Covid-19 cases are finally falling significantly in Portugal. The average number of daily Covid-19 cases in 5 days fell from 4,579 to 4,488. This is the lowest recorded daily average this year. The daily average cases were slightly lower in mainland Portuguese with 4,153. 

In early 2022, there were a high number of Covid-19 cases. The highest daily average for 5 days occurred in January with over 45,000 infections. Numbers then dropped but increased again in May when a sixth wave came about.

In late May, Portugal was the country in the European Union with the highest number of new cases of covid-19 per one million population, as well as the second in the world. 

However, despite a decrease in Covid-19 cases in Portugal, the transmissibility index (Rt) rose from 0.81 to 0.86. Back in January, the Rt was at 1,16.

Back in June, the government announced that there would be no Covid-19 restrictions on beaches in Portugal. All of the Covid-19 beach restrictions have not been renewed such as the mandatory use of masks in beach bars, social distancing, and a ban on certain sports.

For the last two years, people breaking covid-19 restrictions on beaches could face a fine between 50 and 100 euros, while fines for companies could reach 500 to 1000 euros. 

Today, over 8.8 million people in Portugal have been fully vaccinated against the Covid-19 Pandemic. 95% of the population has received at least one dose of the vaccine and 92.6% are completely vaccinated. 

Entering Portugal: Covid Restrictions & Current Measures

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) found that Portuguese people need around 11.4 years of medium average wages to be able to buy a 100m2 home. In 2000, 11.3 years of wages were needed, reports Idealista.

House prices are growing exponentially in Portugal. Idealista reports that house prices in the first trimester of 2022 grew around 12.9%, the largest increase since 2010. 

However, since the average income of Portuguese families does not match the housing price increase, it is much harder for them to afford to purchase a property.

There are other OECD countries that have worse situations where families with the average salary take longer to afford a home. In New Zealand, families need 18.7 years of medium average wages to afford a home, the worse off country.

In South Korea they need 16.6 years, in Ireland, they need 16.1 years, in Luxembourg, they need 14.4 years, and in Australia, they need 14.4 years. These are the five countries where families take the longest to afford a 100m2 with the average salary.

The list is then followed by Greece (13 years), the Netherlands (12.9 years), France (12.8 years), Switzerland (12.6 years), Austria (11.9 years), and Hungary (11.6 years). 

The OECD reports that the number of years it takes to buy a 100m2 house with the average salary increase in almost all of the OECD. It almost doubled in some countries between 2000 and 2020. This is not the case for Portugal, with less than a 1% increase in the last 20 years. 

The OECD also concluded that inflation is increasing rental prices, reducing the income available to families renting in the private market. This worsens their financial well-being and makes it harder to save for buying a primary home.

International Guide to Real Estate in Portugal: Buying a House in Portugal

Joel Collins was allegedly stabbed in a resort in the city of Albufeira in the Algarve on July 4 while walking home from a night out. The 35-year-old father of four is in an induced coma, after suffering lacerations to the pancreas, lungs, intestines, and stomach.

He was found unconscious on the street and someone took him to the hospital in Faro. The victim has undergone six surgeries already and is in intensive care. His family is at his side. 

ITV News reports that the victim has limited memory of what happened. However, the hospital believes he was robbed as he did not have his personal belongings with him.

Joel only remembers getting separated from his friends on a night out and using his phone to find the way back to his hotel, according to his sister Heidi Collins.

His last memory was of getting separated from his group and getting his phone out to use Google Maps to find a route back to his hotel.

Joel’s mum told BBC Wales, “It is the most horrendous experience of my life but what his sister, his partner, and I are going through is nothing compared to what Joel is so that makes me stronger.”

A friend of Joel’s has set up a crowdfunding page for the victim’s family that has raised over £8,000 so far.

Heidi also told ITV News that  “people need to be extra vigilant when they are in the resort”. She said “the police aren’t doing anything about it” and that “these crimes are going on and nobody is aware of it.”

Over 80 counties in the districts of Braganca, Vila Real, Coimbra, Viseu, Santarem, Castelo Branco, Portalegre, and Faro are at maximum risk of rural fire, reports JN. 

The Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA) said that many other countries in Portugal are at high risk and very high risk of rural fire with a yellow warning.

Faro is under an orange warning, the second highest warning due to the heat. On Monday, temperatures are expected to reach 37°C, but will then cool down as the week progresses. 

However, there are finally 11 counties in the districts of Porto and Aveiro now at reduced risk of fire.

Temperatures will decrease at the beginning of the week all over the country, except in the Algarve, where a slight increase is happening today. 

Portugal is no longer under an “alert situation” since Thursday as the fires seem to be slowly declining. However, the government will decide today whether this should be reevaluated.

The rural fires in Portugal began around two weeks ago when Portugal began experiencing its hottest heat wave yet with temperatures reaching above 40ºC. 

Three people in total have died because of the fires. Last week, an elderly couple died in a car accident fleeing a fire in Murca. The week before, a pilot fighting the fires in the north of Portugal crashed in the region of Foz Coa.

In case of emergency call 112. 

Join our FB group Portugal Travel & Living for all things Portugal

There are a total of 588 monkeypox cases reported in Portugal, 73 of which were notified last week, reports CNN. The first monkeypox vaccines have been given in Portugal. DGS has already began administring vaccines to those closest to the infected people.

Most of those infected with monkeypox in Portugal are between the ages of 30 and 39 years old and 99.8% are men. Only one women has been infected with monkeypox after being in contact with an infected man.

All of the regions of mainland Portugal and Madeira have reported cases of the virus, but the majority of cases (80%) have been confirmed in Lisbon and Vale do Tejo.

The other regions with the monkeypox cases are central Portugal (8), Alentejo (5), Algarve (4), and Madeira (3). 

Portugal began vaccinated people against monkeypox on July 16. The three closes contacts to infected people are the first being vaccinated. The DGS continues to call close contacts to those infected so they can get vaccinated. 

The vaccine is called Imvanex, a third-generation vaccine that is currently approved in Europe to prevent smallpox, but that is also effective against Monkeypox. 

Those with suspected symptoms should avoid “physical contact with other people and sharing clothes, towels, sheets, and personal objects while having lesions or other symptoms”, according to the DGS.

Monkeypox spreads through close contact with someone who has symptoms. Clothing, bedding, towels, or objects that have been contaminated with monkeypox can infect others.

The virus can also spread through saliva as ulcers, lesions, or sores in the mouth can be infectious. 

Over 38,000 fines were attributed in the first 30 days of the new speed radars in Lisbon. These new 41 speed radars across the city generated at least 5.1 million euros in fines. The fines range between 120 and 1,500 euros. 

Most drivers going above the speed limit were caught in Avenida Lusiada, Avenida Padre Cruz, and Avenida Infante Dom Henrique. There were 38,018 fines attributed, representing an average of 1,267 speed infractions a day in the capital.

Of all fines in Lisbon, 34,745 were considered serious and 3,456 very serious.

A serious infraction can lead to a fine between 120 to 600 euros, with a driving sanction between one month to a year. A serious infraction refers to going above the speed between 20 to 40 kilometers an hour above the speed limit.

A very serious infraction can lead to a fine between 300 to 1,500 euros, with a driving sanction that can lead up to two years. Driving between 40 to 60 kilometers an hour above the speed limit, this is considered a very serious infraction. 

With these values, CNN Portugal predicts that the minimum amount the new speed radars generated in less than a month is 5.1 million euros. This calculation was made with the minimum fine amount of 120 euros (serious) and 300 euros (very serious). Therefore, it is very likely that the fine value is way above this prediction.

 However, the municipality of Lisbon did not want to publicize the amount generated from the fines. The entity also reminded the public that some of these infractions might belong to ambulances or police vehicles in emergencies. 

The largest infraction recorded was in Segunda Circular near the gas station Repsol, with an infraction of 240 kilometers an hour recorded. This speed is 120 kilometers an hour over the maximum speed allowed on Portuguese highways. 

Guide to Driving in Portugal