Portugal’s foreign ministry said this Wednesday that some member states in the European Union had broken a pact to reinstate freedom of movement inside the bloc after coronavirus lockdowns were lifted, criticizing the lack of consistency through the bloc.

"These measures may, perhaps, adjust well to the needs and requirements of other sectors of activity in the rest of the country, but they do not, of course, satisfy the situation in the Algarve," said Elidérico Viegas this week. The tourism head spoke to press after a meeting of the Secretary of State for Tourism, Rita Marques, with businessmen and unions in the region, held at the headquarters of Turismo do Algarve, in Faro.

President of the Republic Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, admitted at the weekend, in Loulé, that the pandemic has drastically affected efforts typically taken for the prevention of fires, making combat conditions "difficult", especially due to the extreme heat being experienced this summer season.

The government reported on Monday a public deficit of 6.7 billion euros in the first half of 2020, jumping 10 times compared to the same period last year, due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Member of the local British community residing in the Algarve, namely centred in Loulé, have been commended for having shown "a great commitment" in trying to convince their countrymen back home to lift restrictions that the United Kingdom continues to impose on anyone traveling back from Portugal, namely the quarantine on return, said President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, in a speech to a group of the Algarve’s mayors at a dinner in Querença.

More than 850 firefighters brought a huge wildfire sweeping across part of central Portugal under control on Monday as the country entered a state of alert due to the high risk of further localised COVID-19 outbreaks.

The expectation was high: British press had reported that Portugal would be included in the revised list of safe destinations for the British to travel to without the obligation to quarantine on their return. But Boris Johnson's government again gave Portugal a red card, as it did the first time, on July 6, leaving the country off the list.

The Minister of State and Foreign Affairs expressed frustration today at the decision of English authorities to keep Portugal on its list of countries whose passengers are required to be quarantined on return to the United Kingdom, thus delivering a second blow against Portugal’s tourism hopes.