Lisbon, Nov 26 (IANS): Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa said that his country will return to the "state of calamity" as of December 1 with reinforced measures to curb further Covid-19 transmission.

The use of face masks will once again be mandatory in all closed spaces, the Council of Ministers decided on Thursday.

The Covid-19 digital vaccination certificate will also be mandatory for access to restaurants, hotels, bars and clubs, sporting events and gyms, reports Xinhua news agency.

Those wishing to enter retirement homes and health establishments, or attend major cultural or sporting events will be required to present a negative test regardless of whether they are vaccinated.

Costa said that "the first measure to be taken is the reinforcement of the vaccination campaign with the booster dose".

"The government has acquired in time the requisite amount of vaccine doses to be administered to each Portuguese," Costa said, adding that the country is "prepared to vaccinate eligible children".

A negative test will be mandatory for all passengers flying into Portugal, with "strongly increased sanctions" for airlines with fines of 20,000 euros ($22,400) per passenger in case of non-compliance.

Since the onset of the pandemic in early 2020, Portugal has reported 1,133,241 coronavirus cases and 18,385 deaths.