Porto City Hall’s main door reopend after two years of being closed

Two years after, the main door of the Porto City Hall building reopened today, allowing free public access to the Town Hall. A symbolic moment that also marks the lifting of the restrictive measures imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic in the city.

The councilwoman in charge of Education, Youth and Sports and of Human Resources and legal services, Catarina Araújo, opened the main door of the Town Hall, stressing the importance of this act. “It is symbolic, but of great importance for the city. It means the end of some restrictive measures in the city, according to the favourable epidemiological situation that is currently known”, she highlighted.

The lobby of the Town Hall buildig is once again open to residents and visitors, starting today, on weekdays days from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., almost 24 months after the doors closed to the public, on the 16th of March 2020. “This space, which is so sought after, can again be visited and enjoyed by the people who pass by and by the municipal services, with exhibits and other initiatives”, added Catarina Araújo.

In addition to this measure, capacity limits have been lifted in municipal spaces where this restriction still existed, namely libraries and museums, but also in the Gabinete do Munícipe and municipal canteens.

Porto City Hall will also stop measuring the temperature of its employees, when they arrive to work, as it had been doing daily since March 2020. It should be recalled that the Municipality of Porto was the first in the country to adopt measures to mitigate the spread of SARS-CoV-2 virus, announced by the Mayor, Rui Moreira, on the 13th of March 2020.

The lifting of the restrictive measures also allows, again, the planning of many activities that, in the meantime, were on hold and that, according to the councilwoman, “have been missed”. “Whether from an economic, cultural, sports and entertainment point of view, it is important to start again to enjoy and experience the city’s spaces”, she concluded.

Testing centers awaiting Government decision

The councilwoman also addressed the issue of the continuation or not of the current 18 centers available for Covid-19 antigen testing, spread throughout the city. The Executive is waiting for a decision from the Government, continuing to provide until the 28th, four free tests per person. “We are waiting whether or not the Government will extend the measure. If it does, and after conversations with some operators, we are able to guarantee that some spaces will remain in the city”, stressed Catarina Araújo.

If the Government decision is for the continuity of the testing centers, the councilwoman revealed that six of them “will close because the operator is not available. The remaining 12 will work with the necessary adjustments in schedule and location.”