Year: 2021

Ílhavo, Aveiro, 02 May 2021 (Lusa) – More than 205 tons of frozen fish, worth an estimated 1.2 million euros, were seized on Saturday in Gafanha da Nazaré, municipality of Ílhavo, announced today in a statement the GNR of Aveiro.

According to GNR, in the course of a fish inspection action, “an unauthorized fish discharge was detected, since all fish should be sealed in the holds of the ship”, resulting in the seizure of “about a ton of fish. caught out of the holds ”.

After the “confrontation with the cargo declaration document and the discharge control document controlled by the Directorate-General for Natural Resources, Safety and Maritime Services (DGRM)”, GNR found that “205 tons of fish of different types were in the holds. species, which were apprehended, as well as a crowbar, a spline wrench, a forklift and two remains of unused stamps ”, it also reads.

The ship’s captain, a 69-year-old man, was then “identified for the crimes of embezzlement or destruction of objects placed under public authority and breaking marks and seals”, adds the GNR, noting that another 13 men were also identified.

The facts were referred to the Judicial Court of Ílhavo, adds the press release.

Prime Minister Addresses the National Following Council of Ministers Meeting

April 29, António Costa revealed to the country the decisions taken at the Council of Ministers meeting, where the fourth and final phase of de- confinement was discussed.

Recalling that the President of the Republic did not renew the state of emergency, António Costa says that Portugal will enter a Situation of Calamity which will be in effect as of 00h00 on May 1^st.

“Today, making the evaluation of the pandemic, we were able to take the decision to take the step forward to the next stage of deconfinement,” António Costa announced. Contrary to initial plans, the country will enter the last phase of deconfinement as early as Saturday, May 1.

This is how the last phase of the deconfinement will be, in a nutshell:

• Restaurants, cafes and pastry shops open until 22h30
• Weddings and christenings with 50% of the venue capacity
• Cinemas, theatre, shows until 22h30
• Land borders open
• All shops and shopping centers open until 21h00 during the week and 19h00 at the weekend and holidays.

The deconfinement measures are advancing in the vast majority of the municipalities on the mainland, togheter with Rio Maior and Moura, as well as Alandroal, Albufeira, Figueira da Foz and Penela.

There is a list of municipalities on alert and there are three municipalities that will continue in the third phase of deconfinement: Miranda do Douro, Paredes and Valongo.

The municipalities at risk are:

• Alijó
• Alpiarça
• Arganil
• Batalha
• Beja
• Boticas
• Cabeceiras de Baixo
• Castelo de Paiva
• Celorico de Basto
• Cinfães
• Coruche
• Fafe
• Figueiró dos Vinhos
• Lagos
• Lamego
• Melgaço
• Oliveira do Hospital
• Paços de Ferreira
• Penafiel
• Peniche
• Peso da Régua
• Ponte da Barca
• Póvoa de Lanhoso
• Tábua
• Tabuaço
• Vidigueira
• Vila Real de Santo António

There are still two municipalities that are going back to the first phase: Aljezur and Resende and  Carregal do Sal and Portimão remain on the first phase.

In Odemira, two parishes are under sanitary fence. “Odemira is the largest municipality in mainland Portugal, larger than some districts. All public health surveys identify that the main focus of the infection is concentrated in two of these parishes and clearly associated with the migrant population that works in the agricultural sector. We decided to immediately decree a sanitary fence to the parishes of São Teotónio and Longueira/Almograve”, said António Costa, adding that there will be facilities to put the positive cases in prophylactic isolation. All the other parishes of Odemira will move forward to phase 4.

As it was foreseen, gyms will be able to hold group classes again. According to the prime-minister, physical activity can also be resumed without restrictions.

The evaluation of the incidence of the municipalities is no longer be fortnightly, the Prime Minister revealed. “We have moved to a weekly assessment. We are now in a framework where there is no state of emergency and there are fewer restrictive measures. We need to act as quickly as possible when we are in situations of rapid growth, in order to avoid excessive growth. Or, on the other hand, to allow a faster reopening of activities and people freedom of movements as soon as possible,” he detailed.

Alcoholic beverages will be allowed to be sold until 21h00, but the restriction of prohibition of consumption on public roads will remain in effect, confirmed António Costa.

Regarding the beach rules, now that some municipalities will be opening the beach season, the same regime that existed for the 2020 bathing season will be in force, with limited capacity defined by the Directorate General of Health (DGS).

People arriving from Brazil, South Africa, India and European countries with a high incidence rate will have to go through quarantine to enter Portugal.

Safe Communities Portugal has prepared a full translation into English of the Government PowerPoint in Portuguese released about an hour ago as well as the official Communique in English These can be downloaded:

Meeting at Infarmed 27th April 2021

The 20th meeting of experts and politicians, which brings together the President of the Republic, the President of the Assembly and the Prime Minister is taking takes place in the week when the Government will decide whether Portugal advances to the fourth and final phase of the deconfinement plan, which is scheduled to start on May 3rd. In the afternoon, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa will hear parties about the possible end of the state of emergency, which he has already said he hopes will end on Friday, April 30.

If the next phase of the deflation progressed in light of Friday’s figures from the Directorate-General for Health, there were three counties on the continent at risk of going back one stage in the reopening , 15 of not moving forward and 18 with an alert for having reached the level of 120 new cases of covid-19 per 100 thousand inhabitants, compared with data from 15 days earlier.

André Peralta Santos, from DGS, underlined that, in the last 15 days, the incidence of Covid-19 remained “stable”. There are 37 counties above 120 cases per 100 thousand inhabitants. Even so, in large urban centres there is a “slight downward trend”.

The growth of the virus in the area of ​​Paredes, Paços de Ferreira and Penafiel “causes some concern”. In Odemira, one of the municipalities with the highest incidence in the country, there is a “reversal of trend”.

Almost all age groups are below the incidence recorded on March 15. The exception is the group between 10 and 20 years.

The group from 0 to 9 years old, which was growing, has now reversed the trend, with 10 to 20 years old being the one with the highest increase at the moment. However, neither one raises “special concern”.

Also, the group over 80 “maintains a downward trend and is, at this moment, the most protected group”.

The North has an increasing trend, although still below 120 cases per 100 thousand inhabitants. The Algarve started a downward trend.

Currently, it is the group between 50 and 79 years old that occupies the most intensive care units. Deaths also maintain a “downward trend”.

Positivity is below the benchmark, which stands at 4%. Peralta Santos considers this data “very positive”.

Regarding hospitalizations, André Peralta Santos points out “clearly positive” data. “There is a marked downward trend in the age group of 80+, which has to do with the effort and vaccination of this group”, he says.

It is the group of 50 to 79 that has, today, the highest incidence in hospitalization, although the numbers are much lower than they were when we reached the “peak”.

The number of deaths also maintains “a downward trend”. The peak was on February 4 (368 deaths per million inhabitants) and today we have 5 deaths per million inhabitants, lower than the ECDC reference indicator.

Transmissibility index in the North above 1

Baltazar Nunes, from the National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge, spoke about the evolution of incidence and transmissibility, points out first that there was a “decrease in the rate of transmissibility” (the Rt), compared to the previous meeting, 15 days ago.

Only the North has Rt – the number of people that a first infected person is able to infect – is above 1 (1.05), although the incidence rate is less than 120 cases per 100 thousand inhabitants in 14 days. If the pace is maintained, the region reaches that red barrier between “two weeks and a month” .

Phased reopening of schools with “very positive” result

Analyzing the relationship between the evolution of the incidence and the reopening of schools, the expert says that “there is some very positive result in the way the epidemic was transmitted in schools in this phase of reopening in stages”, until the week of April 16.

Europe improved and Portugal stabilized

Comparing the Portuguese situation with the European situation, Baltazar Nunes says that “the situation at European level has improved” and that Portugal, contrary to what was projected, “stabilized with an R slightly below 1 and an incidence rate between 60 and 100 cases per 100 thousand inhabitants “.

Regarding the effects of vaccination, “from 60% in the population of 80+ there is an inversion of the trend, of decrease”, points out Baltazar Nunes, from the Ricardo Jorge Institute.

Regarding the relationship between the vaccination process and the incidence of the disease, the expert of the Ricardo Jorge Institute (INSA) assures that “there is a clear benefit in reaching high levels of vaccination in the various age groups”, highlighting the “clear signs of the impact of vaccination “in people over 60 in reducing the incidence.

João Paulo Gomes, from INSA, revealed that the United Kingdom variant in Portugal now corresponds to about “89% or 90%” of the total of registered cases, a number higher than the 83% of 15 days ago.

In the last two weeks, Portugal recorded 44 cases of the Manaus variant, bringing the number of cases already detected in the country to 73. The rise is in line with the rest of Europe, said João Paulo Gomes.

As for the South African variant, there were 11 cases in the last 15 days in Portugal, which makes a total of 64 cases diagnosed in the country.

“It is a reflection of any opening of borders. The variants that circulate in one country will also circulate, more freely, in all others”, warned the expert.

The Manaus variant will become “significantly more significant” in Portugal in the near future, warned the expert.

Portugal already has six cases of the Indian variant. All were detected in the Lisbon and Tagus Valley region. João Paulo Gomes pointed out that the European population is “increasingly immune”: In this sense, of the various existing variants, only those variants that are more resistant to the vaccine should survive. The current situation in terms of variants in Portugal “is not an impediment to the continuation of the deconfinement plan”, concluded João Paulo Gomes. Henrique Barros, from the Public Health Institute of the University of Porto, highlights the “very revealing” role of the continuation of the vaccination plan, which has been essential to prevent infections, hospitalizations and deaths. “Diaries of Pandemia II”: of the respondents, only 90% say they want to be vaccinated against Covid-19. Vaccination refusals are in the majority between the ages of 40 and 60.

There is also a relationship with the “nature of income”: the people with the most income and education are those who claim to want to be vaccinated. “Those who seem less interested in the vaccination process have less income,” he says..

Henrique de Barros also recalls that vaccination efficacy scenarios were made in January according to the vaccination plan designed, and we predicted at that time that we would save 140 thousand cases and 9 thousand hospitalizations and avoid more than two thousand deaths. What can be seen now is that the reality proved the scenario and was “clearly better than the conversational predictions in terms of morality”.

In other words, “the acceleration of vaccination prevented contagion and significantly reduced deaths in the elderly,” he says.

Lethality is five times lower than in the beginning

Henrique Barros, from the Public Health Institute of the University of Porto, highlights the “very revealing” role of the continuation of the vaccination plan, which has been essential to prevent infections, hospitalizations and deaths.

The probability of dying from covid-19 has undergone a “brutal variation” over the past few months, the expert said, speaking on Infarmed by videoconference, adding that the hypothesis of a fatal outcome of the disease is, in April, around five times lower than at the beginning of the pandemic.

The expert points out that lethality remains higher in men.

Speaking now of the relationship between lethality and variants of the virus, Henrique de Barros says that people infected with the UK variant “appear to have a significantly increased likelihood of dying.” But the value is similar when compared to the Spanish strain, which was dominant in Portugal in the summer. The South African variant, on the other hand, increases the risk of infection.

Henrique de Barros ends up saying that the lethality, for the diagnosed cases, is currently at 2%, but varies depending on several factors.

“Even with the presence of more lethal and more transmissible variants, it is possible, with protective measures and vaccination, to guarantee the values ​​we believe in: in September, if everything goes smoothly, we hope to have no cases”, he ends.

In conclusion, the expert points out that the lethality in Portugal varies according to the sex of the infected, the nationality, the region and the variants. Thus, it is superior in men and in people with a nationality other than Portuguese . At the regional level, with the North as a reference, the remaining regions are associated with a higher risk of lethality, with the exception of the autonomous region of Madeira , where there is a lower risk of mortality. And, as for the variants, although the information is still scarce, it is estimated that the Brazilian variant may cause more deaths .

Over 80% want to be vaccinated as soon as possible

Carla Nunes, from the School of Public Health at Universidade Nova de Lisboa stated that the behaviours of the Portuguese are being “in agreement with the state of de-confinement”. On April 16, 8.6% of respondents in a study presented by Carla Nunes had revealed to have been with a group of 10 or more people, against 1.8% on February 19. Confidence in health care has risen, albeit “very slightly”.

Over 80% want to be vaccinated as soon as possible

“There were no major changes” regarding the perception that the Portuguese have regarding the vaccine. According to Carla Nunes, among the respondents who have not yet received a dose, 81.7% are available to do so as soon as possible. There are 7% who say they do not want to do it and 11.3% who have not yet decided.

Regarding vaccine safety, between March 20 and April 2, 87.8% considered these drugs to be reliable or very reliable, against 1.6% who said otherwise. Between April 3 and 16, 87.6% said that vaccines are safe or very safe, with 2% understanding that they are not.

Between March 20 and April 2, 87.4% of respondents considered the vaccine to be effective or very effective, against 3.5% who said it was not. In the following fortnight, the parameters “effective” and “Very effective” rose to 89.9% and the “not effective” dropped to 1.7%. Vaccinations

Vice Admiral Henrique Gouveia e Melo, coordinator of the “task force” for vaccination, pointed out that mainland Portugal will reach the mark of three million vaccines inoculated by Wednesday (with Madeira and the Azores, the threshold is exceeded). ” By the end of the week, more than 22% of the population will have their first dose. ”

The official says that there is a “slight positive evolution of availability, in the second quarter, with 9.2 million vaccines, however, the age limit of two types of vaccines that the country is using [AstraZeneca and Janssen] may condition the use of up to half a million vaccines ”. In the third quarter, these two vaccines may “withdraw about 2.7 million from the plan”.

Marcelo highlights the effect of vaccination on mortality reduction

At the end of the presentations, the President of the Republic highlighted the “interrelationship between vaccination and pandemic management”, emphasizing that “lethality and mortality go in reverse with the progress of vaccination”.

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who speaks to the country this Tuesday at 8 pm – with the possibility of not extending the state of emergency on the table – stressed that “the progress of vaccination deserves to be welcomed and highlighted”, also stressing the “increasing adhesion of the Portuguese” to taking drugs against covid-19.

Today, another meeting is taking place at Infarmed, in which the Government and political figures meet with experts to analyze the epidemiological situation in Portugal.

At Infarmed, in Lisbon, from 10 am, as has been happening since February, only the Minister of Health, Marta Temido, and most epidemiologists will be present.

The remaining participants, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, António Costa and Ferro Rodrigues, party representatives, members of the Council of State and social partners, will follow the meeting by videoconference.

This week the Assembly of the Republic is expected to debate and vote on the draft presidential decree for the renewal of the state of emergency for a new period of 15 days, with effect from April 1 and which will cover the Easter period.

The session begins with a presentation by André Peralta Santos, from the Directorate-General for Health, on the epidemiological situation , following the perspective of the evolution of the incidence and transmissibility of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, in charge of Baltazar Nunes and Ricardo Mexia, from the National Institute of Health Doutor Ricardo Jorge (INSA) .

João Paulo Gomes, also from INSA, will update the virus variants in the country, with Henrique de Barros, from the Public Health Institute of the University of Porto, giving a presentation on a year of learning from covid-19 in Portugal .

The meeting continues with the presentation of the social perceptions of the pandemic in the country, in charge of Carla Nunes, from the National School of Public Health of the Universidade Nova de Lisboa, and with the status of vaccination by the coordinator of the vice-admiral task force Henrique Gouveia e Melo .

The meeting starts 10.08 hrs

André Santos Peralta, the DGS, says there was a “downward trend of maintaining” the incidence of the virus, with an average of 79 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. However, in Greater Lisbon, “there are already some municipalities” with a growing trend. The active population became the population with the highest incidence, but there was a “very expressive” decrease in hospitalizations in the infirmary and ICU.

The active population became the population with the highest incidence, but there was a “very expressive” decrease in hospitalizations in the infirmary and ICU. “in a scenario of great incidence, only the population from 40 to 60 is enough to exceed the indicator of 245 beds of hospitalizations in ICU”. That is, “To be completely safe, the age group to be vaccinated will have to go up to these ages”.

Lisbon and Tagus Valley has the highest incidence (more cases per 100 thousand inhabitants every 14 days).

Regarding hospitalizations, there is a maintenance of the decline in the +60 group. In the ICUs, there is a “very significant drop” in the group of 50, 60 and 70 years old.

As for the variants, that of the United Kingdom increased, reaching 73% in Lisbon and Vale do Tejo and above 60% in the North.

The testing rate is “quite considerable” and the 4% positive ceiling is only found “in some municipalities”. There has been a greater speed in laboratory notification, revealed the expert.

At the end of March, the incidence is expected to stabilize at the line of 60 cases at the end of March. “We no longer predict that the incidence will drop from that level,” explained the expert.

Ricardo Mexia, from INSA, said that a “pressing need” in the vaccination strategy is to have an “agile” notification of the test results. In the last few days, there has been an “important increase” in testing, especially rapid testing. PCR tests have known “stabilization”.

In schools, in more than 80 thousand tests, the rate of positivity is currently 0.1%. On March 19, the positivity rate was 1.2% – below, therefore, the recommended 4% threshold.

10.44 hrs

Variants

João Paulo Gomes, also from the Ricardo Jorge Institute, now takes stock of the incidence of the covid-19 variant. Almost 100% of covid cases in England are from the United Kingdom variant and this should be the trend in the rest of the countries, being just “a matter of time”, says João Paulo Gomes, director of the Department of Infectious Diseases of the National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge (INSA). “The UK variant is expected to be in more than 80% of cases in our country.” “Almost all countries are expected to have a near 100% prevalence of the UK variant.” In Portugal, we have a prevalence of 70%, although, says the specialist, it is expected to reach 80% of cases shortly.

João Paulo Gomes also explains that the rapid tests will not allow the search for new variants. Mass testing is positive, but it has this problem, says the expert. To solve it, he proposes to increase the sampling of PCR tests, which are the ones that allow the analysis and surveillance of variants, by increasing the network of laboratories – private and the Academy.

There are 24 cases of the South African variant identified in Portugal (250 in the United Kingdom, 300 in Belgium). João Paulo Gomes stresses the importance of flight control and travel history, as this variant is spread across European countries that have many flight connections with Portugal. “The last thing you want is for the same thing to happen to the UK variant, which is widespread.”

As for the Manaus variant, 16 cases are identified in Portugal, within the average and very distant from countries like Italy, which already have almost 160 cases.

Ricardo Jorge will also increase the installed capacity for the sequencing of the samples.

1100 hrs

Lisbon, 19 March 2021 (Lusa) – Rapid antigen tests for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 can only be sold to people over the age of 18 and all results must be communicated to health authorities, determines a circular published today .

The rules are contained in a joint circular from the Directorate-General for Health (DGS), the National Authority for Medicines and Health Products (Infarmed) and the National Health Institute Doctor Ricardo Jorge (INSA) that defines the inclusion criteria, operationalization of the use and reporting of results of covid-19 self-tests.

According to the rules now established, these screening tests can only be made available in the health system units, in pharmacies and in places of sale of non-prescription drugs and can only be “dispensed to individuals aged 18 or over years old”.

In addition, self-tests, including the necessary test, cannot be carried out in the places where they are dispensed.

Bearing in mind that these rapid tests “constitute an additional instrument for the early detection of cases of infection, thus contributing to the control of transmission chains, the results obtained must be reported to the health authorities”, also determines the circular, which defines the procedures to be adopted by those who carry them out.

Therefore, people who are symptomatic or who are in contact with a confirmed case of covid-19 should contact the SNS24 Contact Center (808 24 24 24), regardless of the test result.

When the test is carried out on its own initiative, a positive or inconclusive result must be communicated directly by telephone to the SNS24 Contact Center or by filling in an electronic form that will be created.

In the context of use in specific contexts, the communication of this result can be made to the attending physician or occupational health or occupational medicine, advances the circular of the health authorities.

According to the document, regardless of the context in which the test is carried out, the report of obtaining a positive result should be accompanied whenever possible with information regarding the commercial identification of the self-test (brand), manufacturer and identification code of the batch used.

In addition, the communication of the result triggers the prescription for confirmation test with PCR test, if there has been no laboratory test report with a positive result for the person in question in the last 90 days.

The Contact Center SNS24 shall transmit indications for the isolation of the person with a rapid positive result, including the issuance of the Provisional Prophylactic Isolation Statement, until the confirmation of the PCR confirmation test result.

“One of the limitations to consider for any rapid test is the possibility of a false negative or false positive result”, also advance the health authorities, warning that a negative result does not eliminate the possibility of infection by SARS ‑ CoV ‑ 2 .

Although it is a less frequent event, there is also the possibility of a false positive result, particularly when the prevalence of infection in the population is low.

“For these reasons, the result obtained by the SARS-CoV-2 self-test does not dispense with the adoption of infection prevention and control measures established at national level in the context of COVID-19, nor the guidance of a health professional whenever necessary ”, stresses the circular.

The realization of self-tests, established in an exceptional and temporary regime and framed in the National Test Strategy for SARS-CoV-2, assumes “particular relevance for the control of transmission chains, namely in the context of the gradual and sustained reopening of certain sectors activity, establishments and services “, explains the document.

In order to be included in this exceptional regime, rapid antigen tests must have, among other characteristics, the CE marking, which shows compliance with the requirements legally provided for in the European Union.

In addition, they must present performance data for nasal samples, and the test must have at least a sensitivity equal to or greater than 80% and a specificity equal to or greater than 97%, according to the manufacturer’s information.

It must also contain instructions for use in Portuguese and adapted to the self-test, with an illustration of the test collection and execution process, including the following information: method of waste disposal, information on actions to be taken in view of the result obtained and procedure of communication of results.

The covid-19 pandemic caused at least 2,692,313 deaths worldwide, resulting from more than 121.7 million cases of infection, according to a report made by the French agency AFP.

In Portugal, 16,754 people died from 816,623 confirmed cases of infection, according to the most recent bulletin from the Directorate-General for Health.

Ourém, Santarém, 19 March 2021 (Lusa) – All Holy Week and Easter celebrations at the Sanctuary of Fátima will be transmitted ‘online’, due to the impossibility of many pilgrims to travel to Cova da Iria due to the limitations resulting from the covid pandemic -19, was announced today.

“The Sanctuary of Fátima will transmit ‘all the celebrations of the Easter Triduum’ online, for the first time”, informs the institution, explaining that the initiative aims to “mitigate the impossibility that many pilgrims will live to travel to Fátima due to the prohibition of circulation between municipalities, in the period between March 26 and April 5 ”.

In an information made available on its website, the sanctuary, in the district of Santarém, adds that, “although all celebrations are open to the participation of all the faithful, in particular the residents of the municipality of Ourém, Cova da Iria connected to the whole world to allow everyone who wants to be able to be united to Fatima in what is the most important and symbolic time of the Christian experience”.

The celebrations transmitted online, from the Basilica of the Holy Trinity, will be interpreted in Portuguese Sign Language, namely “the Mass at 11:00 am on Palm Sunday, the Mass at the Lord’s Supper, on Holy Thursday at 6 pm : 00, the Passion, on Good Friday, at 3:00 pm, the Easter Vigil, on Holy Saturday, at 10:00 pm, and the Easter Mass, on Sunday at 11:00 am, ”says the same information.

The sanctuary emphasizes that “the rites foreseen in all these celebrations will be adapted to the sanitary moment that the country is going through and, therefore, in the Mass of Palm Sunday, each pilgrim should bring their own branch for the blessing, without the usual distribution in the sanctuary”.

In the “Mass of the Lord’s Supper, the gesture of the washing of the feet will be omitted, replacing it with an evocative gesture, and on Good Friday the worship of the Cross will also be done in a different way from the usual”, clarifies the Temple.

“Contrary to what is customary in the sanctuary, the Easter Mass will take place in the Basilica of the Most Holy Trinity, a place where most of the celebrations of the summer program, which will take effect from Monday, April 5th, will be held” , he says, adding that all celebrations will be broadcast live on www.fatima.pt, Youtube and Facebook.

Due to the covid-19 pandemic, Last year, the Sanctuary of Fátima, for the first time in its history, held Holy Week celebrations without pilgrims, behind closed doors, which are transmitted by the media and digital media.

In a message about the celebration of Easter, also available on the website of the Marian temple, the rector of the sanctuary, Father Carlos Cabecinhas, emphasizes that this year you can participate in the celebrations, with the exception that you cannot do it as before.

“We have to be very careful to ensure everyone’s safety. (…) Our spaces are prepared to welcome you, with all the security measures, but we also ask for your responsibility. Safety depends on the contribution of each one and the care of each one”, highlights the rector.

For Carlos Cabecinhas, the celebration of Easter “reinforces” hope and confidence “in these troubled times”.

The PSP and GNR arrested 911 people, 303 for contempt of compulsory confinement, and closed 3,882 stores from the beginning of the pandemic, in March 2020, according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MAI).

The data were sent to the Lusa agency when it marks a year in which the country entered a state of emergency to combat the covid-19 pandemic.

According to MAI, the 911 arrests by PSP and GNR were made between March 19, 2020 and March 15 this year.

MAI data also reveals that the Republican National Guard and the Public Security Police applied, between June 27, 2020 and March 15 this year, 38,825 administrative offenses, 32,662 (about 84%) of which were since January 15, when the country entered the second confinement.

The case records have been registered since June 27 last year because it was when the decree-law that established the regime of administrative offenses to deal with the pandemic came into force.

According to the MAI, most of the offenses are related to non-compliance with the general duty of home collection (20,362) and limitation of movement between municipalities (4,984).

The security forces also accounted for 3,402 offenses for alcohol consumption on the street, 2,841 for not wearing a mask on the street and public spaces, 1,123 for non-compliance with opening hours and 1,020 for non-compliance with the mandatory use of a mask in concert halls or public establishments.

Records were also drawn up for non-compliance with the mandatory use of masks in public transport (785), the rules of occupation, permanence and physical distance in places open to the public (687), the holding of celebrations and other events (509), the rules selling alcoholic beverages (460) and operating rules for restaurants and the like (552).

There are also records of 56 fines for refusing to perform the SARS-CoV-2 test.

In addition to having closed 3,882 establishments between March 19, 2020 and March 15 this year, these two security forces suspended 243 activities.

Since the pandemic began in Portugal in March 2020, 13 states of emergency have been decreed, and between May and November 2020, three situations of calamity, three of contingency and two of alert, some of which in only a few regions.

News coverage served to guide the behaviour of citizens in order to protect themselves and listened to more sources, advances a joint study of three Portuguese universities and a research centre.

Journalism reinforced its importance in the context of the pandemic and constituted an “effective weapon” in the fight against covid-19, concluded a research team from three Portuguese universities and a research center that analyzed about three thousand news published during the vacancies in the pandemics that have plagued Portugal.

“In the first wave, the epidemiological situation was not as serious as we thought, but the news coverage was very intense and anticipated the worsening of the health situation, contributing to guide the behaviour of citizens in order to protect themselves”, begins by explaining Felisbela Lopes, researcher at the University of Minho and work coordinator.

However, news coverage eased during the second wave and was slow to start with the same strength as it did in March 2020, when the epidemiological picture started to worsen in January 2021. According to this study, the number of news about covid-19 published in the first wave was three times greater than in the third wave, in an equivalent period.

“These fluctuations can have consequences. It is important to recognize the role of journalism and make it a partner in situations of health crisis”, stresses Rita Araújo, researcher at the Center for Studies in Communication and Society at the University of Minho.

According to the study, in the first wave the news mainly focused, in addition to the epidemiological portraits, on themes of a social nature (21%), namely around work and education. However, in the second phase, social issues lost strength (7%) and national politics gained prominence (20%).

“It would have been important to refocus attention on other topics, because politicians have gained more visibility, but that visibility has not always been the result of real actions,” says the study’s coordinator.

The second wave was also richer in news about medical-scientific research, mainly because of the expectations surrounding the clinical trials of vaccines (9%). The third wave, on the other hand, was marked by a particularly negative news, which focused on the situation portraits (23%), namely with regard to the counting of deaths by covid-19. Within social issues (17%), education once again gained news space, which is explained by the closure of schools.

The analysis of the researchers says that it is the government that focuses communication on the management of the pandemic in periods of greatest tension (12.3%). However, there are differences between the rulers. The prime minister occupies the place of greatest evidence (2.7%). Next are the ministers of Health, the Presidency and Labor, Solidarity and Social Security. Only then do the Ministers of Education and Economy appear.

The President of the Republic, despite the communications addressed to the country at key moments, such as the prolongations of the state of emergency, takes on a discreet place (1.2%), which may be related to the prophylactic isolations to which he was subjected in the first and third vacancies and with the option to remain “more distant from the media space” during the pre-election campaign related to the presidential elections in January of this year.

The space left open by Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa may have been used by the government, namely António Costa, who, according to the researchers, were well from the communicative point of view in the first wave, but who promoted zigzagging communication in the second wave.

“The success of the government’s communication in this third wave can only be gauged after seeing how the deflation will be communicated”, explains the investigation team.

More diverse sources

During the periods under study, journalism also listened to more sources, extending the siege to voices that usually have fewer opportunities to make themselves heard. Among the sources that have gained ground are professionals from different areas and specialists. Official sources are the most heard when it comes to covid-19 (with results ranging from 22% to 29%), but professionals from different areas and specialists have gained a new strength and almost rival the first (with rates between 20 and 25%, if only those who hold positions are taken into account).

“It is important to know how to keep these sources in the media after we leave the pandemic. They contribute to the quality of journalism and have shown answers that have helped to sustain the political decision-making process”, defends Olga Magalhães, researcher at Cintesis – Center for Research in Technologies and Health Services.

The study, which focuses on more than 3000 news texts and about 6000 sources of information from two daily newspapers (Público and Jornal de Notícias), integrates a broader research project, which aims to analyze the health communication about covid-19 in Portugal.

In addition to Felisbela Lopes (CECS / Universidade do Minho), Rita Araújo (CECS / Universidade do Minho) and Olga Magalhães (Cintesis), are part of the research team Clara Almeida Santos and Ana Teresa Peixinho (University of Coimbra) and Catarina Duff Burnay ( CECC-FCH, Universidade Católica Portuguesa). DP

The National Authority for Emergency and Civil Protection (ANEPC) and the Portuguese Institute for the Sea and the Atmosphere (IPMA) will carry out the NEAMWAVE’21 exercise tomorrow, March 10, between 8:30 am and 2:00 pm.

NEAMWAVE’21 aims to test the effectiveness and readiness of the Tsunami alert system implemented in the Northeast Atlantic, Mediterranean and Connected Seas (NEAMTWS).

This is a communications exercise during which the various national and international players will exchange technical-operational notifications with each other related to the eventuality of an earthquake responsible for the generation of a tsunami with an impact on the Portuguese coast.

Portugal participates in the different phases of the exercise through ANEPC, IPMA, the Directorate-General of the Maritime Authority (DGAM), the Maritime Search and Rescue Service of the Navy (MRCC – Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre), the Regional Civil Protection Service and Firefighters from the Azores, the Regional Civil Protection Service of Madeira, the Municipal Civil Protection Services and Fire Departments of the coastal and estuarine counties of mainland Portugal, as well as through a set of entities responsible for the management of vital infrastructures of the energy networks , water supply, communications and road and rail.

The ANEPC involves the exercise of the various levels of the structure of the national civil protection system, namely the National Emergency and Civil Protection Command, the Regional Emergency and Civil Protection Commands and the District Relief Operations Commands, in close articulation with the levels autonomous municipal and regional authority, and ensuring coordination with other participating agents and entities.

The IPMA intervenes in the exercise as a Tsunami Alert Centre responsible for monitoring, detecting and disseminating tsunami alerts to national coordinating entities, as well as to the emergency management entities of several countries in the Northeast Atlantic, such as Morocco, Spain, the United Kingdom -United, Denmark, France, Germany and Ireland, among others.

NEAMTWS is the designation of the alert and warning system for the North East Atlantic, Mediterranean and Related Seas (Tsunami Early Warning and Mitigation System for the North-eastern Atlantic, Mediterranean and Connected Seas), implemented and coordinated by the UNESCO Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission after the Indian Ocean Tsunami on December 26, 2004.

The NEAMTWS warning and warning system focuses its action on three main areas:

1. Tsunami risk assessment;
2. Preparing and sensitizing the population;
3. Implementation of alert and warning systems in case of emergency.

Five Tsunami Alert Centers are currently operational in this region of the globe: CENALT (France), INGV (Italy), KOERI (Turkey), NOA (Greece) and IPMA (Portugal), which provide the alert to the authorities of the NEAM Member States in the event of the eventuality or occurrence of a tsunami.