Portugal

LISBON, June 6 (NNN-XINHUA) – Portuguese Prime Minister, Antonio Costa, announced, air traffic routes will be resumed from June 15, with all the hygiene and safety rules guaranteed by Portuguese airports.

In a visit to Lisbon Airport, Costa said, “It is very important to be prepared, as from June 15, routes will be reactivated, borders will be opened and a joint effort will be made in the European Union, so that tourism can resume its activity in full.”

LISBON, May 13 (Xinhua) -- Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and Prime Minister Antonio Costa on Wednesday encouraged all industries to restart under strict conditions amid the COVID-19 pandemic, Lusa News Agency reported.

After their joint visit to automotive assembly plant Autoeuropa, the two leaders expressed their confidence in the resumption of production of the car producer.

After a six-week break, Autoeuropa, the largest national exporter last year, resumed its car production last week with two shifts.

LISBON, May 10 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Portugal is to take up to 60 unaccompanied children from Greek refugee camps as concern mounts over the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on the vulnerable group.

The children are expected to arrive in Portugal within the next few weeks, Socialist Party lawmaker Isabel Santos said during an online conference to celebrate Europe Day. The member of the European Parliament did not specify a date.

At least 5,200 unaccompanied minors live in Greece, many of them under harsh conditions in camps on islands in the Aegean.

LISBON, May 1 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump has called his Portuguese counterpart Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, praising the country's efforts in controlling the spread of COVID-19 pandemic, according to a statement from the website of the Portuguese Presidency on Friday.

Trump also offered "any help that was considered useful and necessary," said the statement.

Trump highlighted the participation of Portuguese researchers in scientific tests carried out in the United States to develop a drug against COVID-19, it said.

LISBON, April 26 (Xinhua) -- The European Travel Commission (ETC), a European tourism organization, has said that the European tourism sector needs 375 billion euros to recover from the crisis generated by the COVID-19 pandemic and to restore operations, Portuguese Lusa News Agency reported on Sunday.

LISBON, April 16 (NNN-Xinhua) — Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said that the country will see a transition from the restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic to a return to economic and social activities in May.

The president made the remark after meeting with economists, entrepreneurs, specialists, politicians and union members.

“If April goes well, this will make May start to be progressively different,” he said.

“It is necessary to win in May,” he reiterated, saying that it will be a cautious return.

LISBON, April 6 (Xinhua) -- Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa on Monday called for national unity to overcome the ongoing public health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which he described as the biggest challenge in the past 100 years.

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, attending a debate program on the national television RTP via a video conference, said that the crisis caused by the pandemic of the new coronavirus "is the biggest challenge in the field of life and health in the last 100 years."

LISBON, Apr 6 (NNN-LNA) – Portuguese Minister of Health, Marta Temido, admitted that, there are 1,332 health professionals infected by COVID-19 in the country.

The minister said, the infected professionals include 231 doctors, 339 nurses and 762 from other areas, who work within hospitals, adding, the government hired 500 nurses to reinforce the fight against the pandemic.

Temido revealed that, her ministry is working to identify whether there are “possible weaknesses” in the protection of these professionals.

LISBON, March 25 (NNN-AGENCIES) — More than 1,000 passengers aboard a cruise ship docked in Portugal’s capital Lisbon were being flown back to their home countries on Tuesday even though a fellow passenger tested positive for coronavirus, the interior ministry said.

En route from Brazil, the MSC Fantasia arrived in Lisbon on Sunday and passengers, mostly from the European Union, Britain, Brazil and Australia, have since been waiting for repatriation efforts to begin.

LISBON, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa said Tuesday that his government will not accept the European Union (EU)'s budget proposal.

"After the unanimous rejection yesterday by the social partners, today in the debate in Parliament, all political parties also refused the President of the EU Council's proposal for the EU budget 2021-2027," Costa said in his tweet.