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The corona high-risk area Portugal has sealed itself off to contain the pandemic.

Entry and exit has been prohibited without a valid reason since Sunday.

As in spring 2020, controls were reintroduced at the land border with neighboring Spain.

In addition, controls at ports and airports were tightened following the government decree.

Exceptions apply to people who drive to work, return to their main residence or are on the road for work, for the transport of goods and for medical emergencies or humanitarian aid.

The 1214-kilometer land border between Portugal and Spain was closed for the first time on March 17 because of the pandemic.

It was only reopened on July 1 in the wake of the sharp decline in numbers at the time.

According to Prime Minister António Costa, the corona situation in Portugal is "very bad".

On Saturday, 12,435 new infections and 293 more corona deaths were registered in the country with 10.3 million inhabitants.

Measured in terms of population, these values ​​are among the highest values ​​in the world, according to calculations by international organizations.

Extrapolated to Germany, that would be around 130,000 infections and more than 2,300 deaths within 24 hours.

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For countries like Portugal, which is struggling with dangerous coronavirus variants, the federal government imposed an entry ban on Friday, which will initially apply until February 17.

Portugal is also to receive help from the Bundeswehr.

According to the Ministry of Defense, the number of helpers and the extent of the relief supplies would first be checked.

The magazine "Spiegel" reported on Sunday that at the beginning of the week a team of 27 doctors and paramedics from the Bundeswehr could be sent to Portugal to help out in the overburdened hospitals.

In addition, the delivery of field hospital beds and ventilators is planned.

The flight out of patients is not initially planned.

Meanwhile, Austria announced on Sunday that seriously ill corona patients would be flown from Portugal to the Alpine country.

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