Comply, period. I will not comment on the merits of the measures imposed by the Government relating to restrictions on movement between municipalities between October 30th and November 3rd to stop contagion by the new coronavirus.
We have to believe that all measures, like this one and others, were thought through to exhaustion. However, every rule has its exception. And yesterday's exception seems to me too serious to be repeated again.
Yesterday, thousands of people, after a long week of work, were confronted with STOP operations set up outside large urban centers. There was chaos in traffic. Endless traffic lines created artificially throughout the country.
I was among these thousands of people. Around me I didn't see cars with families ready for a weekend, I saw people trying to return to their homes. As I said, I do not question the need for restrictions on movement. But I question the "modes operandi" of the control carried out during yesterday afternoon.
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From the messages I exchanged with friends and from the messages I read on social media — it's a limited sample, but one that shouldn't be overlooked — I registered a dominant feeling: indignation. And at a time when people and institutions are beginning to accuse the (legitimate) fatigue of fighting the new coronavirus, we cannot squander our efforts. Besides the traffic and the media apparatus, I doubt that any other purpose has been achieved.
There are doubts that we cannot feed again. At the expense of, in the event of having to return to more restrictive measures, a feeling of aversion to the measures, or worse, to authority, has already been installed.
Therefore, more efficient ways to fight this pandemic are required. In this specific case? Why not STOP operations on toll sections and lanes further away from urban centers? Thus, effectively controlling who travels outside their area of residence and allowing the mobility of thousands of people who pass through Lisbon and Porto every day, on routes home/work/home.
In this fight, we all have to be together. Don't push us away.