"The situation, at the moment, is already substantially bad and, above all, because not only restaurants, but also bars and many commercial activities, have evolved around the tourist activity," the president of the ACIF - Madeira Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Jorge Veiga França, told Lusa news agency, stressing that the tourist sector was the most affected by the pandemic crisis.

New restrictive measures entered into force in the Autonomous Region of Madeira, imposing a curfew between 11pm and 5am throughout the territory, and closing bars and restaurants at 10.30pm until at least 15 January.

Jorge Veiga France acknowledges that the relationship between health and the economy is "reversed" because restrictive measures to prevent contamination have a negative impact on economic activity, and therefore highlights the "need and urgency" of channelling aid to businesses.

The president of ACIF considers it essential to speed up the implementation of European Union support to the country and also the Government of the Republic to the autonomous region.

"We stress the urgency of accelerating this whole process, so as to avoid a cataclysm of bankruptcies and insolvencies, which will naturally happen if the channelling of these funds takes much longer," he said.

The increase in the number of cases in recent days has put the municipality of Porto Santo at very high risk of contagion and the municipalities of Funchal, Câmara de Lobos and Ribeira Brava at high risk, a situation that has led the regional executive of the PSD/CDS-PP coalition to impose new restrictions.