In fight against COVID-19, Portugal continues to cautiously ease lockdown

Most Portuguese regions will enter the third phase of easing the COVID-19 lockdown next week, but stricter rules will stay in place in municipalities where transmission rates remain high, Prime Minister Antonio Costa said on Thursday. 'These set of measures are neither prizes nor punishments,' Antonio Costa told a news conference. 'They are public health measures for the safety of the population, of people.' Portugal, which imposed a lockdown in January to curb what was then the world's worst COVID-19 surge, started lifting restrictions last month and has since reopened some schools, restaurant and cafe terraces, museums and hair salons.