LISBON, Portugal (AP) — The pressure appears to be getting to Portugal’s government after almost two weeks at the top of the world rankings of daily new COVID-19 cases and deaths by size of population. Recent flubs include mixed government messages on mask types and online teaching. Regular pandemic news conferences have been discontinued, and there is scant official information on what foreign help is coming. A health chief retorted that finding fault with government pandemic planning is “criminal.” Those episodes have combined to put the Portuguese government politically on the ropes in recent days, as the country takes stock of last month’s devastating pandemic surge.
