in number of new cases.

This chart from the John Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center shows the trend in visual form. The day we started walking the CP on Sep 1 there were 231 new cases but it has gone steadily up since then.

View attachment 84782

The prime ministers of Spain and Portugal met in the last couple of days and both said they are not considering closing the border. Here is an article about that in Portuguese.

Many thanks Jungleboy - helpful in guiding the decision about where and when to walk.

 

[jungleboy]

Portugal will enter a 'state of calamity' at midnight tonight with new measures in place. Here are the details via CNN live updates:

Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa announced the country will enter a "state of calamity" midnight on Wednesday, saying the Covid-19 situation in the country was “serious.”

“We can classify the evolution of the pandemic in Portugal as a serious one,” Costa told journalists as he announced the state of calamity at a press conference, following a cabinet meeting on Wednesday. The declaration gives the government exceptional powers to adopt additional measures to try to curb the spread of the virus.

Costa said additional restrictions would be imposed immediately, namely limiting the number of gatherings in public, commercial spaces or restaurants to no more than five people. In schools and universities, celebrations and non-academic activities will be forbidden and family events, such as weddings and baptisms, will be limited to a maximum of 50 guests.

Costa went on to say that authorities would be called upon to increase surveillance and enforcement of these rules in public places, namely restaurants and shops, increasing fines for up to 10,000 euros for businesses who do not enforce the rules.

“It is necessary to revive the memory that it is really necessary to follow these rules,” Costa said, adding that there had been some relaxation, as time passed.

Costa also said the government would put forward a bill to make the use of masks in certain outdoor spaces mandatory. The bill would also make it mandatory for the Portuguese to sign up for the Portuguese National Health Service’s track and trace app.

Portugal recorded 2072 COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, the first time it has passed 2000 in one day.

 

[jungleboy]

Some more COVID-19 updates from Portugal for anyone considering doing the CP soon:

- The last four days (Wed-Sat) have been the worst four days of the pandemic in terms of new cases, with over 2,000 each day. There was only one previous day above 1,600, and that occurred last week.
- This week the government will debate/decide whether to make mask-wearing mandatory in outdoor public spaces. Currently it is mandatory in indoor public spaces (shops, public transport etc).
- A big debate at the moment surrounds the mobile app StayAwayCovid and whether it should/will become mandatory. If you install the app, you are alerted if someone you have been in close contact with (who also has the app) has tested positive.

Links:
Maps and Charts Tracking the Virus in Portugal
Battle in Portugal over plans for compulsory virus app

 

[anthikes]

There is a lot, lot more testing now so no surprise cases have gone up!

Deaths remain stable - that's a more important metric.

 

[Kathar1na]

The cacophony of voices of people who not only made declarations about what they themselves were going to do, namely stay in their own country and not travel to Portugal or Spain but who also postulated that everyone else must do as they do had died down, and many of us, I guess, sighed a sigh of relief.

With autumn here and Covid-19 incidence rates increasing throughout many European countries and measures to combat the spread of the disease being introduced or modified an a daily basis, and hence in the news on a daily basis, these comments seem to appear again in greater numbers.

To what end, I wonder? It cannot be useful advice for the majority of the forum as the overwhelming majority of the forum members are not even allowed to enter Portugal and Spain so there is no need to tell them that they should stay away voluntarily.

 

[peregrina2000]

Please Please Please Please do NOT continue these debates about whether it is safe/responsible/foolish/arrogant/selfish to walk on a camino now. Nick started this thread to alert members to the current situation in Portugal, which is very helpful information to those who are planning to walk.

Forum members make different personal calculations about whether to walk, and if they ask for your advice, go for it. But we don’t want to see every thread commenting on current covid conditions to turn into a go-don’t go food fight.

Thanks and buen camino, Laurie

 

[Marc S.]

It cannot be useful advice for the majority of the forum as the overwhelming majority of the forum members are not even allowed to enter Portugal and Spain so there is no need to tell them that they should stay away voluntarily.

Whilst agreeing with the rest of your post, and not wanting to start a go - won't go food fight, I do not think the overwhelming majority of forum members are not allowed to enter Portugal or Spain. (after all, not all of us are Americans)

On a constructive note (and it has probably been posted before) : this site has all the recent covid measures in Portugal and may help people on how to behave in Portugal - which may be helpful in addition to Nick's post for those considering going there.

COVID-19 | Measures implemented in Portugal | www.visitportugal.com

Implemented measures during the outbreak of COVID-19[Updated on 15 March. State of Emergency in force until 31 March.]During the outbreak of pneumonia by the new Coronavirus – COVID-19 the Portuguese government has been taking all necessary public health measures to protect the entire...

www.visitportugal.com

 

[peregrina2000]

Since my plea for good behavior did no good, I have now deleted all 11 off-topic posts. Let’s keep this thread on track.

 

[Danielrowlo]

Im actually travelling to portugal tomorrow to start my camino. Maybe im wrong in many eyes to do so. But I feel for my own wellbeing its a very good option. There will be 3 of us and we will stick to our bubble of 3 sharing our own room when possible. We will wear in busy areas and use common sense.

 

[simonpc]

Good luck and pleased to see people still getting on with their lives and not giving into the hype around covid.
Just listen to the Government in terms of what's allowed and what isn't. Many people seem to like playing God and telling others what they should and shouldn't do. Ignore them and bom caminho!

i wouldn't say its hype there are also the practical/logistical issues - likely more areas will be locked down which will directly affect the Camino route on both sides of the border. The trend now unfortunately has deteriorated in last 3 weeks and likely to get worst before better.

 

[Danielrowlo]

Possible could get better on our 3rd day now out off lisboa and things seem okay here. Mask and everything but people seem to be dealing with it quite well I suppose spain has been hit harder with harder restrictions hopefully they won't be as bad as made out

 

[apotheo]

Im actually travelling to portugal tomorrow to start my camino. Maybe im wrong in many eyes to do so. But I feel for my own wellbeing its a very good option. There will be 3 of us and we will stick to our bubble of 3 sharing our own room when possible. We will wear in busy areas and use common sense.

I arrived to Lisbon today, Oct 28th. I'm starting my Camino tomorrow the 29th. What route did you take? I called several Albergues and got no response. Many are closed. I guess, I'll have to buy a tent and do this the ancient way ? By the way, I'm a female and I'm walking alone this year.

 

[anthikes]

You will be fine finding accommodation as private places are still open but bringing a tent is a good idea too. I cycled the route from Lisbon to Porto this year and found many good places to camp and stay. I then walked the coastal way and even managed to camp along there some nights, but there were many private albergues open too and they were very thankful for any pilgrims - this was May during the height of the panicking.

Really wish you well and don't be put off by all the naysayers who would prefer us all to be locked up for the foreseeable! Bom Caminho!

 

[apotheo]

Thank you! That's actually encouraging. I'm excited to start my walk tomorrow and meet all those great hosts that will be on my way. These are special times and only special people will appreciate them

 

[Danielrowlo]

I arrived to Lisbon today, Oct 28th. I'm starting my Camino tomorrow the 29th. What route did you take? I called several Albergues and got no response. Many are closed. I guess, I'll have to buy a tent and do this the ancient way ? By the way, I'm a female and I'm walking alone this year.

We haven't had any issues staying in location we are currently in tomar haveing a rest day.. from Lisbon we arrive in alverca do Ribatejo but stayed just outside. This is my WhatsApp +447725056754 please feel free to call or whats app me and I can give my places were we have stayed they have all been great with amazing hosts

 

[jungleboy]

I arrived to Lisbon today, Oct 28th. I'm starting my Camino tomorrow the 29th. What route did you take? I called several Albergues and got no response. Many are closed. I guess, I'll have to buy a tent and do this the ancient way ? By the way, I'm a female and I'm walking alone this year.

Please consider taking a train between Oriente station in Lisbon and Alverca or Vila Franca de Xira owing to repeated instances of assault of female pilgrims shortly past Alpriate, including recently. See this thread for details.

You can refer to my live thread from last month for albergue closures and alternative options. You can still get by without camping, though it may depend on your budget.

There are also changing circumstances regarding coronavirus restrictions in Portugal, including mask-wearing now being mandatory in outdoor public spaces and the restriction on travelling between concelhos (districts) this weekend.

Despite some challenges, I loved walking this camino last month and hope you will too!

 

[Danielrowlo]

Please consider taking a train between Oriente station in Lisbon and Alverca or Vila Franca de Xira owing to repeated instances of assault of female pilgrims shortly past Apriate, including recently. See this thread for details.

You can refer to my live thread from last month for albergue closures and alternative options. You can still get by without camping, though it may depend on your budget.

There are also changing circumstances regarding coronavirus restrictions in Portugal, including mask-wearing now being mandatory in outdoor public spaces and the restriction on travelling between conselhos (districts) this weekend.

Despite some challenges, I loved walking this camino last month and hope you will too!

The restriction on travelling between districts will not affect tourist travellers

 

[jungleboy]

About 70% of the Portuguese population have been told they have a 'civic duty to stay home' (i.e. a soft lockdown) from midnight on Wednesday. We are only supposed to leave home for essential things like grocery shopping, medical services, work (though people should work from home if they can) and school. Another state of emergency will possibly be declared.

Article (in Portuguese): Estado de emergência a caminho. Saiba as novas medidas e os concelhos atingidos

 

[Danielrowlo]

Are you in portugal??

 

[jungleboy]

Are you in portugal??

Yes, I live in Lisbon.

 

[Danielrowlo]

Just seems your words off choice are scaring people away ive been on the caminho now for a week and just had positive response from locals that people are living normal lives even in coimbra many people were out last night.

 

[jungleboy]

Just seems your words off choice are scaring people away ive been on the caminho now for a week and just had positive response from locals that people are living normal lives even in coimbra many people were out last night.

I am just reporting news without commentary. It's not meant to scare but to inform pilgrims of the current situation and possible restrictions they may face.

I was on camino myself last month. Yes, people have been living normal lives but from Wednesday on, that won't be possible for most people in Portugal (although Coimbra is not among the affected districts). This government map shows the the areas in red that will return to 'home confinement' on Wednesday, which includes all of the camino from Porto.

 

[jungleboy]

An update on the current situation in Portugal:

I started this thread on October 11 announcing that Portugal had just set a one-day record for new COVID-19 cases with 1646. The new record, set yesterday, is 10,556, nearly 6.5 times the number from three months ago. Yesterday's 156 announced deaths was also a record.

At midnight tonight, Portugal reenters full lockdown, likely to last for at least a month. This AP article by Barry Hatton, author of The Portuguese (a book that we have discussed here before), gives details.

This chart from the Observador shows the evolution of new cases since the start of the pandemic:

 

[peregrina2000]

So sad. Just months ago, people were holding up Portugal as the miracle country that seemed to have avoided the big hit. I think I’m correct in saying that the graph up through mid September made Portugal a world leader in keeping the virus at bay.

Keep us posted, @jungleboy. Hoping that the lockdown is effective in bringing down the numbers. I see that yesterday’s death toll also set a record. Is the graph as dismal for deaths as for cases?

I expect it will have a tremendous impact on voter turnout. Is is like Spain where (I think) many people are registered (censado) in their pueblos and must return there if they want to vote?

 

[jungleboy]

Keep us posted, @jungleboy. Hoping that the lockdown is effective in bringing down the numbers. I see that yesterday’s death toll also set a record. Is the graph as dismal for deaths as for cases?

I haven't found a good graph showing the deaths, but today's front page of the Diário de Notícias gives the numbers for the last six days:

I expect it will have a tremendous impact on voter turnout. Is is like Spain where (I think) many people are registered (censado) in their pueblos and must return there if they want to vote?

Not sure. The big debate at the moment surrounding the vote is how/whether people in retirement homes can safely vote given the impact of the virus in those places.

 

[Ernesto.IT]

So sad. Just months ago, people were holding up Portugal as the miracle country that seemed to have avoided the big hit. I think I’m correct in saying that the graph up through mid September made Portugal a world leader in keeping the virus at bay.

Keep us posted, @jungleboy. Hoping that the lockdown is effective in bringing down the numbers. I see that yesterday’s death toll also set a record. Is the graph as dismal for deaths as for cases?

I expect it will have a tremendous impact on voter turnout. Is is like Spain where (I think) many people are registered (censado) in their pueblos and must return there if they want to vote?

peregrina2000, the lockdown is not the only way to reduce infections but it will be the vaccine that is about to be given almost all over the world, so patience is still the best weapon for the moment.

 

[jungleboy]

Portugal has the highest rate of infection per capita of any country in the world in the last week.

There's an article about this in Portuguese here, although it should be (scary) enough to look at the chart below, taken from the article and in turn from Our World in Data.

 

[Dojo]

JungleBoy - I appreciate your updates from Portugal. I am supposed to start the Coastal Camino (Porto to SDC) on 9 May (a mere 3 months away). Assuming travel restrictions from US are lifted, will Portugal be ready for tourists? How are vaccinations going? I know the situation is fluid. Just trying to get a feel if I should reschedule to August?

 

[jungleboy]

JungleBoy - I appreciate your updates from Portugal. I am supposed to start the Coastal Camino (Porto to SDC) on 9 May (a mere 3 months away). Assuming travel restrictions from US are lifted, will Portugal be ready for tourists? How are vaccinations going? I know the situation is fluid. Just trying to get a feel if I should reschedule to August?

Fluid indeed. Things are changing by the day here, as the last two days have had the most new cases of the entire pandemic and today it was announced that schools would close for at least two weeks (they were initially kept open when the new lockdown was announced last week).

Complicating things a bit is the upcoming presidential election. The current president has said that the state of emergency would be maintained through the end of his term on 9 March. So I wouldn't expect any kind of 'opening up' to occur before then. After the last lockdown, opening up was a three-stage, six-week process. IIRC correctly, hotels opened as part of the second stage of reopening.

Regarding vaccination, non-priority groups won't start getting vaccinated until May or so.

For your camino, I'd like to think walking in May for Portuguese and EU visitors will be possible, although as you point out, travel from the US might not be. If it's not that inconvenient for you to put it off until August, that's probably wise.

 

[jungleboy]

How are vaccinations going?

Update: it was reported last night that Prime Minister António Costa expects 70% of the population to be vaccinated by the end of summer, if vaccination distribution proceeds as planned. Article in Portuguese.

 

[jungleboy]

The impact of the EU vaccine delivery delays on Portugal, per Reuters:

Portugal, where infections and deaths have spiked to record levels after Christmas, initially hoped to receive close to 3m vaccine doses in the first quarter, but this figure has fallen to just 1.5m due to delivery delays, the vaccination taskforce head, Francisco Ramos, said.

He had said in December the original plan envisaged 950,000 people – health professionals, key workers, people over 50 with pre-existing conditions and key political figures – being fully vaccinated in January and February.

 

[Sarnux]

My fiance and I have planned to walk the camino portuguese from 27th of Feb. Is it possible? We are from Denmark

 

[trecile]

My fiance and I have planned to walk the camino portuguese from 27th of Feb. Is it possible? We are from Denmark

Doubtful

Portugal extends lockdown and closes border over 'terrible' Covid outbreak

Amid record death toll and struggling hospitals, António Costa admits failings in handling outbreak

www.theguardian.com

 

[Peter Fransiscus]

My fiance and I have planned to walk the camino portuguese from 27th of Feb. Is it possible? We are from Denmark

I think you have to follow the news more often . Portugal has closed there borders.
You will have to wait a bit longer before you can walk.
Be safe

 

[jungleboy]

My fiance and I have planned to walk the camino portuguese from 27th of Feb. Is it possible? We are from Denmark

Unfortunately I have to agree with the two others who replied above. Our lockdown will not be lifted by the end of Feb as the situation is not under control at all (record deaths and case numbers again yesterday). As I have posted in this thread and other threads, Portugal has had, by far, the highest average number of daily COVID-19 cases, per capita, of any country in the world in the last three weeks.

The practical implications of this are:
- movement between districts is forbidden at certain times
- most (all?) accommodation will be closed
- the border with Spain might still be closed by then
- you may be stopped by police

To give an example, I was stopped by police on my running route in Lisbon a few days ago, asked where I lived, and told that I must turn around as I couldn't be that far from home (I was about 3km away from home at the time).

 

[peregrina2000]

A friend in Portugal tells me Portugal now has the highest rate of covid infection in the world. I couldn’t believe it, so I went to the press, and he is right. One article says patients are now being airlifted to Madeira for ICU beds. So horrible.

With world’s highest COVID-19 rate, Portugal has just seven free ICU beds

Government airlifts patients to Madeira as funeral homes also run out of space.

www.politico.eu

 

[trecile]

A friend in Portugal tells me Portugal now has the highest rate of covid infection in the world. I couldn’t believe it, so I went to the press, and he is right. One article says patients are now being airlifted to Madeira for ICU beds. So horrible.

With world’s highest COVID-19 rate, Portugal has just seven free ICU beds

Government airlifts patients to Madeira as funeral homes also run out of space.

www.politico.eu

Not only that, but patients are being transported to other countries.

Austria and Germany step in to help Portugal’s Covid crisis - Portugal Resident

Portuguese patients requiring intensive care to be transported to Austria. Germany military doctors to travel to Portugal.

www.portugalresident.com

 

[Leap of faith]

Not only that, but patients are being transported to other countries.

Austria and Germany step in to help Portugal’s Covid crisis - Portugal Resident

Portuguese patients requiring intensive care to be transported to Austria. Germany military doctors to travel to Portugal.

www.portugalresident.com

Please be patience! Don’t do anything to compound the problem.

 

[jungleboy]

I have been outside Portugal for work for the last 2.5 weeks and now that I'm back, I'm pleased to say that the situation has improved dramatically in that time. From the peak of this wave in late January when 15,000+ daily cases were being reported, the last three days have all been under 2,000. Apart from a couple of days around Christmas when there wasn't much testing done, the figures from the last few days are the lowest since October. This chart from the Observador illustrates this in visual form:



So, the lockdown is working. In terms of how long it will go on for, based on a few comments from politicians it's starting to sound that they are looking at continuing it through Easter, to avoid what happened at Christmas when restrictions were eased for the holiday, leading to the worst period of the pandemic in the month that followed. So our expectation at this stage is that we're looking at 5-6 more weeks of lockdown and then hoping that restrictions are lifted the week after Easter.

Just in time for walking season?

 

[Calisteve]

Thanks for the update. That's very encouraging - particularly for the people of Portugal. But maybe just maybe my Lisbon to Porto Camino might be possible this summer. Not counting any chickens, but fingers are well and truly crossed.

 

[jungleboy]

Yesterday the state of emergency / lockdown was extended for two more weeks (the longest extension allowable under Portuguese law):
Portugal extends COVID-19 lockdown, will plan for lifting restrictions

Unofficially, as mentioned upthread, it's likely that the lockdown will continue through Easter. The president spoke yesterday about resisting them temptation to reopen too quickly and said we have to 'earn it'.
Marcelo: "Desconfinamento? Temos de ganhar até à Páscoa o verão e o outono" (article in Portuguese)

 

[jungleboy]

Portugal announced its process for easing of lockdown today:
Lockdown easing in Portugal from 15 March – but slowly

It's a multi-stage process with a few restrictions easing from next week but most not until after Easter.

 

[DevereUx]

Ths is good news!
Perhaps the Caminho will reopen by Fall!
I hope so!

 

[jungleboy]

Today the Portuguese government announced that the planned next stage of opening up will go ahead as scheduled next Monday. This next phase of the easing of restrictions includes restaurants being able to open for outdoor service (currently it's only take away or delivery), more students allowed to back to school and travel between regions being permitted. There's no news about this online in English yet, but here is an article in Portuguese.

Meanwhile, yesterday Portugal tightened its border restrictions with some other EU countries.

 

[jungleboy]

Here's an article in English about today's news: Portugal's Deconfinement.

('Deconfinement' is just a literal translation from the Portuguese 'desconfinamento', where 'confinamento' = lockdown and 'desconfinamento' = opening up.)

These are the things that will be open from Monday per the article:

• secondary (2º and 3º ‘ciclo’ schools) will reopen, as well as their respective ATL (tuition support)
• social support for the handicapped
• day centres
• museums, monuments, palaces, art galleries and similar
• shops of up to 200m2 that have doors to the street
• fairs, and non-food markets
• esplanades (cafés and restaurants, max. 4 people per table)
• low risk sports
• outdoor activities involving up to 4 people, plus gymnasiums (without group classes).

 

[CalgaryLynn]

Great news, thank you! I am planning to go in late September.