By Victoria Waldersee
LISBON (Reuters) - Portuguese voters - largely confined to their homes due to a strict COVID-19 lockdown - will pick a new president on Sunday, but many fear going to the polls could worsen a surge in coronavirus cases and low turnout is expected.
The country of 10 million people, which fared better than others in the first wave of the pandemic, now has the world s highest seven-day rolling average of new cases and deaths per million people. It wouldn t have been a problem to wait another month. Exceptional times call for exceptional measures, said Lisbon resident Miguel Goncalves, 55.
Portugal's President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa tested negative twice for COVID-19 on Tuesday, his office said, after a positive test on Monday evening caused alarm ahead of a presidential election on Jan. 24 as deaths from the virus hit new peaks.
By Reuters Staff
1 Min Read
LISBON, Dec 30 (Reuters) - Portugal’s Prime Minister Antonio Costa has tested negative for COVID-19 and will resume in-person public appearances from Wednesday, his cabinet said in a statement.
Costa had spent two weeks in self-isolation following a meeting with French President Emmanuel Macron, who had contracted the disease.
Reporting by Victoria Waldersee, Patricia Rua; editing by John Stonestreet