At the regular press conference on updating the data on the pandemic in Portugal, António Lacerda Sales was asked about the situation in Lisbon and Vale do Tejo, having replied that “in the last days there is stability even with a slight downward trend”.

“This is always a sign of hope for us, but also a sign of great caution and being on the alert regarding this matter. We are in a phase of successive plateaus and this is a cause for great concern for us”, he maintained.

The Secretary of State added that the objective is to have “no part of the country in a different situation” and that the different levels “progressively eliminate” in order to move towards “the most uniform control possible”.

Since 1 July, mainland Portugal has been divided into three alert levels to deal with the covid-19 pandemic, with most of the country being on alert, while the Lisbon Metropolitan Area (AML) has been placed in a contingency situation ( intermediate level), while 19 parishes in five AML municipalities maintain the state of calamity, with different measures.

António Lacerda Sales also said that when “something that is not foreseen” happens in the country, “appropriate and proportional” measures will be taken.