By Reuters Staff
1 Min Read
LISBON, March 11 (Reuters) - Nearly two months into a lockdown imposed in mid-January to tackle what was then the world’s worst coronavirus surge, Portugal’s government announced on Thursday it would start to gradually ease its strict rules from next week.
Kindergartens, pre-schools and primary schools will reopen on Monday, as well as hair salons and book shops, Prime Minister Antonio Costa told a news conference, adding restaurants will only be allowed to open their doors in May.
The measures to ease the lockdown will be revaluated every 15 days, Costa said. (Reporting by Catarina Demony and Sergio Goncalves, Editing by Nathan Allen)
Portugal reported 15,333 coronavirus cases and 274 deaths on Saturday, breaking records on both fronts as it struggles to bring a post-Christmas surge in the pandemic under control.
Portugal's daily death toll from the coronavirus reached a record high of 167 on Monday, bringing the total to 9,028 deaths since the start of the pandemic, health authority DGS said.
A new lockdown to bring a worrying rise in coronavirus cases under control will come into force in Portugal from Friday, Prime Minister Antonio Costa announced, urging people to stay indoors and protect themselves.
The daily number of COVID-19 cases in Portugal, a nation of just over 10 million people, reached a record high of 10,027 on Wednesday, as the country prepares to approve an extension of a state of emergency to fight a worrying increase in infections. (Reporting by Catarina.