Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, the President of Portugal has been snapped casually queuing in a supermarket while wearing a face mask and maintaining social distancing measures.
A photo of Portuguese president Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa queuing in a supermarket in the municipality of Cascais near the capital Lisbon has been widely shared on social media after being posted on Sunday.
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According to local media, both Rebelo de Sousa and Prime Minister Antonio Costa are trying to send a message of normality to Portuguese citizens as the country starts lifting its COVID-19 lockdown measures.
Portuguese president Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa
According to Mail Online report, on Monday, May 18, cafes and restaurants reopened with 50 percent capacity after many weeks of closure and Costa visited one of Lisbon’s most popular cafes in the district of Benfica.
He told reporters: ‘I really missed taking coffee outside. The nice weather helps!’
The prime minister added: ‘The freedom to go outside has increased.’
Portugal’s prime minister, Antonio Costa was also seen out and about on Monday, enjoying breakfast at a pastry shop in Sao domingos de Benfica, Lisbon, with president of the parish council Antonio Cardoso and his assistant secretary of state Tiago Antunes.
Prime minister Costa and speaker of parliament Eduardo Ferro Rodrigues then shared lunch together in a restaurant in Lisbon.
According to reports, Costa then enjoyed lunch with representatives of Portugal’s Hotel and Restaurant Association who suggested 11 proposals to help revitalise the hard-hit sector following two months of lockdown.
Meanwhile, the Directorate-General of Health of Portugal said that there has been an increase of 223 in the number of COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours and 16 new deaths bringing the total to 1,247.
