“The message of caution is a message that we have to reiterate permanently because it is very clear to everyone that the pandemic has not disappeared yet. Fortunately, vaccination has been evolving at a good pace, but we are far from covering the entire population,” said António Costa.

Asked at the time about the situation in Lisbon and the Tagus Valley, where there has been an increase in the number of infections, the Prime Minister added: “We will have to continue to be cautious until the pandemic is eradicated and the municipality of Lisbon is no different from the other 277 counties on the continent and therefore the rules that apply to the 278 counties also apply to Lisbon”.

“The situation in Lisbon [in terms of infections] has been increasing, although the information that has been possible to collect […] is explained mainly by a set of outbreaks that are quite localised in one part, the other part has a very defined location in a geographical point of view ”, justified the Head of Government.

When asked whether this increase could be related to the reopening of tourism in the country, namely for British tourists, António Costa stressed that “there is no correlation established at this moment between this reopening” and the rise in infections.

“The cases are more associated with family celebrations and housing conditions than with British tourists,” he said.

Already confronted about whether the celebrations of Sporting fans may have led to the increase in the number of cases, António Costa also said that “there doesn’t seem to be much evidence”.

“There are some cases of people who, unfortunately, are infected and participating in the celebrations, but based on the images I saw on television of the people who were taking part in the celebrations and the number of cases verified, I would say that there is not a strong correlation there”, he added.