LISBON, April 14 (Xinhua) -- Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa reiterated on Tuesday that almost all measures of containment and social isolation will be maintained beyond April 17, amid mounting pressure of conditionally reactivating the national economy.

In an interview with the Radio Observador, the prime minister said the country will continue to restrict the movement of people and economic activities during the state of emergency, which is widely believed to be renewed until the beginning of May, adding that the right to strikes will be one of the few exceptions.

On Monday, over 150 social figures signed a petition to the president, the prime minister and the parliament speaker and published the open letter, asking for controlled return of economic activities.

Costa insisted that, despite economic costs, it is not possible at that moment to ease measures and send the wrong signal to the population that everything is fine.

He said that the resumption of normal activity will take place gradually and progressively.

"On the day that the measures are removed, contacts will increase and the risk of contagion will also increase and we must do everything so that it does not exceed the limit of the controllable," he said.

However, the prime minister encouraged the Portuguese to make plans for the summer holidays, because the tourism sector was the worst-hit and needs to recover.

He disclosed that the government is still drawing up the plan for easing the restriction measures, and everything will be agreed upon with the European Union.

He admitted that there may be "multiple speeds" in the release, depending on the situation in each region of the country and sectors of activity.

He reassured that the oldest, most vulnerable and high-risky people will be able to continue in confinement.

Also on Tuesday, the prime minister held meetings with economics and academics via video conference to listen to their opinion on the current economic situation and the measures to relaunch the economic activity in the context of the pandemic crisis.

It was announced that Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa will hear from leaders of large listed companies and also meet with the Portuguese confederation of micro, small and medium enterprises on Wednesday.

Minister of Finance Mario Centeno has predicted a 20 percent drop in GDP for Portugal in the second quarter this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, saying that the losses will reach 6.5 percent of the annual GDP for every 30 working days with economy stopped.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) forecast a recession of 8.0 percent of the Portuguese economy and an unemployment rate of 13.9 percent in 2020, according to the World Economic Outlook released on Tuesday. Enditem

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