Portugal Situation Report Saturday 20th March 2021
Introduction
Good morning – On Thursday we reported WHO statistics showing that Portugal had achieved the greatest decrease in new cases in Europe over a four week period, namely – 80.5% whereas for Europe as a whole there was an increase of 21.5%. The decrease was sustained over the last week, with Portugal decreasing 22.7% compared with European of +6%.
However, the situation in some European countries is worrying with large increases and in France, Germany and Poland, lockdowns are being re-introduced in some regions as cities to try and control this growth.
The more measures are relaxed, the greater potentially the risk increasing in Portugal. At present the Rt on the mainland is 0.79 and incidence of 80 per 100,000 compared to the government threshold of Rt 1 and 120 per 100,000 respectively.
All this means is that we have to be very careful that our actions do not undo the great work that has been done over the last 5 weeks. In particular, we must have due regards to social distancing, hygiene and the wearing of face masks. We simply cannot afford to relax these measures.
At government level there will be close monitoring of the situation. especially following each phase of the de-confinement plan, and the correlation between increased movement and any increases in new cases. At this stage enhanced testing is important.
Turning to the AstraZeneca debacle, Portugal will re-start the program after a short pause following the announcement on Thursday by the European Medical Agency, that there was no connection between the use of this vaccine and the severe cases of blood clots reported in a very few cases a week ago.
Some have opined that Portugal should not have paused the program with such an apparent low risk. However, turning the coin, if it had not done so and virtually all other EU countries had, I can imagine the outcry. Although the figures indicated a very low level of risk, the nature of the risks were severe. Also it is important to bear in mind the figures presented were from the company itself, so it was important to establish some form of independent verification to ensure the situation was not only unconnected but also it was not more widespread. Anyway, Portugal will resume the program on Monday with the Vaccine coordinator Admiral Henrique Gouveia e Melo stating that “we will be catching up with these four or five days without vaccination”.
Regarding sports, yesterday the Government decided not to take any chances and the Professional Leagues games will remain closed to the public at least until May, as well as the Portuguese GP and Formula 1 Grand Prix. In respect of the latter events. the de-confinement plan does not allow such major events to take place until after 3rd May with an audience present. This decision seems wise given the current situation and in line with the cautious approach that government is taking. Any exception for F1 would, in our view, be difficult to justify. This however came as a surprise to some including Regional Tourism Algarve and other entities as they did not receive any official communication from the Government regarding this decision. We await developments.
Turning to the weather, the beginning of Spring today should have light or cloudy sky, some wind and maximum temperatures varying between 8 and 20 degrees, according to meteorologist Ricardo Tavares of the IPMA. This is some good news, but with this we must take care concerning rural fires. On Thursday, there was the first significant fire of the year in Guarda district, requiring the deployment of nearly 200 fire firefighters supported by 5 aircraft/helicopters.
It is especially important if you are planning to burn debris, that the burn is registered and approval sought. We emphasise the importance of following the safety guidelines which are very clear. As you can see from our earlier post today, the situation in the Algarve is highly conducive to rural fires with some seven municipalities on VERY HIGH level.
Since the pandemic began in Portugal in March 2020, 13 states of emergency have been decreed, and between May and November 2020, there were three situations of calamity, three of contingency and two of alert, some of which in only a few regions. No wonder we have been busy!
With that have a Safe Day
Covid-19
On Friday Portugal reported another 11 deaths and 568 new cases of Covid-19 , according to the daily report of the Directorate-General for Health (DGS).
Confirmed cases: 816,623 (+ 568 / + 0.06 %);
Number of admitted: 789 (-28 /-4.7 %);
Number of ICU admitted: 182 (-5 /-2.6 %);
Deaths: 16.754 (+ 11 / + 0.06 %);
Recovered: 766,170 (+ 1571 / + 0.2 %).
Active cases: 33,699 (- 1014 / -2.9%)
Transmission rate R(t): Portugal 0.86 Mainland only 0.84
Incidence per 100,000 Portugal 87.2 Mainland only 75.7
Despite all this good news it is important not to let our guard down at this crucial time. Those in hospital and ICU remain high. This means complying with the rules in place, – wearing face masks, social distancing, hygiene and no social gatherings.
Health
Covid-19: Portugal with 87.2 cases per 100 thousand inhabitants and 0.86 transmissibility index.
Lisbon, 19th March 2021 (Lusa) – Portugal today has an incidence of 87.2 new cases of infection with SARS-CoV-2 per 100,000 inhabitants and the transmissibility index (Rt) is 0.86, according to the joint bulletin the Directorate-General for Health (DGS) and INSA.
According to official data, when only the territory of mainland Portugal is analysed, the incidence is 75.7 cases per 100,000 inhabitants and the Rt is 0.84.
The incidence refers to the number of new cases per 100 thousand inhabitants in the last 14 days.
These indicators are the criteria defined by the Government for the continuous assessment of the de-confinement process started on Monday.
On March 11th, at the presentation of the de-confinement plan, the Prime Minister, António Costa, warned that the reopening measures will be revised whenever Portugal exceeds the “120 new cases per day per 100 thousand inhabitants in 14 days” or whenever o Rt – the average number of secondary cases resulting from a case infected by the virus – exceeds 1.
The latest report on these indicators, released on Wednesday, found that Portugal had 90.3 cases of SARS CoV-2 per 100,000 inhabitants and a transmissibility index (Rt) of 0.84. Considering only mainland Portugal, the transmissibility index was 0.80 and the incidence was 79.1 cases.
INSA estimates that the Rt is 0.85 in the North, 0.86 in the Centre, 0.81 in Lisbon and the Tagus Valley, 0.82 in the Alentejo, 0.84 in the Algarve and 1.20 in the Azores. The report again fails to present data for the Madeira region, “due to the introduction of a large number of late notifications in the SINAVE database, which prevents a correct interpretation of the results”
Mass testing in some parts of Lisbon starts on March 31st.
Lisbon, 19 March 2021 (Lusa) – The Lisbon City Council starts on March 31st a free mass testing plan, aimed at residents of parishes in the municipality with more than 120 cases of Covid-19 per 100 thousand inhabitants, it was announced today.
At a press conference in the City Hall, the mayor, Fernando Medina, said that the ten parishes initially covered by the municipal testing plan are Ajuda, Alvalade, Arroios, Estrela, Marvila, Olivais, São Vicente, Santa Clara, Santa Maria Maior and Santo António.
Residents over 16 years of age in these territories, who register more than 120 cases of infection per 100,000 inhabitants, will be able to schedule a rapid antigen test by telephone in one of the more than 100 pharmacies in the municipality that has already adhered to the testing plan, the mayor said.
Each citizen will be able to do two tests per month, said the Mayor, adding that the list of parishes covered will be updated every two weeks, according to the evolution of the number of infected with the new coronavirus, and will be available on the websites and social networks of the municipality and the National Pharmacy Association.
The objective is “to monitor the gradual deflation, setting up a mass testing system to prevent the transmission of the virus in the community and reduce contagions”, stressed Fernando Medina.
AstraZeneca Vaccine.
On Thursday, the European Medicines Agency concluded its preliminary review of the AstraZeneca vaccine and 
issued a statement with the following advice for those who have had the vaccine:
“Covid-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca is not associated with an increased overall risk of blood clotting disorders.
There have been very rare cases of unusual blood clots accompanied by low levels of blood platelets (components that help blood to clot) after vaccination. The reported cases were almost all in women under 55.
Because Covid-19 can be so serious and is so widespread, the benefits of the vaccine in preventing it outweigh the risks of side effects.
However, if you get any of the following after receiving the Covid-19 Vaccine AstraZeneca:
- breathlessness,
- pain in the chest or stomach,
- swelling or coldness in an arm or leg,
- severe or worsening headache or blurred vision after vaccination,
- persistent bleeding,
- multiple small bruises, reddish or purplish spots, or blood blisters under the skin,
Please seek prompt medical assistance and mention your recent vaccination”.
Whoever refuses to be vaccinated with AstraZeneca goes to the end of the line (and will not even be able to choose another vaccine)”
Portugal will resume vaccination against Covid-19 with the AstraZeneca vaccine. And whoever refuses to be vaccinated with this one loses their turn, goes to the end of the line and even then, they will not be able to choose and will be immunized with the vaccine that is available at the time.
“The principle in the vaccination process is not to choose the vaccine, because the approved vaccines are equally good and safe,” explains Vice Admiral Henrique Gouveia e Melo, coordinator of the task force for the national vaccination plan.
The vaccine was suspended in Portugal on Monday. However, there have already been reports of refusals from some people who demanded to be immunized with other vaccines.
“We explain that they will have to wait or wait for the allocation rule to change. We have already had doctors and dentists, for example, refusing, but the rule is simple: you can’t choose. It would be unacceptable. If people don’t accept the rule, and they have that right, they will have to wait. They will be vaccinated in the summer or after the summer”, explains José Luís Biscaia, executive director of the Health Centre Group of Baixo Mondego, to Público.
Also Diogo Urjais, president of the National Association of Family Health Units, says the same. “There have been rejections before and now there should be more. But refusing is impossible at the outset. The guideline is: the user does not choose the vaccine. We cannot eliminate the person from the list, what we say is that you will have to wait, at the risk of not being vaccinated. ”
Review of the legal framework for health emergencies.
The Minister of Home Affairs says that the legal framework for health emergencies will have to be revised after the pandemic. In an interview, Eduardo Cabrita also says that the deflation must be done with prudence.
Eduardo Cabrita says that the legal framework for responding to health emergencies will have to be revised, since the
State of Emergency was designed for other types of situations, and reveals that he has already asked the Ombudsman for a contribution on this matter.
“Now that this situation is overcome, we have to review this entire legal framework, starting with the law of the State of Emergency framework, which was designed primarily for situations of a coup d’état or a serious disturbance of public order and not for a framework of health response”, he said
The minister stressed that “the ability to have an adequate response” has been proven by crossing the law of the State of Emergency, the basic law of civil protection and the law of public health surveillance.
“But I agree that a review of this whole picture is necessary,” he said, stressing that “the good crossover” of these laws has been used, which has allowed “in essence to achieve the objectives” of combating the pandemic, although not have been designed for health emergency situations.
Fenprof calls “national fight action” for April 17th.
Fenprof’s secretary general states that the “national action of struggle” serves to demand from the Government “dialogue, negotiation and solutions” to the problems of teachers.
The National Federation of Teachers (Fenprof) will promote a “national action of struggle” on April 17th, in Lisbon, to demand from the Government “dialogue, negotiation and solutions” to the problems of teachers, the secretary-general announced today.
Mário Nogueira said at a press conference in Coimbra that the National Federation of Teachers will also claim “respect for teachers and educators”.
“It is Fenprof’s intention not only to demand dialogue from the Government (…), but also to denounce in the geopolitical space temporarily chaired by Portugal, the problems that are experienced in education, which affect teachers,” said Mário Nogueira, in an allusion to the Portuguese presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU).
The national concentration is scheduled for April 17th, Saturday, at 15:00, in the space adjacent to the Centro Cultural de Belém (CCB), in Lisbon, where, since January, “some of the most important events” of the rotating presidency have been held the EU.
The problems of teachers, according to Mário Nogueira “result from the fact that the so-called social dialogue, in our country, is little more than export product not consumed internally”.
Other news
Guimarães Hospital implants the worlds’ smallest pacemaker for the first time.
Guimarães, Braga, 19th March 2021 (Lusa) – The Cardiology Service of Hospital de Guimarães, in the district of Braga, implanted for the first time the smallest ‘pacemaker’ in the world, today announced that hospital unit.
In a statement, the hospital says that the device is the size of a capsule and is implanted in a minimally invasive manner, replacing traditional ‘pacemakers’ (cardiac stimulators).
“Until now, only Centro Hospitalar Lisboa Ocidental (Hospital Santa Cruz) and Centro Hospitalar Universitário São João (Porto) had carried out this type of interventions”, he adds.
The device is used for the treatment of patients with high-grade atrioventricular block (AVB), a condition in which the electrical signals between the heart chambers (the atria and the ventricles) are blocked.
This situation can result, among others, in syncope or sudden death.
Currently, patients with AV block are treated with a ‘pacemaker’, implanted in the upper part of the chest, subcutaneously, to which small electrical wires (electrodes) are connected, which are placed, through the veins, inside the heart, thus allowing that the electrical connection between the atria and the ventricles is re-established.
“This new ‘pacemaker’, the smallest in the world, does not need the electrodes, being placed directly inside the right ventricle, through a small access through the right femoral vein. Thus, there is no traditional surgical scar, and the risks associated with the traditional technique, such as infections or damage to the electrodes, are still significantly reduced.
The first procedure at Hospital de Guimarães took place on Wednesday and the patient has already been discharged.
Portugal received 8 migrants rescued by humanitarian ships.
This Thursday Portugal received 8 migrants rescued by humanitarian vessels off the Italian coast, which will be welcomed in the municipalities of Maia and Bragança. The citizens come from Liberia, Cameroon, Guinea-Bissau, Bangladesh and Nigeria and join the 224 that Portugal has welcomed, in recent years, rescued in the Mediterranean.
Portugal has responded positively to all emergency situations that result from rescues at sea. Reception and integration have been a priority of the Government, in a continuous effort between the central State and local authorities, as well as public and private entities, which has been recognized by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), by the Organization International Organization for Migration (IOM), the European Union and the Council of Europe.
Portugal was the 6th European country that received the most refugees under the EU’s Relocation Program, receiving 1,550 refugees from Greece (1,190) and Italy (360) between December 2015 and April 2018 – which were welcomed by 97 counties.
Within the scope of the Portuguese commitment to the European Commission to relocate up to 500 unaccompanied minors, there are already 78 minors in the country. According to data from Brussels, this month of March, Portugal is the 4th Member State that has received the most unaccompanied minors, after Germany, France and Finland.
Under the Administrative Agreement signed between the Ministry of Internal Administration of Portugal and the Greek Ministry of Migration and Asylum, which provides for the transfer of 100 beneficiaries / applicants for international protection in a pilot phase, a family of 3 has also arrived. Portugal also received 142 asylum seekers under the agreement between the EU and Turkey, between June 2016 and December 2017. This year it also received 5 unaccompanied minors from Greece.
Under the UNHCR Resettlement Program, 672 people have already been welcomed in our country, coming from Egypt and Turkey and with different nationalities (from Syria, Iraq, Ethiopia, Sierra Leone, Sudan, South Sudan, Eritrea, and Somalia). All of these citizens benefit from the Refugee Status granted by order of the Minister for Internal Administration, and hold a Declaration proving the International Protection Status while they await the issuance of the Refugee Residence Permit, under the terms of the Asylum Law.