Portugal, which has one of the world’s highest rates of vaccination against COVID-19, announced it would reimpose restrictions to stop a surge in cases, ordering all passengers flying into the country to show a negative test certificate on arrival.
“It doesn’t matter how successful the vaccination was, we must be aware we are entering a phase of greater risk,” Prime Minister Antonio Costa told a news conference on Thursday.
“We have seen significant growth (in cases) in the EU and Portugal is not an island,” he added.
Portugal reported 3,773 new cases on Wednesday, the highest daily figure in four months, before dropping to 3,150 on Thursday. Deaths, however, remain far below levels seen in January, when the country faced its toughest battle against COVID-19.
Around 87% of Portugal’s population of just over 10 million is fully inoculated against the coronavirus and the country’s speedy vaccination rollout has been widely praised. That has allowed it to lift most of its pandemic restrictions.
But, as another wave of the pandemic sweeps across Europe, the government reintroduced some old rules and announced new ones to limit the spread in the run-up to the holiday season. The measures come into force next Wednesday, Dec. 1.