Portugal orders Covid test and vaccination proof at hotel check-ins

Tourists in Portugal will be required to show a negative Covid-19 test result, a vaccination certificate or proof of recovery to stay in hotels, the government said on Thursday as infections continued to rise.

Portugal's new daily case numbers have in recent week returned to levels last seen in February when the country was under a strict lockdown.

Nearly 90 per cent of cases are of the more infectious Delta variant, which was identified in India.

As the strain spreads, the country is struggling to salvage the usually busy summer season.

The same conditions will apply to indoor dining at restaurants in 60 high-risk municipalities, including Lisbon and the city of Porto, on Friday evenings and at the weekend.

"For a long time, the only measure we had to our disposal was limiting economic activity," said Cabinet Minister Mariana Vieira da Silva.

"With the digital certificate and the more frequent availability of tests, we have other ways of guaranteeing security."

Tourists and restaurant customers can use the EU digital Covid-19 certificate.

Ms da Silva said rapid antigen tests would be valid and could be provided by hotels at check-in.

The new rules come into force on Saturday. Children under 12 accompanied by a parent or guardian are exempt.

Portugal's restaurant association said "there were already too many rules and restrictions", which could drive customers away.

"This could destroy the ray of hope for many businesspeople," it said.

Customers and businesses who break the rules can be fined up to €500 and €10,000 respectively.

The measure will allow restaurants to reopen for dinner on Saturday and Sunday in high-risk areas, where they were forced to shut for the two previous weekends.

A night-time curfew, already in place 45 municipalities, will be extended to another 15, including Faro, the main city in the popular southern Algarve.

Portugal, with a population of 10 million, reported more than 3,000 daily coronavirus cases on Thursday, bringing the total since the start of the pandemic to 899,295.

Cases started to gradually increase after Portugal opened to visitors from the EU and Britain in mid-May.

But daily deaths remain well below February levels, with new cases primarily reported among younger, unvaccinated people.