Latest Government Covid measures having huge negative impact on restaurants and guest houses

 In Hospitality, Hotel, News, Restaurants

The latest anti-Covid-19 restrictions on opening hours announced by the government are having a huge and damaging impact on companies running restaurants and guest houses.

This is according to the Portuguese Hotel, Restaurant and Associated Companies Association AHRESP which is now calling basic universal financial aid for all its members across the board, from the government’s grant fund.
“Current funds are virtually non-existent and the moratoria only last until the end of the year”. It argues that what support currently exists should be maintained, but calls on drawing upon other funds and improving financial aid.
AHRESP will shortly also present a number of measures in this direction,” states the association in a communiqué.
AHRESP has once again called on all entrepreneurs and customers to comply with all the sanitary measures, namely social distancing, limits on the number of customers at tables in eateries, the use of face masks when not eating and disinfecting hands and materials used in public areas. On the other hand, it also calls for the speeding up of the vaccine program. “We have to act in a responsible way”, it states.
The Portuguese Council of Ministers approved a resolution on Friday to extend the State of Calamity across the whole of mainland Portugal until midnight on 11 July, 2021 and will change the restrictions in line with virus transmission. The municipalities of Albufeira in the Algarve, Lisbon and Sesimbra have had the toughest restrictions placed on them by the government. It means that, bars, restaurants and cafés must close at 10.30pm on weekdays and at 3.30pm at weekends and on public holidays.
Groups of no more than four people are allowed to dine in establishments per table and no more than six people on terraces and esplanades (except if they belong to the same household).