LISBON, Portugal (AFP) — Portugal will close its border with Spain to tourists for at least a month to curb the spread of coronavirus, Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa said Sunday.
Goods and people traveling for work will still be allowed to cross the border but not those on leisure trips, he told a news conference after speaking by videoconference with his Spanish counterpart Pedro Sanchez.
“There will be no tourism between Portugal and Spain in the coming months,” he said.
The travel restrictions will apply to both land and air borders and they will come into force once the interior ministers of both nations iron out the details on Monday, Costa said.
They will last until at least Easter, which this year falls on April 12.
“There is a good tradition of Spaniards visiting us during the Easter holidays. This year is not ideal for that visit,” Costa said.
“As a result, and without any hostility, I think it is necessary that during this period there is no tourism activity between Spaniards and Portuguese because we all have to restrict our movements not just within our cities, our countries, but at the global scale.”
With over 7,700 cases and 288 deaths, Spain is Europe’s second-most affected country in Europe by the coronavirus outbreak.
Portugal, which is about one-fifth the size of Spain, has so far reported just 245 confirmed cases of the nouvel coronavirus but there are over 2,200 “suspected” cases.
Earlier on Sunday Portuguese Health Minister Marta Temido warned that the number of infections in the country is expected to keep climbing “at least until the end of April.”
© Agence France-Presse
