ARCHIVED - Portugal re-opens border with Spain on Saturday
This measure is part of the last phase of the the Portugese deconfinement plan
The Prime Minister of Portugal, António Costa, announced on Thursday that the land border with Spain, which has been closed since January due to the pandemic, will be re-opened to normal traffic this Saturday (May 1).
This measure is part of the last phase of Portugal's deconfinement plan, which is finally moving forward due to the positive trend of the pandemic in Portugal.
The third wave of the pandemic hit both Spain and Portugal hard and Portugal closed its borders with Spain on January 31.
Since then only nationals and residents, freight transport and cross-border workers have been allowed to pass across the border, a situation which will revert to its normal open-border status as of May 1.
Portugal is on the verge of the last phase of its deconfinement plan, and both the number of deaths and new cases have both fallen to minimal levels; during the latest 24 hour period no deaths have been reported and only 460 new cases diagnosed.