Year: 2021

Extracts from his speech here

Lisbon, 09 March 2021 (Lusa) – The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, said today that it is the Portuguese and, above all, “those who need it most”, the reason for the solemn commitment he assured.

“The Portuguese are therefore all of them, the only raison d’être of the solemn commitment that I have just made, starting with those who need it most: the homeless, the homeless but with no adequate housing, those my age or older who live in homes or at home in solitude or guarded by formal or informal caregivers”, said the head of state, at the start of his inauguration speech for a second term, before the Assembly of the Republic.

Marcelo also dedicated the beginning of his speech to the “retired or poor pensioners”, to the “unemployed or on lay off”, to the “precarious workers and entrepreneurs” and to the children, youth, families, teachers and non-teachers “run over in two school years” , as well as health professionals and those who have lost loved ones in these pandemic times.

“A homeland is, above all, people and in it each person counts, diverse, different, unrepeatable”, he said.

The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, said today that he is the same as he was five years ago, with independence, a spirit of commitment and stability, and that it will be so with any Government and parliamentary majority.

The President of the Republic promised today to defend a “better democracy”, with tolerance and respect for all, rejecting the “myth of pure Portuguese”, with convergence in the regime and alternative governance, and “stability without swamp “.

In his speech before the Assembly of the Republic, at the ceremony in which he took office for a second term, the head of state stated that ensuring these objectives will be his “first priority” for the next five years.

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa stressed that “for the first time in democracy a President of the Republic takes office in a state of emergency” and that during the covid-19 pandemic parliament “never stopped working for the Portuguese”, and thanked the deputies ” the example of dedication to democracy, never accepting to silence it, never accepting to suspend it, never accepting to take it hostage “.

“May this be the first lesson of today: we live in democracy, we want to continue to live in democracy, and in democracy to fight the most serious pandemics. We prefer freedom to oppression, dialogue to monologue, pluralism to censorship, and we have demonstrated him holding two elections in a pandemic, one of which resulted in the rise of opposition to the Government “, he said, referring to the regional elections in the Azores, and observing:” This is democracy “.

Then, the President of the Republic defended that “better democracy is needed, where freedom is not emptied by poverty, ignorance, dependence or corruption, where inclusion, tolerance, respect for all Portuguese, in addition to the gender, creed, skin color, personal, political and social convictions should not be sacrificed to the myth of pure Portuguese, the enlightened caste, the privileged old and new “.

“We want a democracy that is republican ethics in the limitation of mandates, convergence in the regime and a clear alternative in governance, stability without swamp, justice with security, renewal that prevents rupture, anticipation that prevents decay, proximity that prevents dazzle, arrogance, abuse of power Ensuring it is the first priority for the President of the Republic for these five years “, he added.

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa left this message at the end of his speech before the Assembly of the Republic, at the ceremony in which he took office for a second term as head of state.

“Portuguese, it remains to remember the obvious. I am the same as I was five years ago, I am the same as yesterday, in the exact same terms elected and re-elected to be President of all of you, with independence, a spirit of commitment and stability, proximity, affection, preference. for the excluded, honesty, convergence in the essential, alternative between two strong, sustainable and credible areas, rejection of presidential messianisms, in the exercise of power or in the anticipated nostalgia for the end of that exercise, in respect for difference and pluralism, in the construction of social justice , proud to be Portugal, to be Portuguese “, he said.

The head of state promised that “it was like this, it will be like this, with any parliamentary majority, with any government, before and after the municipal elections, before and after the parliamentary elections, before and after the European elections, before and after the 50 years of the April 25th in 2024 “.

“May the next five years be more a reason for hope than disappointment, it is our dream and it is our purpose, a year that has passed through so much mourning, so much sacrifice, so much loneliness,” he added.

Source Lousa

 

 

Lisbon, 09 March 2021 (Lusa) – Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa takes office today for a second term as President of the Republic, at 10:30 am, before parliament, with reduced assistance due to the covid-19, and in the afternoon he will be in Porto.

Reelected in the presidential elections of January 24 with 60.67% of the votes cast, the retired professor of law, 72, former constituent deputy, will take the oath on the original of the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic.

Under the terms of the Constitution, the elected President of the Republic takes office before the parliament, making the following declaration of commitment: “I swear on my honor to faithfully perform the functions in which I am invested and to defend, comply and enforce the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic”.

The inauguration and oath ceremony in the Assembly of the Republic will have an assistance in the Sala das Sessions reduced to less than one hundred people, with 50 of the 230 deputies, six members of the Government and the guests limited to the highest precedence of the Protocol of the Portuguese State.

After reading and signing the inauguration document, the President of the Assembly of the Republic, Eduardo Ferro Rodrigues, will speak to greet the head of State, and then Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa will make the first speech of his second term.

From São Bento, the President of the Republic will proceed to the Jerónimos Monastery, in Lisbon, where he will deposit wreaths of flowers on the tombs of Luís de Camões and Vasco da Gama.

Arrival at the Palace of Belém, with an honor guard at the main gate, is scheduled for 12:15 pm. In the Sala das Bicas, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa will receive the band of the three orders, symbol of the President of the Republic and grand master of the Portuguese honorary orders.

During the afternoon, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa will be in Porto, where he will have a meeting with the Mayor of the City, Rui Moreira, at 2:30 pm, before presiding over an ecumenical ceremony with representatives of various religious denominations present in Portugal, in the Hall Noble of the Town Hall, at 15:30.

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa will also visit the Islamic Cultural Center of Porto, at 16:30, before returning to Lisbon.

When he took office as President of the Republic five years ago, on March 9, 2016, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa arrived on foot at the Assembly of the Republic, breaking the protocol.

The program of his inauguration had an original format, which lasted throughout the day, including an ecumenical meeting at the Lisbon Mosque and a concert at Praça do Município – and at the time it also extended to Porto, but two days later, with visits to the City Hall, the Cerco neighborhood and an exhibition.

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa announced his re-election to the post of President of the Republic on December 7 of last year, alone, in a pastry shop next to the Palace of Belém, in Lisbon, space where his campaign headquarters was held in the 2016 presidential elections.

In the current pandemic situation of covid-19, and with the country in a state of emergency, he declared that he would never leave in the middle of this “demanding and painful journey” and that he was “exactly the same as he advanced five years ago”, committed to stabilize and unite the Portuguese to overcome the current crisis.

His re-application was formally supported by PSD and CDS-PP, while the PS in the Government chose not to support any candidate, but approved a motion with a “positive assessment” of his first term.

During the campaign for the January 24 presidential election, the former PSD president said in an interview with TVI that he expected a “more difficult” second term, identifying “more dispersion” in the party system, both on the left and on the right.

In his victory speech on the electoral night, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa affirmed “having the notion that the Portuguese, when reinforcing their vote, want more and better” in proximity, stability, demand, adding: “I understood this sign and I will remove it the appropriate lessons “.

Óscar Felgueiras, from ARS Norte and Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto, presented a proposal for indicators to be used in a de-confinement plan, suggesting new levels of risk at national level:

Level 5 – high – above 240 new cases per 100 thousand inhabitants in 14 days

Level 4 – high – above 120

Level 3 – medium – above 60

Level 2 – low – above 30

Level 1 – very low – up to 30

In addition, he proposes an additional indicator: percentage growth at 14 days. If the incidence is at a high level but is growing by 30%, then the situation enters the maximum risk level (level 5 instead of 4). If the growth is 60% and there are more than 60, it goes from level 3 to 5.

As for the local risk levels he proposed that the risk level of each municipality should take into account the situation of the surrounding municipalities. In other words, the level of each municipality would not only depend on its specific situation, but also on the severity of the surrounding municipalities.

For example, in October last year, applying this logic, the situation of maximum risk would be much wider in the territory than the one we have seen.

The proposed decontrol plan, evaluated every two weeks

The plan presented by Raquel Duarte, from ARS Norte and former Secretary of State for Health, was based on an evaluation of activities taking into account, for example, the risk of disrespect for the rules, the age groups involved and the potential for agglomeration. The various sectors must open at what they designated as level 4 and only two weeks later, after a new analysis, the restrictions can be reduced to level 3. Some examples:

Schools

Planning done at national level with general rules such as distance, mandatory use of a mask. Start with pre-school and children and only two weeks later, dropping to level 3, opening 1st cycle, 2nd cycle and “so on”.

Work

Keep telework whenever possible, lagged times and increased testing. Start with work without contact with the public and only two weeks later if go down to level 3 by opening workplaces with contact with the public but without physical contact. Only two weeks later reassess to open work with individual physical contact.

Public transport

Open with 25% of total occupancy

Taxis and TVDEs

Open with two-thirds capacity and front seats only used by the driver

Business

Open at level 4 only with sale to the window. If it is possible to go down to level 3, two weeks later, they will be able to open but with a limited number of people.

Restaurants/Cafes

Maintain the current situation with takeaway sales. Two weeks later, evaluate the possibility of opening a terrace service, with a maximum of 4 people per table

Family life

Continue with limitation to the household (level 4) and two weeks later evaluate the descent to level 3 that would allow the association of the household with six other people in the same socio-family ‘bubble’

De-confinement suggested by technicians will not have precise dates

The health minister also recalls that the technicians did not propose a de-confinement with specific dates, but with compliance with indicators. “No presentation pointed to precise dates, but to specific levels of action in the light of the situation,” she said.

As Expresso had advanced in the weekend edition, the de-confinement plan on the table of the Council of Ministers does not have a defined timetable, it will depend on the fulfilment of the criteria.

This Monday morning’s Infarmed meeting marks the start of the deflation plan.

In today’s program, politicians hear from experts about the country’s epidemiological situation, but also proposals for how the situation should be managed in the future.

From 10:30, the session begins.

Here is the program:

1 – Epidemiological situation in the country – André Peralta Santos, from DGS

2 – Evolution of incidence and transmissibility – Baltazar Nunes, from the National Health Institute Dr Ricardo Jorge

3 – Update on the surveillance of genetic variants of the new coronavirus in Portugal – João Paulo Gomes, from the National Health Institute Dr Ricardo Jorge

In the second part, “proposals for the future”:

1 – Response to the pandemic, Path to decision – Henrique de Barros, from the Public Health Institute of the University of Porto

2 – Criteria for a controlled pandemic: Phases 2 and 3 – Baltazar Nunes, from the National Health Institute Dr Ricardo Jorge

3 – Plan to reduce restrictive measures – Óscar Felgueiras, from the Northern Regional Health Administration and Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto and Raquel Duarte, from the Northern Regional Health Administration and the Public Health Institute of the University of Porto

1047 hrs

The Minister of Health, Marta Temido, opens the session. This is followed by the usual intervention by André Peralta Santos, from DGS.

André Peralta Santos, from DGS, revealed that there is a “maintenance of the downward trend” in the incidence of the virus, now with a national average of 141 cases per 100 thousand inhabitants. Lisbon and some municipalities in Alentejo have slightly higher numbers than in the rest of the country.

There are 354 hospitalized in intensive care units (ICU), a number “similar to the first week of November”, recalled the specialist. The age group with the highest number of cases in the ICU is the one between 60 and 69 years old.

There is also a “downward trend” in deaths; now with 56 dead per million inhabitants and “similar” to the third week of October.

The British variant has been growing: in Lisbon and Vale do Tejo it has a prevalence of 66%, while, in the North and in the Centre, it is “over 50%”.

Hospitalizations fall back to the values ​​of the first week of November, according to DGS

Hospitalizations in the infirmary and intensive care are also decreasing, falling back to the values ​​of the first week of November 2020, according to André Peralta Santos, responsible for the DGS statistics department.

Among hospital admissions in the ward, there are a greater number of people over 80 years old, while in intensive care “the age group with the largest number of cases is from 60 to 69 years old”.

According to Peralta Santos, this aspect is “particularly relevant, as we vaccinate the population over 80 years old”, as this protection has an impact on the decrease in mortality. In order to see these effects in younger age groups, it will be necessary to wait for vaccination “to spread and have great expression in groups over 50 years old”.

Rt levels – Baltazar Nunes, from the National School of Public Health:

Index Rt is 0.74 for the last five days and is below 1 across the continent. In the autonomous regions, it is above one.

The lowest value of this transmissibility index was reached around February 10, but the downward trend has been decelerating over time.

We have the lowest in Europe, with an incidence level of 120 per hundred thousand inhabitants. Central and eastern Europe is in counter- cycling with Portugal, Spain and Ireland, which have Rt below one.

Portugal remains the country with the most reduced mobility, but there is an increase.

He estimate that the 240 inpatients in the ICU will be reached in mid-March and the 120 beds occupied at the end of the month. Remember that experts have set a maximum occupancy of 242 beds in ICU for covid patients as a manageable number by the NHS.

João Paulo Gomes, from the Dr. Ricardo Jorge Institute, referred that there was a “more pronounced growth” of the United Kingdom variant over the last week, “of about 20%”.

He talks about the new variants of the new coronavirus in Portugal. It starts by framing Portugal in the world panorama in the face of the so-called British variant: England and Ireland have levels around 90%, Denmark almost 80% and Portugal and Switzerland present “growing trends” in relation to the British variant.

The experts’ projection shows that only yesterday we reached 65% presence of the British variant, a value that the experts estimated to have reached three weeks ago. “Although there has been a 10% growth stabilization per week, in the last week there has been a more marked growth of 20%” for the British variant.

In February, the South African variant had eight more cases registered, now totalling twelve since the beginning of the pandemic. The Brazilian variant, on the other hand, registered nine cases, amounting to a total of eleven. Despite the “concern” that these variants contain due to their high transmissibility, “everything is perfectly controlled”, guaranteed the expert.

João Paulo Gomes also said that, unlike PCR tests, rapid tests do not guarantee the monitoring of variants. However, he stated that health authorities are aware of this issue and are acting accordingly.

The expert also warned that in the future, variants “potentially as serious or even more serious” as the current ones should emerge. “This, of course, is worrisome,” he said, asking for “extra attention” in border control at the time of deflation, especially in the control of citizens from “slightly more sloppy” countries in the chapter on variants.

Henrique Barros suggests a five-level technical roadmap for the lack of definition

Baltazar Nunes, from the Ricardo Jorge Institute, presents on behalf of the group of experts with which the Government is working and which includes elements from DGS, the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon and the National School of Public Health, now presents the limits and warning signs that should guide the Government’s action to control the epidemic. Among the warning signs are:

1.Incidence of new cases 14 days below 240 per 100 thousand inhabitants and ideally around 60 cases per 100 thousand inhabitants2. Incidence should be dropping steadily with an Rt below 1 or close to it.3. Positivity rate below 4%, that is, no more than 4 out of 100 tests are positive, which allows you to ‘detect asymptomatic cases and prevent them from transmitting the infection without knowing it.4. 90% of cases with isolation in 24 hours, which implies fast and comprehensive screening

5. ICU occupancy rate must be less than 85% of the bed capacity. In the case of covid patients, a maximum allowable of 246.

If only the new cases were linked, Portugal would be unrestricted. But it is necessary to “consider a set of measures”, says Henrique de Barros

Thus, Henrique de Barros proposes five phases of confinement / de-confinement measures, according to the various indicators, namely the cases foreseen for the next 14 days, of hospitalizations and hospitalizations in ICUs. In other words, for the specialist, it is possible to predict the situation in which he will be in the next 14 days, according to a technical model.

In fact, he says, if we decided only according to specific indicators and did not take into account other factors, we would be, in 15 days, in phases 1 and 2, that is, only measures of respiratory etiquette or prohibition of agglomeration of more 50 people.

However, he said, “if it is done based on hospitalizations, it has a different severity” and therefore “there are different points where the decision has to be changed”.

For the teacher, at this stage we have to “work with the accumulated experience”, which has limited information, and that it is necessary to “consider a set of measures” and not just “singular measures”. “This may be relevant to decide,” he said.

The proposal that he makes, of these five levels, is, admits “in a conservative model”, but that allows, ensures, “to anticipate the answer both at national and regional level”. Bearing in mind that there can be no “rigid limits”, that is, when a certain indicator is reached, the country is ready to be at a certain level, it suggests that one should pay attention to the “possible effect of variants with transmissibility”

Henrique de Barros says he aims to present a proposal for an adaptation strategy based on the identification of specific criteria and also on the experience of other countries. Henrique de Barros suggests a proposal to approach the pandemic in a local / regional way and which is divided into five levels. Looking at the experience of other countries, the levels he proposes are:

Maximum risk level should rise to 240 cases per 100 thousand inhabitants

Óscar Felgueiras, from ARS Norte and Faculty of Sciences of the University of Porto, presents a proposal for indicators to be used in a deconfinition plan, suggesting new levels of risk at national level:

 

The Ministry of Internal Affairs will include in the recruitment rules in 2021 minimum indicators of 15% of women for GNR guards and 20% for PSP agents, the Government said today.

Within the scope of the celebration of the International Women’s Day, which is marked this Monday, the Ministry of Internal Administration (MAI) defends that “better reflect the society as a whole, deconstructing prejudices that still limit the freedom of women in choosing their professional path” is one of the purposes to be achieved with the increase of female representation in the Security Forces and Services (FSS)”.

For MAI, whose minister Eduardo Cabrita chairs this Monday’s meeting of the Commission for Gender Equality and Non-Discrimination of the Republican National Guard, it is yet another opportunity to promote gender equality in the FSS and Civil Protection, says a note of press.

“This priority stems from the important contribution that the greater female representation has in improving the engagement of the security forces with citizens and, in particular, in preventing and combating phenomena such as domestic violence – in 2020, 27,609 complaints were registered, 6.3% less than in 2019 as well as female genital mutilation and human trafficking ”, says MAI.

At the end of 2020 there were 3,511 women in the security forces: 1,625 military personnel in the GNR, 1,622 police officers in the PSP and 264 inspectors in the SEF.

This number corresponded to 8% of the total staff of the three police structures, while at the level of Civil Protection there were 22% of women in the firefighters.

In comparative terms, the MAI note informs that there is a doubling of the number of women in the FSS compared to 2000, when there were 1,770: 214 in the GNR, 1,447 in the PSP and 109 in the SEF.

The GNR Commission for Gender Equality and Non-Discrimination was created in 2019 and comprises 12 men and women (officers, sergeants, officers and civilians) who serve in different organs and commands of the Guard.

In terms of leadership positions, GNR currently has 18 women in charge of territorial detachments and in the Coastal Control Unit, while another 15 command territorial posts.

In the PSP, there are two women commanding the Metropolitan Command of Porto and the District of Aveiro and 38 commanding squadrons.

 

Toronto, Canada, 06 March 2021 (Lusa) – Ema Dantas will try to be the first Portuguese woman to climb the seven highest peaks in the world, an adventure that began in 2017 and ends between April and May this year in Everest, 8,848 meters above sea level.

In an interview with Lusa, the Portuguese-Canadian wants to make this personal project a way to fight for gender equality, showing that self-determination “can be the solution” to reduce inequality, “in a society where machismo continues to persist”.

“If a 53-year-old woman, a grandmother, five feet tall, Portuguese and afraid of heights, can climb to Everest, we women can do everything,” said the businesswoman to Lusa, just days away from celebrating International Women’s Day (8 March).

In Canada since she was four years old, born in the municipality of Miranda do Douro (district of Bragança), Ema Dantas believes that “if women support each other more”, it is possible to “overcome all barriers”.

The “trend of machismo” persists, not only in the Portuguese community, but in all sectors of other societies, not least because some men still treat women as if they were “their properties”, she acknowledged.

“I have always considered that women can do the same as men. We women, for example, have children, which men cannot have. But unfortunately, even going up to Everest, I think we are in an era where men are dominant, not just at work. Even in mountaineering, women are not seen at the same level”, she lamented.

The Portuguese-Canadian will travel to Nepal, on April 4, with the goal of reaching the top of Mount Everest. If she succeeds, she will be the first person of Portuguese nationality to reach the Sete Cumes in both versions; Richard Bass and Reinhold Messner.

Of the team, which is going to travel to Asia, only three of the ten elements are women. The seven highest mountains on each continent, which turn out to be eight, as Messner’s version, considered by many climbers to be the most legitimate, exchanges the Kosciuszko peak (2,228m) in Australia included in the Bass list, by the Carztensz Pyramid, in Indonesia, with 4,484m.

“After completing this adventure, I want to support more women and encourage them, at least in the Portuguese community here in Canada, to teach them how to climb a small mountain, for example, because it is one step at a time”, she promised.

For the past three and a half years, the Carstenz Pyramid (Indonesia, 4,884m), Mount Kilimanjaro (Tanzania, 5,895m), Elbrus (Russia, 5,642m), Mount Vinson Massif (Antarctica, 4,892m) have been reached ), Anconcagua (Argentina, 6,961m), Denali (United States, 6,190) and the Kosciuzkzo peak (Australia, 2,228m).

Financed through the private sector on various expeditions, including the 67 thousand US dollars (55.4 thousand euros) needed for the trip to Nepal, on the journey to Mount Everest.

The businesswoman and translator intends to raise 700 thousand Canadian dollars (459 thousand euros) funds for the Addiction and Mental Health Center – CAMH in Toronto and raise public awareness to reduce the stigma of mental health.

 

In 2017, Ema Dantas created the foundation Peaks for Change, a non-profit institution on mental health, since then climbing the highest points in the world to raise funds.

“I made this commitment to go up to the seven summits of the world (8) to raise funds for CAMH, so I have to comply. At the same time, I learned to appreciate that mountains heal and are good for mental health”, she confessed.

After the containment restrictions due to the pandemic ‘canceled’ the Everest expedition in 2020, Ema Dantas has been training for an average of four hours a day for what she considers to be her “last chance to climb to the highest summit in the world” for two years. .

Only two Portuguese managed to reach the highest summits in the world, the mountaineer João Garcia (1999) and the pilot and climber Ângelo Felgueiras (2010). Maria da Conceição, in 2013, was the first Portuguese to climb Everest.

 

 

 

From the week of October 26 to November 1, Portugal recorded a number of deaths above what would be expected for that time of year.

From the week of October 26 to November 1, Portugal had an excess of mortality from all causes, that is, with a number of deaths above what would be expected for this time of year. After 17 consecutive weeks since then, everything indicates that the country is no longer in this situation. “Probable end of the period of excess mortality observed since week 44/2020”, says the last flu monitoring bulletin from the National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge (Insa).

The report refers to week 8 of this year – from 22 to 28 February – and puts the number of deaths recorded that week within the levels expected for this time of year. A return to expected levels about four months after Insa marked the beginning of this long period with higher mortality. The document does not point out possible causes for the phenomenon. But this was the period in which the country saw an increase in cases of covid-19 and which, after a slight decrease around Christmas time, culminated in the third wave of the pandemic.

It was at the end of October that the daily number of deaths by covid started to rise, going from less than 30, to a maximum of 303 to 28 of January. In a recent hearing in Parliament, in the committee for monitoring measures to combat the pandemic, some of the mathematicians heard related a higher lethality to the less responsiveness that intensive care had, caused by the increase in patients needing differentiated care at the peak of the third vacancy.

According to data from the Information System on Death Certificates (Sico) of the Directorate-General for Health (DGS), which the PUBLIC analysed at the end of January, this was the month with the most deaths in the last 12 years.

Also at the beginning of the year, there was a period of very low temperatures, very associated with the emergence of respiratory infections – this year there were practically no cases of flu, but the Sentinela Network detected other circulating respiratory viruses – and the worsening of chronic diseases, which end up resulting in hospitalizations, especially for older people and in worse clinical condition. Preliminary data from Insa, released by Jornal de Negócios in early February, pointed out that the cold had been responsible for 24% of the deaths recorded in the first month of the year.

With a clear reduction in the incidence of new cases of covid, the pressure on the health system seems to maintain the downward trend. As in the previous week’s report, the number of consultations in primary health care for reasons related to covid – which includes surveillance visits – continues to fall. At week 8, at national level, there were about 25 thousand, when about a month ago there were 200 thousand

 

 

The Council of Ministers, chaired by His Excellency the President of the Republic, gathered and approved a set of diplomas that reinforce the priority given by the Government to the reform of the forestry sector within the framework of the valorization of the national territory.

As the forest is an asset of enormous strategic relevance for economic development and environmental sustainability, the measures approved today continue the integrated strategy initiated in the previous legislature with a view to reforming the sector that protects its resources and promotes its assets.

Reinforcing the measures already implemented and in progress, the Council of Ministers defined actions in three areas: integrated management system for rural fires; ordering of agricultural and forestry space; and strengthening civil protection.

Regarding the integrated management system for rural fires (SGIFR), the following diplomas were approved:

– Draft law requesting the Assembly of the Republic legislative authorization to establish means of protection for the fulfillment of the duties of preventing the occurrence of rural fires, mechanisms of accountability for the non-fulfillment of these duties, and security measures in situations of high danger or danger of rural fire, within the scope of the decree-law that creates the SGIFR and establishes its operating rules;

– Resolution that approves, in general, the National Action Program of the National Plan for Integrated Management of Rural Fires (PNGIFR). This action program, which will be submitted to public consultation, concretizes the strategic guidelines and specific objectives of PNGIFR, identifying 28 programs and 97 projects that will impact the scope of the PNGIFR vision: «Portugal protected from serious rural fires». Increased efficiency and effectiveness of the measures foreseen for risk management are strengthened, with a reduction of damages and burnt areas and with the consequent increase in the appreciation of the territory and appetite for investment;

– Resolution that creates three pilot projects with the objective of promoting organization, resources and the process chain within the scope of the National Plan for Integrated Management of Rural Fires. The results of these pilot projects will make it possible to assess the adequacy of the system for adopting the most appropriate measures to enhance the effectiveness of work processes and, consequently, the achievement of PNGIFR goals.

In the field of land and agricultural planning, the following were approved:

– The amendment of the Legal Regime for Territorial Management Instruments, which aims to ensure the conclusion of the adoption of the rules for classification and qualification of the soil in municipal or intermunicipal plans. The diploma introduces several adjustments to this regime, more than five years after its approval, for example with regard to the preventive measures adopted to guarantee the elaboration, alteration or revision of special programs or in matters of soil reclassification, when it is intended areas of business location close to urban land;

– the Investment Plan for Forest Territories under Management by the Institute for the Conservation of Nature and Forests, aiming at framing the different measures and actions to be developed over the next four years, measures based on strategic axes aimed at the management, recovery and enhancement of the territories forestry;

– restoration and enhancement projects for natural habitats, with structural fire prevention, in the Natural Parks of the North Coast, Alvão, Serra da Estrela, Sintra-Cascais and Vale do Guadiana. This resolution supports the 4th generation of projects with a focus on the active conservation of protected areas, combining investment aimed at restoring and enhancing natural habitats with structural fire prevention, while also ensuring the provision of the means and equipment necessary that effect. The funds dedicated to these projects increase from 21 to 26 million euros, with a total of 19 protected areas now covered;

– the «Project for the promotion of co-management in nationally protected areas», through which it is intended to boost, over three years, the adoption, development and execution of the co-management model, providing each of the 32 protected areas with national financing scope that allows technical and operational support, dedicated to the implementation of the activities considered priority in the scope of the promotion of co-management;

– Resolution approving measures for vulnerable territories that aim to promote agricultural activity, the dynamism of rural territories and the creation of value in innovation and food security. This set of actions assumes particular importance in low density territories, allowing to reposition the interior of Portugal as a space of new attractiveness, bet on its potential to accommodate innovative and competitive business investment, as well as to respond to the strategic challenge of governance to counter the decline demographic in these territories;

 

– creation of the «National Forestry Prize». Bianual, worth 50 thousand euros, this prize aims to boost and disseminate the knowledge produced in the forest area, the techniques and good practices of forest management and good information; promoting the resilience of the territories and the sustainable valuation of their assets, mobilizing society and the development of collaborative processes; and strengthening civic awareness about the value of forest territories.

With a view to strengthening civil protection, the following diplomas were approved:

– National Strategy for Preventive Civil Protection 2030, which will be submitted to public consultation. The diploma defines five strategic objectives (to strengthen governance in risk management; to improve knowledge about risks; to implement strategies for risk reduction; to improve preparedness in the event of risk; and to involve citizens in the knowledge of risks), which translate into projects and activities to be implemented by Central and Local Administration;

– Resolution establishing a set of measures aimed at reformulating the model of education and training in civil protection, with a view to fostering the knowledge and technical training of the elements of the fire brigades, other civil protection agents and the entities that compose the civil protection system. It is foreseen to integrate the training offer provided by the National Fire Department with that of higher education institutions, collaborative laboratories and relevant research units in this area, encouraging the development of partnerships and common educational projects and the strengthening of professional training;

– constitution of the Strategic Civil Protection Reserve, in order to guarantee a reserve of material and support equipment that allows a swift, adequate and effective response both to the assistance to the affected populations, in Portugal or abroad, or to the operational support of the victims themselves, response forces of the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority;

– Decree-law that changes the organics of the Agency for the Integrated Management of Rural Fires, the Institute for the Conservation of Nature and Forests, and the National Authority for Emergency and Civil Protection, aiming at strengthening the operational response capacity, expanding the recruitment universe and consolidating the career regime of the personnel of the Special Civil Protection Force;

– Resolution approving the acquisition of state owned and permanent air assets, including 6 light helicopters, 6 medium bomber helicopters and 2 heavy amphibious bomber planes, and the lease of aerial assets for the Special Rural Fire Fighting Device for the period of 2023 to 2026. In this way, the stabilization of the aerial means related to the device of aerial means to fight rural fires is ensured, which will start to be based on a combination of own and leased means.

In Portugal there are about 1.5 million legal weapons, the majority of which are rifles and shotguns intended for hunting, reveal data sent to the Lusa agency by the Public Security Police.

The PSP estimates that more than 80% of the weapons legalized in Portugal are of classes C and D, namely carbines and shotguns that are in the hands of hunters, who can only use them when they are carrying out this activity.

According to PSP, which has the competence to control and inspect the manufacture, storage, marketing, use and transport of firearms, the number of legal weapons in Portugal has remained stable in recent years.

“Given the number of new weapons that were purchased and entered the market through imports, transfers from European space and national manufacture, but taking into account the weapons that were destroyed by the PSP, either due to voluntary surrender or due to court decisions and administrative loss of weapons in favor of the State, there has been a stable number of weapons, around 1,500,000 ”, needs this security force.

The PSP also estimates that there are more than 210,000 licenses for the use and possession of weapons valid in Portugal in the country, which include collector’s licenses, defense or sport shooting.

In the response sent to Lusa, the PSP stresses that the number of weapons licenses has been decreasing in Portugal since 2006, since the majority are hunting weapons and the number of hunters has been decreasing.

The PSP justifies the existence of fewer hunters in the country with the problems inherent in hunting, namely greater restrictions, diseases in animals and an aging population dedicated to this activity.

In 2020, the majority of licenses issued by the Public Security Police were for weapons of classes C and D (used by hunters), in a total of 11,617, and for sport shooting (1,327).

Regarding the weapons that are in the possession of collectors, the Police clarify that they can only circulate on the street when they move to hold collector events, where shooting is practiced, requiring authorization from the PSP.

Regarding the weapons law that came into force in September 2019, the PSP takes a “very positive” assessment due to the restrictions it came to impose, namely the limitation of the number of weapons for hunters and the need for a safe to store weapons at home, in addition to clarifying some aspects in insurance terms.

In February, a law was published in Diário da República that extends the deadline for firearms owners until July 31 to acquire a safe to store them.

After purchasing the safe or non-portable locker, gun owners must submit the respective proof on the electronic platform provided by PSP, namely invoice-receipt or equivalent document.

According to the law, owners of firearms who do not deliver proof of purchase of the safe by July 31 are punished with a fine of 50 euros and warned of the obligation to purchase it for another 30 days, under penalty of being applied one more fine.

An extraordinary period for the voluntary surrender of weapons not manifested or registered in any police facility of the PSP or GNR is currently taking place, until June 23, with no criminal consequences.

Owners of firearms who do not intend to hand them over to the State can proceed with their legalization.

The director-general of Health, Graça Freitas, admitted that Portugal may face a new wave of the pandemic in the coming months, even with the current vaccination campaign in progress.

“A new escalation of the virus is on the table, even with the vaccine,” acknowledged Graça Freitas , in an interview with RTP3, underlining: “The virus undergoes mutations. We are not free of this, despite the vaccine. And we do not know how long immunity will last, whether it will protect against new variants or how natural immunity will work”.

Asked about the evaluation criteria that should guide the definition of the de-confinement plan, Graça Freitas highlighted the diversity of methodologies adopted between countries and stressed that there is no single “recipe” by which everyone can copy. However, he did not fail to point out the primacy of four criteria.

“The four indicators that are being considered more – and that do not exclude others – are: cumulative incidence over 14 days, positivity rate, bed occupancy in intensive care units and the Rt [transferability index]”, she stressed. At this level, she stressed that Portugal has a “low” Rt and “a positivity rate below 4%”, but recalled the worrying situation in hospitalizations and confessed that it is still necessary to “lower the incidence a little”.

“We have to consolidate all these values ​​and still hope that some of them will improve. We would like the incidence to drop further to make us more comfortable. We need to be cautious. These unevennesses in other countries are also being phased out,” he noted.

Among the biggest concerns of confinement is the closure of schools and the consequences that this situation can have on students, with Graça Freitas stressing that “caution would advise it to be a phased opening, starting with the degrees of education with younger students”, although he pointed out that it is not a decision of his responsibility.

The DGS official assured that the start of testing in schools is foreseen with the resumption of teaching activities and that the screenings can be extended depending on what is found, but she left a message to the specialists who defend massive testing as the solution to the problem, combating the pandemic: “Tests are not treatments or vaccines”.

Regarding vaccination, Graça Freitas acknowledged that “the first quarter will fall short of expectations”, due to the lack of availability of vaccines, but showed hope in meeting the goal of 70% of the country’s vaccinated population by the end of August. As for a possible extension of the use of the AstraZeneca vaccine to people over 65, the director-general of Health does not exclude the review that is already advancing in some countries.

“As we get more information from other countries, we don’t rule it out, because it allows older groups to be vaccinated more quickly,” he said.

After reviewing a year of pandemic in the country, which she considered to have been “very intense” and “tragic”, during which she assumed she had had “moments” when she thought about giving up, Graça Freitas regretted the “hoarding numbers” of more of 16 thousand deaths and 800 thousand cases associated with covid-19, in particular the drama experienced in the last month of January, in which Portugal hit maximums of deaths and infections.

 

“An avalanche happened. Some important factors were added and sometimes the synergy of the factors cannot be predicted. We had a new circular variant, which increases the speed of propagation, we were in the winter and we had extremely cold temperatures, but not there was a forecast with such a dimension. What we would expect was a third wave a little bit larger than the second. The trail it left is devastating “, she concluded.