LISBON – Portugal will tighten the rules on its citizens leaving the country for the next 15 days starting from Sunday.
COVID-19 is spreading out of control in the Atlantic nation, where health authorities reported on Thursday 303 deaths and 16,432 new infections, both record numbers in the country of just over 10 million.
Eduardo Cabrita, government minister for internal administration, said air, road and sea routes out of the country would be temporarily closed to Portuguese nationals save for exceptional circumstances.
He spoke at the end of a debate in which lawmakers approved an extension to the existing state of emergency in the country beyond this month. The new measures would permit authorities to close the border with the country’s only land neighbor, Spain.
