The municipality of Portimão is following a trend that has been repeated since Friday and which has already seen the Lagos, Lagoa and Loulé chambers to adopt similar measures, after verifying a greater influx of people in recent days to coastal and riverside areas.

The deputy mayor of Portimão, Filipe Vital, told Lusa that "there were people walking around on the jetty [in the city], Praia da Rocha and other beaches in the municipality" and, "in an unparalleled option", the municipality interdicted these areas, in collaboration with the local health authority, the Maritime Authority, the PSP, the GNR, firefighters and the Institute of Aid to Castaways.

"At issue is an area of ??more than eight kilometers in length, which goes from Praia da Rocha to the Ria de Alvor. This measure is part of the local action plan to combat covid-19", said the municipality.

The interdiction of the coast was accompanied by a “reinforcement of the inspection of vehicles at the entrances of the city” to avoid displacement of people from outside the municipality and who are disrespecting the determination of stay in the area of ??residence to guarantee the social isolation imposed by the health authorities .

The Câmara of Loulé also announced that it will condition access to the beaches of the municipality and the car parks of the coast, to avoid crowds of people and prevent the expansion of the covid-19 pandemic.

The purpose of the measure is “to dissuade the population from taking group tours or in areas where people gather, as has been seen in the past few days in certain natural areas of the municipality”, when Easter is approaching, justified the municipality.

On Friday, the municipality of Lagos prohibited circulation on the promenade on the riverside front of Avenida dos Descobrimentos, on the county's beaches, sea fronts and parking lots, due to the covid-19 pandemic.

The decision was made for an “indefinite period” in areas that were identified as “pleasant places” and “more conducive to the concentration of people”, being “susceptible to generate behavior contrary to the objectives that led to the imposition of the state of National Emergency” and that aim at social isolation, argued the municipality.

The Algarve Intermunicipal Community (AMAL) had already warned about the arrival of people to settle in holiday homes or second homes, considering that this behavior can increase the cases of Covid-19 in the region and appealing to people from other regions of the country to remain in their first residences as long as these restrictive and social isolation measures are in place.