Meet at Infarmed. Experts say August is already making it possible to ease restrictions

Now that nearly half the population has been fully vaccinated and the same number of infections has led to fewer hospitalizations and deaths, experts are discussing the possibility of revising the risk matrix, particularly the redline for incidence. According to some experts interviewed for Infarmed, there is also room for some measures that will be adjusted in August, such as setting opening hours in commerce and restaurants, or even, eventually, focusing more on residents’ interest in the use of masks indoors. Spaces, not so much outdoors. However, it is still too early to open up clubs and end individual protection rules, as the UK has done. The message to be conveyed to the population now must be that the epidemic is not over yet, but that it is possible, step by step, to begin paving the way for a stage of greater liberalization, even if it does not arrive. Even after summer.

“It seems to me that it is quite logical to review the measures in August, because we are in a different context than the previous ones. But we are still in the era of joint strategies, where vaccination remains linked to behavioral measures that prevent transmission, such as the use of masks and social distancing, and the avoidance of crowds of people ” , summarizes Raquel Duarte, a pulmonologist responsible for the proposed decontamination plans for the government. “Based on what we see happening in other countries, as more populations are vaccinated, we can open up the economic, cultural and recreational sectors, while maintaining individual protection measures, especially in enclosed spaces.”