Covid-19: in Portugal, unarmed traders facing the curfew

In central Lisbon, October 11, 2020. AP Photo / Armando Franca

Text by: RFI Follow

3 min

In Portugal, we are trying at all costs to prevent the health situation from deteriorating even further.

The authorities impose a curfew in the evening but also on Saturdays and Sundays.

A big blow for traders.

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With our correspondent in Lisbon,

Marie-Line Darcy

Going to the bakery and the grocery store will still be possible after 1 p.m. on weekends.

But traditional family lunches and dinners with friends are suspended.

Restaurant owners are the most affected by the measure.

I ask the question, how long is this going to last?"

We can last 1, 2 or 3 months but then it becomes difficult to maintain the staff,

says Roberto, owner of a pizzeria in the suburbs of Lisbon.

We are pushed to lay off but that is not our philosophy.

It is really difficult.

 " 

Roberto had just decided to open on Sunday and to join forces with a musician to animate the pizzeria.

He fears today for his 14 employees.

In the center of Lisbon, Julia runs a small decoration shop and has just finished her Christmas window display.

The curfew is a disaster: “ 

Grocery stores remain open.

My items are not prioritized, so I really have no choice but to close.

But I want to work together to end the pandemic, if of course that's the solution.

 "

By the Portuguese Prime Minister's own admission, the situation is serious.

The state of emergency planned until November 23 could be extended.

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