Madeira Situation Report Saturday 22nd May 2021
By our correspondent Daniel Fernandes
Covid-19 update (as of May 20th)
There were 37 new Covid-19 cases, 28 recoveries and no deaths from Covid-19 in Madeira since the previous Madeira Situation Report.
On Wednesday, there were 15 new Covid-19 cases (from 3 passengers who had arrived from the Lisbon and Tagus Valley Region and 12 cases of local transmission) and 12 recoveries. The number of patients in hospital increased to 5, although no patients were in intensive care.
And on Thursday, there were 22 new Covid-19 cases (from 1 passenger who had arrived from Spain, 1 passenger who had arrived from the Lisbon and Tagus Valley Region and 20 cases of local transmission) and 16 recoveries. The number of patients in hospital decreased to 4 and none were in intensive care.
There were 249 active cases on Thursday, of which 20 had been imported while the other 229 cases had been a result of local transmission. As of Thursday, there had been 9,317 cases, 8,997 recoveries and 71 deaths.
On Thursday, there were 10 patients in isolation in a dedicated hotel, 235 patients in isolation in their own accommodation and 4 patients in the general Covid-19 unit (none in intensive care).
On the same day, there were 254 suspected cases under epidemiological investigation and analysis, which were all linked to patients who tested positive for Covid-19, to calls made to the SRS24 helpline, to referrals by SESARAM (Madeira Regional Health Service) and to airport screening.
There were 12,934 travellers under monitoring by the health authorities. Monitoring is being carried out through the ‘MadeiraSafe’ app. There were also 771 people, who had contact with positive cases, being monitored by the health authorities of several Madeira municipalities and of Porto Santo.
As for Covid-19 testing on passengers who had arrived at Funchal and Porto Santo airports, 203,660 samples had been collected until Thursday (at 15h30). By Thursday, 415,736 samples from RT-PCR tests had been processed and 55,061 antigen rapid tests had been carried out in the Autonomous Region of Madeira.
The SRS 24 helpline (Regional Health Service – 800 24 24 20) received 301 calls from Tuesday to Thursday. Overall, it has received 49,613 calls.
The Covid-19 mental health helpline (Linha de Acompanhamento Psicológico da Direção Regional de Saúde – 291 212 399 – available every day from 09h00 to 21h00), which was set up to provide emotional and mental support to anyone in Madeira received 10 calls from Tuesday to Thursday. Overall, it has received 3,540 calls.
https://funchalnoticias.net/2021/05/19/15-novos-casos-de-covid-19-12-recuperados-127-suspeitos/
Vaccination update (as of May 20th)
Miguel Albuquerque, President of the Madeira Regional Government, announced on Thursday that 35.4% of the population has been inoculated with the 1st vaccine dose and 14.6 has been fully vaccinated.
As of Thursday, 126,988 Covid-19 vaccine doses had been administered in the Autonomous Region of Madeira.
The faster vaccine rollout has allowed the Municipality of Porto Moniz not only to administer 1,572 vaccine doses but also to start inoculating those aged 55. And vaccination of about 600 staff from day care centres will continue until July 1st.
Miguel Albuquerque (President of the Madeira Regional Government) shared his happiness with the expected delivery of 75,000 Pfizer vaccine doses and 32,000 Johnson & Johnson vaccine doses in June, particularly because the number of J&J vaccine doses to be delivered will exceed their expectations.
Easing of some restrictions
Although the Madeira Council of Government (Conselho de Governo) decided to keep sanitary control policies, some restrictions were eased. The curfew will start at 00h00 and finish at 05h00. Restaurants, bars and similar establishments must close by 23h00 and must have a maximum capacity of 50%, 5 customers per table and drinking while standing or at the counter is forbidden. Tournaments involving medium risk sports are allowed and training of high risk sports is now allowed.
Although Miguel Albuquerque (President of the Madeira Regional Government) thinks the reopening of tourism in the archipelago will “go well”, he warned that distancing and hygiene rules must be scrupulously complied with and must remain in place for several additional months. He reminded there are countries that are facing Covid-19 cases and outbreaks despite having inoculated 70% of the population.
New cruise ship service between Azores and Madeira
The cruise ship World Voyager will start sailing between Azores and Madeira archipelagos in June. According to Paula Cabaço, the President of the Administration of Portos da Madeira (Madeira Ports), the number of inquiries by travel agencies that are interested suggests this route could be successful. She added this new service is mainly aimed at the German market.
Although the current plan is for a route between Azores and Madeira, a future route could include the Portuguese mainland, the Canary Islands and Cape Verde.
http://www.apram.pt/site/index.php/en/article?id=416
Road closures
Vialitoral informed that due to scheduled paving work, the following roads will be closed to traffic:
— May 22nd (08h00-18h00) – the entrance and exiting road number 3 of Via Rápida (VR1) at the Quinta Grande junction, when heading from Machico to Ribeira Brava
— May 26th (08h00-19h00) – the entrance and exiting road number 2 of Via Rápida (VR1) at the Campanário junction, when heading from Machico to Ribeira Brava
According to Vialitoral, the best alternative is for drivers to use the previous or following junctions.