Fernando Leal da Costa was heard by the President of the Republic, in a round of hearings of Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa to personalities linked to the area of health.

At the end of the meeting the former minister (PSD) told journalists that there were measures that needed to be taken, such as wearing a mask or social distancing, but that there were others that were difficult to take because "the legislative framework in force in Portugal is not the most appropriate for public health emergencies.

"Although we have a new public health law the legislators over this time have not yet been able to find the formula that allows sufficient flexibility and speed to solve public health emergencies like the one we are experiencing. And so it will probably be better at the right time to declare a state of emergency again," he said.

A state of emergency that "gives the government the legislative capacity to take the measures it eventually has to take, when it has to take them", he justified.

In the words of the former minister, the overall legislative framework is not "flexible enough and malleable" to take the necessary measures "only through government legislation", without the need for legislative authorisations, so governments are often "forced" to seek legislation from other areas, such as civil protection or the environment, to legislate on public health.

The current situation of the Covid-19 pandemic, he said, is an "excellent opportunity for legislators to think about it".