Unless better understood, the restrictive measures within the scope of covid-19 announced today by Miguel Albuquerque are tainted with legality and rigor and worse, if they are mandatory, they are not enforceable.
As long as the necessary clarifications and the usual amendments do not appear, it does not seem to us that terms such as “should”, “establish” or “recommend” are mandatory. Hence, the cumulative presentation of a vaccination certificate and antigen test to attend any public or private venue and events – which, according to experts, violate rights, freedoms and guarantees – lacks serious framing and reasoning.
Instead of clarifying, Miguel Albuquerque confused the citizens. Official language cannot be dubious. We understand that all basic measures of individual and collective protection, in open and closed environments, are mandatory, such as the use of mask, hygiene, hand disinfection and a distance of 1.5 meters. Or conducting weekly rapid tests for employees and residents of senior housing structures. Either the covid-19 vaccination or recovery certificate or the rapid antigen test, which needs to be repeated between the fifth and seventh day for residents, students and emigrants and their relatives for passengers disembarked at ports and airports in the region. Everything else is debatable, but there should be no reason for doubt.
Instead of taking on responsibilities, the Government delegated them to third parties as if it were possible for a bar employee to serve coffee or ‘meia bola’ and check health documentation; as if a bus driver could drive, keep to schedules and check passes or charge tickets, plus verify the digital certificate and test; as if ARAE or PSP were enough to inspect 250,000 people.
Instead of being pragmatic, Miguel Albuquerque has made life difficult for those who will spend hours in lines to take quick tests every seven days without being told if they are valid after 48 hours. And it fostered fraud, as, due to the lack of certified control devices, there are specialists in providing extremely easy digital certificates and proof of tests based on ‘photoshop’.
Hardly anyone will take excessive suggestions seriously, debited in another hour of communication disaster, full of contradictions and inconsistencies.
In this context, I believe that the restrictions propagandized are no more than mere recommendations and attempts at intimidation, made in light of the fact that almost 85% of the Madeiran population is vaccinated, a situation that does not give any government the legitimacy to discriminate against anyone.
In practice, what Albuquerque has half-worded is that the unvaccinated can only leave the house to go to the supermarket – some have a food court! – or to Mass as long as they have had a weekly test, with a negative result, not knowing how they will do it, if they cannot attend activities in public and private spaces without the cumulative test and vaccine!