Portugal’s Schools to Reopen on Jan. 10 as Planned, Costa Says

(Bloomberg) -- Portugal's schools will reopen on Jan. 10 as planned, while nightclubs will stay shut for another week as the government tries to slow the latest surge in coronavirus infections.

Bars and nightclubs can reopen on Jan. 14 with a negative test required, Prime Minister Antonio Costa said at a press conference in Lisbon on Thursday following a cabinet meeting. They have been closed since Dec. 25 and were previously due to stay shut until Jan. 9. Remote working will also remain mandatory until Jan. 14, and will be recommended after that.

Costa said that according to the latest rules, only people who test positive for Covid-19 or those who live in the same home have to self-isolate. People who have already received a third vaccine dose won't have to self-isolate.

See also: Europe Works to Keep Schools, Hospitals Open Amid Omicron

While Portugal has been reporting record figures of daily new coronavirus cases driven by the omicron variant, on Wednesday the number of patients in intensive-care units fell by 4 to 143. That's a fraction of the level reached at the end of January 2021 and early February, when the country faced one of the world's worst outbreaks and the number of patients in intensive-care units increased to as much as 904. Portugal has one of the highest vaccination rates in the world.

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