PM proposes state of emergency to President

The Prime Minister, António Costa, on 2 November proposed to the President of the Republic that a state of emergency be decreed "of a preventive nature" to "eliminate doubts" about the Government's action to protect citizens in relation to the pandemic of covid-19.

in News · 02 Nov 2020, 12:14 · 4 Comments

According to Lusa News Agency, this position of the executive was transmitted by António Costa at the end of an audience with the President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, in the Palace of Belém, which lasted 50 minutes, instead of the 30 minutes originally planned.

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By Dackberg Clara from Lisbon on 02 Nov 2020, 13:12

Using ultraviolet blood irradiation for COVID patients would significantly reduce deaths. Why is Portugal not treating these patients with UBI, a safe and effective means of defeating this coronavirus, according to peer reviewed scientific studies?

By Roger Coghill from Madeira on 03 Nov 2020, 07:51

This “stub” is useless. What would the conditions or restrictions be, when would it happen, how long would the initial phase last, would essential travel, e.g. for scheduled health tests, to obtain permanent residency docs with SEF, and so on be allowed? Give people a real story, not some attenuated nubbin that raises more questions than it answers.

By Jude Irwin from Beiras on 03 Nov 2020, 09:02

To those who are confused, this is all the information available. The PM and government are not proposing additional restrictions, but they are cognizant of the fact that a lot of the restrictions enacted in the previous decree on Monday are not enforceable because of potential constitutional issues with restricting the freedom of movement of individuals. That is why they did not outline any consequences for violating the restrictions, making them little more than recommendations.

The only way they can restrict freedom of movement of individuals and perhaps even mandate use of the contact tracing app is if a state of emergency is authorized granting the government extraordinary powers to suspend constitutional freedoms.

By S from Lisbon on 04 Nov 2020, 23:05