Portugal bans gatherings of more than 100 due to coronavirus

Portugal announced Sunday it was limiting gatherings to no more than 100 people in a bid to slow the spread of the deadly coronavirus.

The restriction will apply to both indoor and outdoor locations and it comes into effect immediatly, Interior Minister Eduardo Cabrita told a news conference.

“We urge people to only hold meetings and gatherings that are strictly necessary,” he said.

Portugal had previously ordered the cancellation of events grouping more than 1,000 people in enclosed places and more than 5,000 in open areas.

Late on Saturday the government ordered all bars to close until April 9.

Last week it ordered all educational establishments to shut down as of Monday, from kindergartens to universities, until further evaluation on April 9.

It also ordered nightclubs to close, imposed restrictions on the number of people who can visit restaurants and limited visitors to retirement homes.

Portugal, a nation of just over 10 million people, has so far reported just 245 confirmed cases of the nouvel coronavirus but there are over 2,200 “suspected” cases of the disease.

Health Minister Marta Temido warned Saturday that the country had entered “a phase of exponential growth” in infections “in line with what other European nations are facing at the moment”.