Portugal to Reopen Small Shops on Monday, Larger Stores in June

(Bloomberg) -- Portugal will allow small stores to reopen from Monday as the government starts to gradually ease confinement measures imposed last month to help contain the coronavirus outbreak.

Shops in malls and the largest stores will have to wait until June 1 to reopen, Prime Minister Antonio Costa said on Thursday. The government will continue to assess data on the outbreak and if needed “take a step back” in its plan to ease restrictions every two weeks, he said.

Portugal joins other European nations to unveil details of how they plan to cautiously restart economies crippled by the pandemic. With the absence of a vaccine, countries are trying to strike a delicate balance between reviving businesses while averting a second wave of infections.

Portugal, which has been less affected by the outbreak than neighboring Spain or Italy, hasn't shut down the economy entirely and allowed industrial, construction and transport activities to continue operating.

Read more: Euro Area's Record Slump Adds Urgency to Fiscal Aid Calls

The International Monetary Fund forecasts Portugal's economy will shrink 8% in 2020 following six years of growth that helped the country's minority Socialist government to cut the jobless rate and narrow the budget deficit. Portugal, which has the third-highest debt ratio in the euro area behind Greece and Italy, in 2019 posted its first budget surplus since democracy was established four decades ago. It will go back to having a budget deficit this year.

While restrictions will start to be lifted on Monday, Costa said people will have the “civic duty” to continue staying at home and should continue working remotely through the month of May. The use of masks will be required on public transport and in shops.

Before starting to ease confinement measures on Monday, the government will tighten restrictions on movement between May 1 and May 3 by stopping people from leaving the municipality where they live during that long weekend. The same restriction was in place during the Easter weekend earlier this month.
May 4: Small street shops, hairdressers, bookstores and car dealerships can reopen. Limits to individual outdoor sports are lifted.
May 18: Restaurants can open, with capacity limited to 50%. Schools will open for students in the final two years of secondary education.
May 30: Competition in Portugal's top soccer league resumes.
June 1: Largest stores, shops in malls, movie theaters and nurseries can reopen.