Border between Portugal and Spain reopened after 3 and a half months of closure
It had been since March 17th that the land border between Portugal and Spain was closed due to the coronavirus epidemic. After three and a half months, the two neighboring countries have decided to reopen their border this Wednesday, July 1st. And to mark the occasion, the 2 heads of state as well as the 2 heads of government will be present for a ceremony. It is now possible to move freely between the two countries. Lisbob, the expatriate assistant, tells you all about the reopening of the border between Portugal and Spain this Wednesday, July 1st.
Border between Portugal and Spain reopened after 3 and a half months of closure
Spain and Portugal reopened their borders at 11:00 p.m. Lisbon time (midnight on the Spanish side), three and a half months after their closure on March 17th to fight against the coronavirus pandemic. During this period, only certain crossing points exclusively reserved for the transport of goods and frontier workers were open.
This Wednesday 1st July, a few hours after the reopening, official ceremonies will take place, with the participation of the President of the Republic of Portugal, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, the King of Spain, Felipe VI, the Portuguese Prime Minister, António Costa , and the head of the Spanish government, Pedro Sánchez, first in Badajoz in Spain, then in Elvas, in the district of Portalegre.
According to the program published by the two countries, at 9:30 am Portugal time (10:30 am in Spain), there will be a ceremony at the archaeological museum of Badajoz, in which the hymns of the two countries will be played and there will be an official photo. Fifteen minutes later, a similar ceremony will take place at Elvas Castle.
The purpose of this ceremony is to show a united and united image after the chaos of the past few weeks. In fact, the Spanish Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism, Reyes Maroto, began by announcing the reopening of the borders with Portugal for June 22nd, an announcement to which the Portuguese government reacted with surprise. Then the date of July 1st was agreed.
Spain has been one of the countries hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic and has more than 28,000 deaths out of a total of around 250,000 cases of infection. For its part, Portugal is experiencing a different development. The first cases were confirmed on March 2nd and to date 1,576 people have died for a total of 42,141 cases of infection.
Most of the new cases occurred in the metropolitan area of Lisbon, mainly in the municipalities of Sintra, Amadora, Loures, Odivelas and Lisbon, which led the Portuguese government to apply specific measures, in particular in 19 parishes, where the he state of calamity continues to prevail while most of the national territory was on alert.