Local residents and business owners have reacted with disbelief and outrage to footage showing over 20 GNR police agents having dinner at a minigolf park in Alvor (Portimão) on Tuesday night (May 4).
The footage was posted on social media and has sparked a wave of indignation among frustrated business owners who are still being told they cannot open and citizens who continue to be told to ‘stay home’ and away from others.
As so many have pointed out, how are people expected to follow the rules when those enforcing them seem to be bending them?
Golfland, the minigolf establishment where the dinner took place, has already reacted to the controversy in a statement on its Facebook page.
“Golfland got an inquiry from a hotel group many weeks ago about organising a simple dinner from May 4-8 for approx. 50 people involved in the ongoing cycling competition Volta Algarve. By then we thought it would be athletes. A few days ago we learned that the guests were from the Cycling Federation and GNR,” the statement reads.
“When we had to stay in lockdown this week, we contacted the hotel group and proposed takeaway, but they presented paperwork saying that we can serve the dinner at Golfland. We wanted to be absolutely sure that we didn’t break any law, so we contacted the health authorities asking for a formal approval, which they sent us,” it adds.
The Resident contacted GNR police, which confirmed that the dinner took place and that the event was duly authorised by relevant authorities and followed all of the national health board’s (DGS) guidelines.
