Hundreds without masks protest in Porto over digital certificates and other abuse

A few hundred people, almost all without masks, demonstrated today in Porto against the digital certification of covid-19 and other anti-epidemic measures imposed by the government, rejecting beacons of freedom of movement.

Crowded mainly on social networks by the “Accorda Portugal” movement, the demonstrators gathered during the afternoon, in Leys Square, next to the University Rectory, heading to Almeida Garrett Square, in front of the Town Hall, in a path of about one kilometer.

A similar event was announced on the same occasion, in Lisbon, from Terreiro do Paço to the Assembly of the Republic. “We have taken to the streets to defend our freedom, challenging the scale of Covid-19 digital testimony as well as actions that have been constantly trampling on our constitution,” the movement declared in the call for protests.

The Accorda Portugal calls itself a group of citizens “with no connection to political parties” and claims to have joined, in just two days, 10,000 people in a group of social networks.

At the Porto protest, protesters held up posters with phrases such as “Freedom, yes, segregation and oppression, no” or “Free – don’t go back”.

Speaking to the protesters, Accorda Portugal, Katia Mora, stated that “what is at stake is freedom”, and did not agree to “completely repressive and absurd measures”. “They will not stifle our constitution,” he added. And the audience in the chorus replied: “Never!”

On Thursday, the government announced that 90 municipalities are at high or very high risk of contracting the Covid-19 virus, as they are subject to more restrictive measures, including the duty to pay between 23:00 and 05:00.

These municipalities are subject to other restrictive measures to control the epidemic, but they are differentiated according to the level of risk, specifically in the hours of commerce and restaurants.

Among the rules for high-risk councils are mandatory remote work when jobs allow and the possibility of restaurants opening until 22:30 (indoors with a maximum of four people per group and on the stands with a maximum of six people per group), with especially that on Fridays from 7 :00 p.m. On Saturdays, Sundays and holidays during all business hours, only certificate holders are allowed to take a digital or passive test.

Cultural performances until 10:30 p.m., gyms without group classes, weddings and christenings at 25% of capacity, food retail operation until 9:00 p.m. during the week and until 7:00 p.m. on weekends and holidays, trade Non-food segmentation until 9 p.m. on weekdays and 3:30 p.m. on weekends and holidays are other hypotheses.

The COVID-19 pandemic has killed at least 408,6242 people worldwide, among more than 189.9 million cases of the novel coronavirus, according to AFP’s latest balance sheet.

In Portugal, since the beginning of the epidemic, in March 2020, 17,199 people died and 927,424 cases of infection were recorded, according to the Directorate General of Health.

The respiratory disease is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, which was discovered in late 2019 in Wuhan, a city in central China, and currently with variants identified in countries such as the United Kingdom, India, South Africa, Brazil and Peru.