Month: November 2020

Lisbon, 19 Nov 2020 (Lusa) – More than a third of Portuguese left home in the last two weeks without going to work and only 25% maintained the recommended distance of two meters between people, according to a study by the National School of Health Public.

The study Social Perceptions about Covid-19 was presented today by the director of the National School of Public Health (ENSP), Carla Nunes, at the Infarmed meeting that brought together several experts to analyse the epidemiological situation in Portugal in the context of the covid-19 pandemic. .

Regarding the frequency of leaving home in the last two weeks without going to work, especially in the last half of November, there is “a decrease in every day or almost every day”, but with “still very high” values about 35%, according to data from the Barómetro Covid-19 Opinion Social survey, which surveyed 182,581 people since March.

Regarding the question whether the respondent always wore a mask when he left the house and was with other people, there was an improvement again in September and October, but there is still 20% to say that they did not always wear it.

When asked if the respondent was always wearing a mask when he was in groups with ten or more people, 35% admitted that they were not.

When analyzing access to health services, the ENSP study found that there are still about 20% of people saying that they needed to go to consultations, but that they were not out of fear or because it was cleared by the service.

About 40% said they avoided or postponed non-urgent care for fear of contracting covid-19 in health services.

Regarding the level of confidence in the response of health services to covid-19, “since May, June there has been a very clear trend, with little confidence and not confident gaining space and relevance and, at this moment, about 40 % of people expressed these feelings.

On the same issue, but for other diseases without being covid-19, this pattern remains “with the little confident or not confident gaining more and more weight”, with close to 70% of people affirming it.

The adequacy of the measures implemented by the Government to combat covid-19 also shows “a clear pattern”, with around 50% considering them to be very adequate and adequate and the rest to be inadequate and not at all adequate.

Asked about their intention to get the vaccine against covid-19 as soon as it is ready, 25% said they are available to take it, against 10% who do not want to be vaccinated.

Half said they were confident or very confident about the efficacy and safety of the vaccines, the study said.

ENSP also addressed the perception of health status in the past two months. “In terms of mental health it was better during the summer, but now it is also similar to the beginning of the pandemic,” said Carla Nunes.

Those with the worst health status, whether global or mental, are women, the elderly and those with lower levels of education, he stressed.

Regarding the frequency with which the person has been feeling agitated, anxious, down or sad due to the physical distance measures, the study found some variations throughout the pandemic, but now they are similar in the last fortnight to the beginning of the pandemic, in the second fortnight. March.

The covid-19 pandemic has already caused more than 1.3 million deaths worldwide since December last year, including 3,701 in Portugal.

The following is an extract of the part of the Informed meeting attended by the President of the Republic and Prime Minister open to journalists this morning

Peak wave may occur as early as next week

Epidemiologist Manuel Carmo Gomes, who at the last Infarmed meeting in Porto, had warned of the risk of returning to face-to-face classes, now pointed out in Lisbon that “at the end of this month” there will be a downward trend in transmissibility, albeit slow.

“Even though there are more cases, the speed is slower”, he points out, warning that in principle the peak of the wave may occur in early December.

According to the expert, with the current trend of Rt (transmissibility), the peak will occur from 25 to 30 November, with a maximum of daily cases not exceeding 7000.

First doses of vaccine may arrive in January

The president of Infarmed, Rui Ivo, admits that the first doses of vaccine may arrive as early as January.

The specialist in Public Health, Henrique de Barros, points out that “the information we have, at least in the North, in University Education, is of cases in which the contagion happened outside the space of the university’s activities”. That is, there will be no cause / effect for the frequency of classes.

Regarding restaurants, taking into account the data presented in the study carried out in Lisbon and Vale do Tejo, in which the sector appears as the one that least contributed to the spread of the infection, Henrique de Barros explains that the people questioned indicated that they were at least 15 minutes in the place.

Intensive Care: tired staff, space problems and capacity limits

João Gouveia, from the Coordination of the response in Intensive Medicine, warned that ” the increase of beds in Intensive Care Units (ICU) alone will not solve” the difficulties that are felt, mainly the tiredness of the professionals and the lack of them.

As “the occupancy rate (ICU) has always been rising and does not allow us to provide more care for the patient”.

“Considering the trend observed in the last 15 days, it is projected that on November 24, 9308 cases will occur [daily of new infections]”, said João Gouveia, to warn then that some of the problems identified in the SNS UCI are due to the “lack of space, since some hospitals are outdated”, but that “the big problem is human resources [their lack]”.

Intensive care at “risk that cannot reach all patients”

In response to Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa’s question about a possible “stress” situation in intensive care, João Gouveia, from the Response Coordination in Intensive Care, confessed that he is “very concerned”.

“We are at risk of not being able to receive all patients who need intensive care in the context of covid-19 disease. The units that are less crowded in other parts of the country may be at 60%, but they are smaller services. We have” “and we can go up to 967 beds. I am also concerned with the question of whether there is a third and a fourth wave, and that we have to live with this virus for a long time. Gouveia.

The goal now is to expand the capacity of care. “The commission has developed an expansion project that is underway, to get closer to the European average, but unfortunately it takes time. I am concerned. We are not in a situation of catastrophe yet, but we are already in situations of rupture in many places “, he lamented .

Gyms and face-to-face work with high risk of contagion, study in Lisbon points out

Henrique de Barros, from the Public Health Institute of the University of Porto, detailed a study carried out in Lisbon and Vale do Tejo, between October 2 and November 6, with 782 infected people.

If, on the one hand, “the level [of infection] is much lower in those who attended shopping centres and restaurants”, or also, to a greater degree, “the use of public transport”.

On the other hand, “on the contrary, going to gyms, working in person or living in more crowded accommodation seems to be associated with an increased likelihood of infection”.

Of those 782 people, there were 234 refusals to respond.

“Almost 50% [of those infected] have higher education” and “a large majority slept alone”.

A large majority said they went to the gym – “at least once a week: 96.5%”.

Thus, said the specialist in Public Health, “gyms appear as scenarios where exposure to infection is more frequent”. As well as transport, albeit in smaller numbers.

On the contrary, the level is much lower in shopping centres and restaurants.

Peak daily deaths two weeks before Christmas

Manuel Carmos Gomes points out that in the ” second week of December, we will have an average of deaths between 95 and 100 daily”.

Once again, like Baltazar Nunes, Ireland emerges as an example of what can be an effective strategy: it managed to go from 1150 cases on 14 October to 350 cases on 12 November in one month.

Belgium, on the other hand, “had a very aggressive first wave and the second even more.” Still, “he managed in 17 days to reduce from 18,000 daily cases to 4,000” with containment measures. However, as some restrictions have been lifted, they are already rising.

70% do not trust the response capacity of the SNS against covid-19

Carla Nunes, from the National School of Public Health at the University of Lisbon, points out that, according to questionnaires carried out on the population in recent months, regarding the latest data, the vast majority were “not very confident or not at all confident with the National Service’s response. Health in covid-19 cases “.

More: “we are approaching 70% of people who are not confident or not at all confident about the SNS response to non-covid cases”.

About 40% have avoided going to health centres in non-urgent situations.

As for the measures adopted by the Government, a good part said they were “little or not adequate”. “Only 50% consider it adequate”.

Once again, as the National School of Public Health has been doing for several months, the positions of the Portuguese on the vaccines under study and the availability to take them were also questioned. “Most Portuguese are confident of the vaccine,” said Carla Nunes.

“But only 25% is available to take it immediately as soon as it is ready. But the vast majority admit that they prefer to wait,” he concluded.

High growth rate among children and youth in the North

The greatest increases in the numbers of covid-19 in the northern region, at seven and 14 days, in recent weeks have been seen among the younger population.

According to Óscar Felgueiras, from the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto, who presented the epidemiological situation in the Northern Regional Health Administration (ARSN), the numbers are decreasing in the older [older] age groups, even though they are the most elderly women are more infected.

In the district of Porto, in the age groups between zero and nine years old, and from 10 to 19 years old, the growth rate is 26% and 15% respectively. While, for example, in the age group above 80 years old there is already a drop of 12%.

Óscar Felgueiras started by saying that “even if mobility restriction measures take some time to have an effect”, there are already some data in the North that point to a stabilization of the cases, stressing that the family context remains the one where people are most affected.  (60%).

 

All over the country, the main streets and arteries that, in normal situations, have a lot of movement, were almost deserted today. So it was the first Saturday with a curfew at 1 pm. (Report from Jornal de Notícias)

Bragança

 Deserted streets and squares were the scene in the city of Bragança about half an hour after the curfew came into force. Shopkeepers in the historic centre began to close their doors before 1 pm and the few people who could still be seen on the streets were walking at a brisk pace, heading home.

Braga

Few cars on the road, empty parking spaces and deserted streets in the historic centre of Braga. Fifteen minutes after 1 pm, the curfew was already being fulfilled, with few people moving between Avenida da Liberdade and Rua do Souto, the main shopping areas. The few citizens who saw themselves on the street returned to the vehicles with a hurried step and hands occupied by shopping bags. The cafes and terraces, too, did not exceed the hours, and only the doors of the pharmacies were open after 1 pm.

São Brás de Alportel

It was not yet 1 pm and São Brás de Alportel was already silent. Residents gathered the house and several restaurants and commercial establishments anticipated the closing time, leaving the town practically deserted. The few vehicles circulating did so to arrive and not to leave. The void was only broken by the few who, at the windows and balconies, said they were “disgusted” with the measure they considered “unfair” for the municipality

Castelo Branco

It is like a lifeless city. A few minutes after the closure of commerce and hypermarkets, there was still some movement in Castelo Branco. People on the street or cars in circulation. At 2 pm, only petrol stations, service pharmacies and mini-markets remained open without expectations of high demand. The city centre, known for its outdoor cafes, was empty.

Penafiel

At about 3 pm this Saturday and two hours after the curfew imposed for this weekend, the city of Penafiel was practically deserted. The city, which popular people say, has an open-air shopping mall, had almost all of its shops closed (doors only open to those who have government authorization), did not have the usual customers to walk the streets and the usual bustle of order was missing.

Vila do Conde is a ghost town

Closed shops, nobody on the streets. Vila do Conde has been like this since 1 pm. After a morning rush to the hypermarkets, with lines at the stores of the main distribution chains, at lunchtime the city followed the government’s recommendations and took refuge at home.

Much commerce in Aveiro did not even open in the morning

The streets of the historic area of ​​Aveiro, usually full of life during the weekend, are deserted this Saturday afternoon. And even in the morning, very few people took to the streets. With the exception of a demonstration organized by restaurant businessmen, which ended at 12.55 pm, the movement in the city was minimal. The cafes that were open few customers had. And restaurants have mostly opted not to open doors, as have some local shops. At 1 pm, the few passers-by gathered the house, leaving only the essential services allowed, with open doors. The city was plunged into silence

Beja

In the morning, the city had some movement in particular in the area of ​​the Castle, since the weekly market of local producers takes place in Largo de Santo Amaro. If the curfew would already lead, by itself, to the people of Beja and the municipality having to stay at home, after 2 pm the rain came and left the city even more deserted and the establishments with closed doors.

Curtesy: https://www.jn.pt/nacional/de-norte-a-sul-ruas-quase-desertas-no-primeiro-sabado-com-recolher-as-13-horas-13036266.html

 

 

“The situation is serious and more critical than the one we experienced in the first phase of the pandemic,” said António Costa.

The Prime Minister will explain at a press conference the measures that the government will take to try to stop the second wave of COVID-19.

“We have a higher number of new cases than in the first wave; we have a higher number of people in ICU than in the first wave, and a higher number of new deaths per day than in the first wave,” he said.

“It is essential to be aware of the measures taken since 14 September; we have reached a state of emergency with a more serious pandemic situation”, he summarised.

The Prime Minister praised the change in schedules of cultural shows and football matches in order to respect the movement restrictions imposed since the start of the week.

António Costa responded to criticisms of the government’s responses. “We have tried to manage a balance between people’s health and life”, he justified.

The balance is made on the second day with more deaths since the beginning of the pandemic (only behind the 82 deaths reported on Wednesday). The bulletin of the Directorate-General for Health (DGS) released this Thursday reported 78 more deaths from COVID-19.

The Prime Minister said today that the government’s measures to limit movement under the state of emergency had led to “misunderstandings”, opening the door to an excess of focus on exceptions and a devaluation of the rule.

“It is clear that the government’s effort to achieve a balance – certainly due to the shortcomings of our communication – has generated misunderstandings and opened the door, on the one hand, to an excessive focus on exceptions and a devaluation of the rule,” said António Costa.

The Prime Minister regretted that over the past week there has been “a kind of competition to see where the exception is for not complying with the rule of staying at home”. “There is creativity in terms of timetables, aggressive promotion of the sale of non-essential goods and even calls by business associations for non-compliance with measures decreed in the state of emergency,” he criticised.

In this context, according to António Costa, the government was “forced to eliminate any kind of misunderstanding” regarding restrictions on freedom of movement in the municipalities most affected by COVID-19 over the next two weekends.

Motivated by the current state of the pandemic described, the following steps are being taken:

The government has decreed the closure, from 13h00 on Saturday to 8h00 on Sunday, and from 13h00 on Sunday to 8h00. on Monday, of all commercial or catering establishments, with the exception of establishments which previously had an opening time before 8h00 (such as bakeries, medical practices, food retailers, etc.).

As for restaurants, from 13h00 on Saturday and Sunday they can only operate for home delivery.

Of the 121 municipalities that are still covered by the state of emergency measures, seven will cease to be so from 00h00 on Friday: Moimenta da Beira, Tabuaço, São João da Pesqueira, Mesão Frio, Pinhel, Tondela and Batalha.

However, 77 municipalities in the country are now covered by the new state of emergency measures from 00h00 on Monday. This brings the number of municipalities in this situation throughout the country to 191.

The government has extended the new measures, both from the calamity situation and the state of emergency, until 23h59 on 23 November, so that “the set of measures in force throughout the country” can be aligned with the measures in force in these 191 municipalities, therefore having “all of them on the same timetable”.

The Council of Ministers approved an exceptional support measure for catering in the municipalities where freedom of movement will be restricted from 13h00 on Saturday. This support will consist of a compensation of 20% of the revenue loss over the next two weekends. The calculation will be based on the average of the 44 weekends in 2020 between January and October.

The changes will only take place from next Monday to ensure that “everyone has enough time to adapt to the new measures”, explains the Prime Minister. However, the situation is serious, he warned. “This does not mean that we devalue the gravity of the situation in each of these municipalities. We urge everyone to be very careful because they already have a high incidence rate,” he said.

The rules that will apply from 16 November in the 191 municipalities that have been flagged are:

• Reinstatement of the civic duty to stay home;
• Compulsory regime of work hours reorganisation;
• Closure of all commercial establishments from 22h00;
• Limiting the opening hours and the number of people in restaurant tables to six;
• Events and celebrations limited to 5 people;
• Teleworking is mandatory unless there is reasoned opposition from the worker;
• Prohibition of holding fairs and markets; Permanent ones can be held.

 

These are the 77 municipalities which will now be covered by the state of emergency measures:

Manteigas, Freixo de Espada à Cinta, Figueira de Castelo Rodrigo, Coruche, Seia, Proença-a-Nova, Monforte, Vieira do Minho, Mealhada, Celorico da Beira, Castro Daire, Arronches, Nelas, Vila Nova de Foz Côa, Mora, Torre de Moncorvo, Mêda, Mangualde, Salvaterra de Magos, Pampilhosa da Serra, Ourém, Vila do Bispo, Penela, Miranda do Douro, Albergaria-a-Velha, Águeda, Oliveira do Bairro, Arganil, Grândola, Resende, Mira, Ílhavo, Abrantes, Boticas, Coimbra, Almeida, Cantanhede, Almeirim, Ferreira do Alentejo, São Pedro do Sul, Estarreja, Faro, Cuba, Mirandela, Campo Maior, Miranda do Corvo, Alcanena, Ponte de Sor, Condeixa-a-Nova, Arcos de Valdevez, Montalegre, Montemor-o-Velho, Crato, Viseu, Reguengos de Monsaraz, Vagos, Penalva do Castelo, Sousel, Évora, Penamacor, Murtosa, Lamego, Vila Real de Santo António, Albufeira, Carrazeda de Ansiães, Elvas, Vila Nova de Paiva, Alvaiázere, Tábua, Portalegre, Portimão, Ansião, Tavira, Lagos, Aljustrel, Anadia e Sátão.

 

STATE OF EMERGENCY

MEASURES ANNOUNCED BY PRIME MINISTER FOLLOWING COUNCIL OF MINISTERS MEETING

“1. The Council of Ministers approved today the decree executes the declaration of the state of emergency made by the President of the Republic with the duration of 15 days, from 00:00   on 9th November to 23:59 on 23rd November. (This means starting midnight tonight 8^th Nov)

The Council of Ministers approved on Saturday the mandatory curfew for the 121 municipalities that were subject to the civic duty of withdrawal as a measure to halt the exponential growth of the covid-19 pandemic. The measure goes into effect on Monday, the 9th, under the state of emergency

During working days, the curfew takes effect between 11 pm and 5 am and at the weekend between 1 pm and 5 am, but only for the next two weekends: 14/15 and 21/22 And it is applied in 121 municipalities that register more than 240 new cases per 100 thousand inhabitants in the last 14 days with the objective of curbing the contamination during the month of November, stressed the prime minister.

During the mandatory pick-up period, the restaurants in the 121 counties must be closed, but may be served as a take-away. In the question period of journalists, António Costa clarified that take-away from restaurants “is available”. “Restaurants are working, people may not go there, but [establishments] can deliver meals,” he said.

In comparison with the previous state of emergency, the Prime Minister said that the current “has more intensive measures on Saturday and Sunday and less during the week to preserve that the academic year runs smoothly, and that there is no discontinuity of economic activity. and work during the week ”.

Public sector workers who are ‘at home’ for reasons of prophylactic isolation or because they are in ‘at risk groups’ will be mobilised to support health professionals in efforts of contact tracing, and ‘the accompaniment and vigilance of people in confinement’. The idea here being that this ‘relieve pressure on health systems’. Among these ‘public sector workers’ will be Armed Forces military and non-assigned teachers.

“The most restrictive measure of freedoms foreseen in the decree is the limiting circulation in the 121 counties”, said the Prime Minister, António Costa, at the end of the Council of Ministers. “There will be a ban on driving on public roads between 11 pm and 5 am, with the exception of situations of people who have to go to work, people who return from work to their home and people who have to leave due to urgency, be it to go to a health establishment, to a pharmacy or to help a family member who is sick”, he added.

“We have the clear notion that social interaction has a very important contribution to contagious situations and that this interaction occurs in the after-work hours”, he justified.

Our professionals are excellent but they will not be able to do the job without our help and the help we can give them is to control the way we relate in society,” he said, underlining the “extraordinary effort” of health professionals. “We have the right to do everything in our power to help them to have the conditions to be able to treat those who need treatment and avoid at all costs being one more that they have to treat”, he reinforced.

The evolution of cases from two thousand a day to six thousand daily cases in a month “means that the measures adopted since October have not been sufficient to contain the pandemic,” said the prime minister.

Asked about the biweekly review of restrictive measures at the municipality level, António Costa said that the international criterion of 240 cases per 100 thousand inhabitants was adopted in the previous 14 days, adding that this assessment will be made next Thursday. “As a result of this reassessment, there will be counties of 121 who will be removed from the list and others who should be included. It may be justified that next Thursday the Council of Ministers may adopt more restrictive measures ”, he said, pointing to the example of Paços de Ferreira as a municipality that has a high level of incidence of covid-19.

 

 

 

 

 

Portugal has more than 42,000 elderly people in isolation, with the district of Vila Real concentrating the largest number of cases, according to the figures of Operation Censos Sénior 2020, released today by GNR .

The Operation carried out during the month of October with the objective of “identifying the elderly population, who live alone, isolated, or alone and isolated”, signaled 42,439 elderly people to live alone or in a vulnerable situation in the 18 districts of the country.

In the 2019 edition of the “Senior Censuses” operation, GNR signaled 41,868 elderly people who live alone and / or isolated, or in a situation of vulnerability, due to their physical, psychological, or other condition that may jeopardize their safety.

The Vila Real district leads the table, with 5,065 elderly people living alone or isolated, followed by Guarda (4,585), Viseu (3,402), Beja (3,403), Faro (3,313), Bragança (3,285) and Portalegre (3,104), today refers to GNR.

Lisbon, with 767 signposts, and Porto, with 857, are, on the other hand, the districts of the country where the military registered less vulnerable elderly people.

In the remaining districts in Évora (2,654) and Santarém (2,035), more than two thousand situations were signaled, followed by Castelo Branco (1,842), Setúbal (1,734), Braga (1,543), Aveiro (1,383), Coimbra (1,334) , Viana do Castelo (1,043) and Leiria, with 1,090.

In a statement, GNR informs that, during the operation, 34 actions were carried out in the classroom and 3,652 actions door to door, covering a total of 20,747 elderly people.

Along with the survey of these situations, the operation served to alert the elderly “to the adoption of safety behaviors that reduce the risk of becoming victims of crimes, namely in situations of violence, fraud or theft”, as well as preventing risk behaviors and raise awareness of the adoption of preventive measures for the spread of the covid-19 pandemic.

The “Senior Censuses” Operation has been carried out since 2011, with the geographic database being periodically updated and the GNR being signaled to the elderly accompanied by regular visits to their homes, the statement concludes.

The President of the Republic today asked the Portuguese to make a collective effort this month to contain the “unsettling rise” of hospitalizations of patients with covid-19 to avoid “an aggravated December”, with ” more drastic restrictions “.

In a communication to the country, from the Palace of Belém, in Lisbon, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa announced that he had just signed the decree declaring the state of emergency in Portugal from next Monday, for 15 days, until 23 November, and considered this month to be an “essential test”.

In his speech, which lasted about five minutes, the head of state argued that it is necessary, together, to “mitigate the cost of the pandemic” to protect all patients, “covid and non-covid”, and their “legitimate rights to life and health “.

The President of the Republic warned that this is “a challenge that does not end this November, nor in December, nor most likely in the first months of 2021, but that in November, this month, again, it is an essential test”.

“The weeks that follow have to be a collective effort to contain the unsettling rise in the numbers of inpatients in general and inpatients in intensive care in particular, in order to avoid all of an aggravated December and with that, more drastic restrictions for all of us undesirable, “he said.

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa reinforced this message, adding: “November is, therefore, another test of our restraint, our serenity, our resistance, that we will live in solidarity and determined – just as in solidarity and determined we live in the spring the start of the pandemic and in the summer the most acute situation in Greater Lisbon “.

“The President of the Republic counts with each and every one of the Portuguese in this increased effort. The Portuguese count on the President of the Republic, who is with them in this second state of emergency as he was in the first, in this November test as he has been in everyone else, now and always “, he concluded.

The parliament today authorized the President of the Republic to declare a state of emergency in Portugal as of Monday 9th November to allow measures to contain the covid-19, with votes in favour of PS, PSD and CDS-PP.

Non-registered deputy Cristina Rodrigues also voted in favour of the state of emergency, which will run from 9 to 23 November. Bloco de Esquerda, PAN, Chega abstained, while PCP, PEV, Liberal Initiative and non-registered deputy Joacine Katar Moreira voted against.

This was the fourth vote in the Assembly of the Republic on the state of emergency, which cannot last longer than 15 days, without prejudice to possible renewals, and which has been in force in Portugal for three consecutive periods during the current covid-19 pandemic.

EXPLANATORY NOTE

“The pandemic that we are going through has challenged us legally, as the laws in force were not designed for a phenomenon of this nature. It is therefore understandable that the Government has experienced difficulties and faced criticism for the use of diplomas such as the Basic Law for Civil Protection to restrict rights, freedoms and guarantees through Resolutions of the Council of Ministers.

A calamity is certainly a phenomenon that is very limited in time, hence the aforementioned law authorizes the Government to act in terms that I never considered admissible in a pandemic situation, a situation that is global and of unlimited duration.

I have maintained that the Assembly of the Republic could not be removed, as it was, in terms of restricting rights, freedoms and guarantees. If I understand the difficulty of the present moment, the urgency of legal comfort for the correct performance of the Government, for this very reason, I believe that the Executive would have done well, and will do well if he does so quickly, if he had presented a law proposal to the Assembly of the Republic that would serve as legislative authorization for its performance in pandemic times. We would not be innovative, since it was done in France, with the “health emergency law”, in the United Kingdom, with the “Coronavirus Act 2020” or in Italy, countries where Parliament has not lost its centrality in the matter, that here, too, would be of enormous importance,

Reading the Decree of the President of the Republic, we quickly realized the inadequacy of the figure of the Declaration of State of Emergency to the times we live in. There is no reason to resort to a constitutional state of exception that exists to suspend certain rights, freedoms and guarantees. So much so, that there are no suspended rights.

The Presidential Decree is limited to authorizing the Government and the competent authorities to “limit, restrict or partially condition the exercise” various rights (personal freedom, freedom of movement, economic freedom, workers’ rights, right to personality development). It is said to have a preventive character, which has no constitutional purpose.

I understand that we are facing a constitutional misuse of power. The President of the Republic makes use of a constitutional institute that has a limited function to assign it another one, precisely that which would be up to Parliament, that of restricting or authorizing the restriction of rights, freedoms and guarantees.

 

All of this is only tolerable due to the immateriality of the present State of emergency, on condition, as far as I am concerned, that a legal framework that enables the Government to act in pandemic times be quickly approved in Parliament, or we will fall into the absurdity of renewing with banality, every fifteen days, an institute decreed and executed by Democrats, but which tomorrow will be the desired precedent for who knows who.

In short, there is nothing to justify that Parliament is not the protagonist of the extent to which certain rights, freedoms and guarantees can and should be restricted, the responsibility for political action is, then, of course, of the Government, and only of the Government, which is accountable to Parliament, unlike the President of the Republic.

 

The new state of emergency proposed by the President of the Republic does not allow compulsory confinement, unlike the previous ones.

The draft state of emergency decree that followed today to the Assembly of the Republic, where it will be voted on Friday at 16:00, declares the state of emergency in Portugal between 9 and 23 November, based on the verification of a situation public calamity, to allow measures to contain covid-19.

According to this diploma, the state of emergency is again declared throughout the national territory, but with an exception for restrictions on circulation on public roads, which can be applied only “in the municipalities with the highest level of risk” of contagion with the new coronavirus and “during certain periods of the day or certain days of the week”.

Unlike the previous three presidential decrees of 19 March, 2 April and 17 April, in this diploma there is no mention of the possibility of “compulsory confinement at home, in a health establishment or in another place defined by the competent authorities”, nor to the “establishment of sanitary fences”.

There is also no suspension of the exercise of the rights of international movement, of assembly and of demonstration, of freedom of worship in its collective dimension, of the right of resistance, nor of the right to strike, as there was in the 45 days of state of emergency between 19 March and May 2nd.

Nor are the rights to learn and teach and the right to the protection of personal data limited, as happened in the two renewals of the state of emergency, to frame distance learning and allow public authorities to send written warnings about combat to covid-19.

“The prohibition on journeys on public roads that are not justified” is repeated, now under the partial suspension of the exercise of “rights to freedom and displacement”, a wording more comprehensive than the “right to travel” used in others three decrees.

At this point, trips to perform professional activities, obtain health care, assistance to third parties, production, supply of goods and services are again safeguarded – and this time trips to school establishments are added.

Once again, it will be up to the Government to specify all “situations and purposes in which the freedom of individual movement, preferably unaccompanied, remains”.

With regard to the private sector, the previous decrees allowed that the competent public authorities were “required to provide any services and use movable and immovable property, health care units, commercial and industrial establishments, companies and other productive units “.

Now, the President of the Republic proposes that the resources, means and establishments of health care provision integrated in the private, social and cooperative sectors can be used by the competent public authorities, preferably by agreement, with fair compensation, depending on what is necessary. to ensure the treatment of patients with covid-19 or the maintenance of care activity in relation to other pathologies “.

The right to property remains intact and there are no restrictions or impositions in terms of opening, operating and operating companies, services, establishments and means of production, as previously noted.

The diploma to be voted on Wednesday includes, like the previous ones, limitations to workers ‘rights, but to a much lesser extent, without interfering with the rights of workers’ commissions and union associations or the right to strike.

It is only foreseen that they can “be mobilized, by the competent public authorities, any collaborators from public, private entities, from the social or cooperative sector, regardless of the respective type of bond or functional content and even if they are not health professionals”.

This mobilization may include “public servants in prophylactic isolation or covered by the exceptional regime for the protection of immunocompromised and chronically ill patients, to support health authorities and services, namely in conducting epidemiological surveys, tracking contacts and following people under surveillance. active “.

“It is the responsibility of the Armed and Security Forces to support health authorities and services, namely in conducting epidemiological inquiries, tracking contacts and following people under active surveillance”, reads the draft decree.

In previous periods of state of emergency, it was also foreseen that the authorities could determine “that any collaborators from public, private or social sector entities, regardless of the type of link, present themselves to the service and, if necessary, start to perform functions in different place, in a different entity and in different working conditions and times than those that correspond to the existing bond “.

However, at that time it was intended to mobilize “workers in the sectors of health, civil protection, security and defense and other activities necessary to treat patients, support vulnerable populations, elderly people, people with disabilities, children and young people at risk. , in residential structures, home or street support, preventing and combating the spread of the epidemic, the production, distribution and supply of essential goods and services, the functioning of vital sectors of the economy, the operation of critical networks and infrastructures and the maintenance of public order “.

All previous decrees contained articles to note that the state of emergency did not, under any circumstances, affect the rights to life, personal integrity, personal identity, civil capacity and citizenship, non-retroactivity of criminal law, defense defendants and freedom of conscience and religion – as stated in the legal regime of the state of emergency. Freedom of expression and information were also guaranteed in the three decrees.

This time, the draft decree of the President of the Republic is silent on the rights that are not affected by the state of emergency.

According to the Constitution, the state of emergency allows the suspension of the exercise of some of the rights, freedoms and guarantees, which must be specified in the respective declaration, and cannot last longer than 15 days, without prejudice to any renewals with the same limit. temporal.

The President of the Republic must listen to the Government and be authorized by the Assembly of the Republic to declare a state of emergency, in all or in part of the national territory, in situations of public calamity.

In Portugal, where the first cases of infection with the new coronavirus were detected on March 2, 2,740 people have already died from this disease, in a total of more than 160,000 cases of infection accounted for, according to the Directorate-General for Health (DGS).