The decision to exclude Portugal from the UKs list of quarantine-exempt countries last week came as a shock to British holidaymakers. Until recently, with its high testing rates , low death toll and political unity, Portugal was the model to follow to defeat coronavirus. In June, however, up to 700,000 Portuguese were suddenly forced back into lockdown .

In May, the World Health Organisation (WHO) congratulated Swedish society for keeping the virus at bay without going into lockdown . But come July, serious questions are being raised about the way the Scandinavian country is managing Covid-19.

On June 24th, the only two countries in Europe with areas where there were more than 120 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the previous 14 days were Sweden and, far behind it, Portugal.