Miguel Ferreira and Pedro Pita Barros, BPI | “La Caixa” Foundation Professor of Health Economics, following the meeting with journalists from the Association of Foreign Press in Portugal, were mentioned in Le Courrier, a Swiss daily newspaper published in Geneva. "We will have to recover (from austerity) or we risk consumption not returning to pre-epidemic levels", said Pedro Pita Barros, stressing that "it would be impossible to escape the tax hike to deal with the deteriorating economy and the debt needed to offset it.” Miguel Ferreira added "the question is how long it will take to impose this austerity. The sovereign debt, which currently amounts to 120% of GDP, will reach 135% by the end of the year. Companies currently supported by the State are likely to contribute more. The alternative is an inflationary policy."