(Bloomberg) —
Goncalves hired new staff and stocked up the bar and kitchen to be ready for an influx of visitors, particularly British travelers, after a disastrous 2020. That was before Portugal was abruptly taken off the U.K.’s green list of countries, meaning those returning would need to quarantine, and the country started to look like a hotspot for the highly contagious delta strain of the coronavirus.
Then the Portuguese government imposed travel restrictions on Lisbon residents during weekends, making it harder for locals to travel to the warmer beaches — and hotels such as the Tivoli Marina — in southern Portugal.
“Four weeks ago, we had more than 90% of our rooms booked but now it’s just over 30%,” said Goncalves. “I don’t understand how Portugal stopped being safe from one day to the next.”
Just as the northern hemisphere summer season kicks off and the European Union’s Covid-19 travel certificates become available, Portugal’s path back to normality — along with the rest of the region’s — is at risk of being upended by the delta strain.
There’s a race to administer vaccines and limit the fast-spreading mutation, with countries trying to avoid the prospect of a summer with only light restrictions escaping their grasp. While some governments desperately want to put out the “Open for Business” sign, there was a gloomy assessmentthis week from the EU’s disease prevention agency.
It said a fast relaxation of restrictions could cause a “significant increase in daily cases, hospitalizations, and deaths.” Right now, Europe isn’t seeing that, and the number of new cases has plunged, but pressure on governments to relax measures, along with complacency, could set back the virus battle.
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