LIsbon, Feb 18 (TIWN) Portugal's Covid-19 pandemic-induced "state of calamity" is over and is now replaced by a "state of alert", the country's Council of Ministers said.

The lockdown measures have also been relaxed.  Once the country's president promulgates the ordinance, the lowest civil protection alert level will apply until the next review scheduled for March 7.  Accordingly, a digital certificate of vaccination is no longer needed to access restaurants and hotels but will still be required to cross the country's borders.  The quarantine requirement will only apply to people who test positive for COVID-19 irrespective of whether they have symptoms or not, according to Mariana Vieira da Silva, minister of state for the Portuguese Presidency.  The "recommendation of teleworking" also ends, and there will be no need to present a negative test result when entering major events, sports venues, bars or clubs.  The Council of Ministers' resolution also removes the capacity limits for establishments open to the public.