Well it is as we all expected, especially as a new surge of Covid-19 is rapidly spreading across Europe.
At 6 pm this evening, the Secretary for Health, Pedro Ramos declared that masks will be worn in ‘all public spaces’ from Saturday the 1st of August. When asked by a journalist to clarify this, he simply reiterated all public spaces. The move has been condemned by many of the islands politicians and social movers and shakers, and a petition against the new ruling is in circulation. By 5 pm this evening the petition had approximately 300 signatures.
Many have also taken to social media to express their outrage at the move.
The Health Secretary was also asked to comment on whether he thought the new ruling would affect tourism, to which he answered no, as he believes the new mask wearing rule will give tourists an added feel of security, and shows that the region has the situation under control.
Furthermore, any passengers entering the country who refuse to take a Covid-19 test will be criminally charged for disobedience and confined for a period of 14 days in a hotel designed for this purpose. The resulting accommodation costs incurred will be bourne by the traveller.
He then went on to say that the 14 day mandatory confinement can be done carried out at the travellers home, at a health facility or at a hotel. But as one person queried, who is going to make sure that someone stays in their home for 14 days?
Samantha Gannon
info at madeira-weekly.com
