The Guardian illustrates Europe’s response to Covid-19 second wave with Porto’s communication campaign

The Guardian displays Porto’s Covid prevention measures campaign to explain how Europe is tackling the pandemic’s second wave. The online article highlights how several European countries, such as Austria, Germany, France, Sweden and Portugal are implementing measures, as regards, for instance, community engagement and restrictions.

The picture to illustrate these international policies is one from Porto’s municipal campaign to raise awareness on how to behave to help prevent the spread of the new virus, and it shows and empty street in downtown Porto, between Ra de Sá da Bandeira and Praça D. João I, one of the busiest centres in the Invicta, where one of many mupi outdoors are standing to help the population know how to best fight the surge of new outbreaks.

This consistent municipal awareness campaign communicates best individual behaviours that should be taken into consideration, and which rules apply. These mupis are part of a communication campaign launched by the Municipality of Porto last October, with the support of Studio Eduardo Aires, the author of the brand Porto.

Journalist Emma Graham-Harrison profiles European countries’ response to this second surge of Covid-19 in The Observer section, themed “Bars and borders stay closed as Europe battles second wave of coronavirus”, and as regards Portugal, she describes that “the country is having a second wave that is worse than its first” and that the government’s response “has brought in one of the strictest lockdowns in Europe, with a nightly curfew and weekend shutdowns in nearly 200 municipalities, home to more than three-quarters of the population”; also, she points out that “in affected areas, people must stay at home from 11pm to 5am, or from 1pm at weekends”.

Also, schools, shops and restaurants are still open and people are urged to teleworking, whenever possible.

During the coming week, the Municipality of Porto will strengthen its mupi campaign with new messages that will add to the ones already in place all over town.

In a recent interview to a national news channel, Mayor of Porto, Rui Moreira highlighted the importance of a clear, pedagogical and consistent communication with the population, regarding the preventive measures to be taken under the pandemic, attitudes and behaviour, both individually and collectively, towards helping prevent the spread of the new coronavirus.