The meeting of the Council of Ministers should be chaired by the minister of State and the Presidency, Mariana Vieira da Silva, who is replacing the Prime Minister, António Costa, during his holidays.

The Minister of Health, Marta Temido, had said that this meeting could be held on 20 August, after the report of the General Directorate of Health and the National Health Institute Dr. Ricardo Jorge was known.

However, the minister underlined that the use of masks in the street is a competence of the Assembly of the Republic.

Marta Temido announced in an interview to SIC that the country has reached the target of 70 percent of vaccinated population, which was associated with moving to the second of the three phases of the ease of lockdown in the government's plan for managing the pandemic.

The deadline foreseen by the Government to reach the level of 70 percent of vaccinated citizens was 5 September and the Prime Minister, António Costa, advanced on 29 July with the possibility of bringing forward the lifting of restrictive measures if vaccination managed to quickly achieve the goals.

At stake is the end of the mandatory use of masks in outdoor public spaces, the use of public services without the need for prior appointment, the increase in capacity in restaurants to eight people per group inside and 15 per group on terraces, as well as in cultural shows and weddings or baptisms, which can now have up to 75 percent of space occupation.

However, “the law that is in force was issued by the Assembly of the Republic and it is the responsibility of the Assembly of the Republic to carry out this assessment. But it is worth mentioning that the use of masks, as the examples from other countries show, will always have to be decided according to the circumstances”, she added.