The government of the Azores has tightened measures brought in to stem the spread of the new coronavirus, after locals were found to be ‘breaking lockdown’ by still travelling to and from the archipelago.
In the space of less than 24-hours, suspected cases have ‘leapt’ from one (now confirmed) to 14. Each has been discovered to have recently flown in to the islands, despite advice to residents to limit travel to what is absolutely necessary.
The result is that the regional government has now “given instructions to Azores Airlines to suspend its operation between Lisbon and the islands of Faial, Pice and Santa Maria (three of the five Azorian gateways”, maintaining in operation links to the islands of São Miguel and Terceira.
“We have to stop people circulating freely in the region”, said an official source, stressing that anyone flying to the Azores now faces a mandatory 14-day period of quarantine.
