Marcelo says that Covid-19 numbers in Portugal "give up" maintenance on the air corridor

The epidemiological situation in Portugal "has ups and downs, but it is possible, in terms of stability, to continue the opening of air corridors", said the President of the Republic today, Friday, in Castro Marim.

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa considered that «the Algarve had good news yesterday, overcoming what some feared in relation to an important part of tourism, the British market», but warned that this does not mean that one can give up.

“Everything in life can change. Not least because the decision does not belong to Portugal, it belongs to another country, due to many positive efforts that diplomacy has been making permanently. We must praise Portuguese diplomacy here, which has done what it can and cannot do in this regard – and it is not just in the United Kingdom, it is everywhere», he said.

"We have to do everything possible, everything that depends on us, so that it doesn't change" the inclusion in the list of safe countries, added the Head of State.

"It also depends a lot on how society lives this balance between over-dramatizing and over-dedramatizing, so that reality and numbers make it easier."

Keeping Portugal on the list of safe destinations, which do not require quarantine for those who fly to the United Kingdom, is "a challenge", which Portugal is experiencing "week to week, fortnight to fortnight, month to month".

“It's good that this is happening. Just now, at the Airport of Faro, someone called my attention to a plane that arrived today from Holland completely full, with 350 people on board. And the astonishment came from the fact that it has not been very common, in recent months, for this to happen. In recent months, planes either did not arrive or arrived with 10, 20 or 30 passengers. Arriving on a plane from the Netherlands with 350 passengers was a party. Imagine yourself…».

«It is these small parties that, in the future, together, will constitute the starting point for tourism in the Algarve and throughout the country», believes Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.

The President of the Republic also spoke of “the challenge that has motivated meetings like the one we will have shortly with mayors from across the Algarve: that of not losing this speed acquired, week after week, in Spanish tourism, in tourism British, in Portuguese tourism – which is making appointments for September and October – and from other origins».

During his visit to the municipality of Castro Marim, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa was at the door of the old people's home of Santa Casa da Misericórdia castromarinense, for a bath of selfies at a distance and separated by glass, always focusing on safety rules.

The Head of State was also next to the building where the first home in the Algarve will be built, exclusively for patients with Alzheimer's, a social response that, according to Francisco Amaral, mayor of Castro Marim, will have a capacity for 40 people.

Photos: Hugo Rodrigues|Sul Informação