Algarve Situation Report Saturday 5th June 2021
Covid-19
The Algarve has 276 active cases of Covid.19, informed the District Commission for Civil Protection of Faro based on data from ARS Algarve.
Until yesterday, 22,094 infected were registered, 11 more in the last 24 hours and 21,462 recovered (cumulative).
There are 261 patients recovering at home and 15 hospitalized, 2 in the Intensive Care Units and 1 ventilated. Since the beginning of the pandemic, 356 deaths have been registered in the region.
At the moment 894 people are under active surveillance.
Compared to last week’s bulletin, 43 more active cases and 142 new cases are confirmed. A further 99 people are recovered.
There are 5 more hospitalized (15), maintaining the number of patients in intensive care (2) and ventilated (1). Another 55 people are under active surveillance.
Covid-19: Removing Portugal from the “green list” was a British political decision, says Turismo do Algarve
Faro, 04 June (Lusa) – The president of Tourism of the Algarve, João Fernandes, today classified as “political” the decision of the United Kingdom to remove Portugal from the “green list” of travels, imposing a quarantine from Tuesday on those who reaches British territory.
“It is a decision that the British Government took as a matter of internal policy and not as a matter of risk”, said the president of the Algarve Tourism Region (RTA), stressing that the justification given by the UK authorities “does not use Portugal as a reference” for covid-19 infections and even Malta, “which has an incidence of nine cases per 100,000 inhabitants, was left out” of the “green list”.
João Fernandes acknowledged that the British decision “has a clear impact on the region”, as the United Kingdom is the “main source market” of tourists to the Algarve, and regretted the “embarrassment” that the measure causes, “from the outset for those who already they are here and are scheduled to return after Tuesday, which is the day from which this measure takes effect”.
“We are already witnessing a concentration of repatriation flights and a cancellation of flights for the subsequent period and of hotel reservations as well. We hope that this measure is reviewed as soon as possible, because it is completely unfair”, he considered.
João Fernandes also said that the Algarve had “100,000 movements of passengers of British origin during the last two weeks” and that, according to data provided by the Regional Health Administration among British passengers, “there was only a record – and all of them are tested – six cases”.
“Six cases per 100,000 inhabitants is a much lower number than that registered in the United Kingdom itself, not least because the British, before traveling to Portugal, have to take a PCR [test]”, he added.
Now, he said, the region must “look forward and continue to bet on other markets that are in good demand in the Algarve, such as the German, French, Irish Spanish, Dutch markets”, which are “recognizing Portugal as a safe destination and the best beach destination in the world, according to the latest recognition from the World Travel Awards”.
The representative considers that Portugal can return to the “green list” in the next re-evaluation of the British Government, within about three weeks.
“Even because, being clearly a political decision, because the British Government bet that by June 21st it would conclude its de-confinement process, it makes sense that this review is favourable to an opening to several countries, including Portugal”, he argued.
João Fernandes also left a warning to British tourists who “are now returning in a hurry”, noting that they can use the approximately 130 covid-19 testing sites identified on the website www.visitalgarve.pt, before traveling to the airport, to facilitate controls and their departure from the country.
Municipality of VRSA inaugurated Local Support Centre for Integration of Migrants
The municipality of Vila Real de Santo António inaugurated, last Tuesday, the Local Support Centre for the Integration of Migrants (CLAIM), operating in the main building of the City Council, from Monday to Friday, from 9:30 am to 3:00 pm, next to the customer service area.
The new office’s mission is to support the entire process of welcoming and integrating migrants, articulating its activity with various local structures and promoting inter- culturality at the local level, as explained by the municipality in a statement.
The inauguration ceremony was attended by the Secretary of State for Integration and Migration, Cláudia Pereira, the Mayor of VRSA, Luís Romão, and the Board Member of the High Commission for Migration, José Reis.
CLAIM is a service provided by the Municipality’s Division of Social Development and Human Resources that results from a protocol signed with the High Commission for Migration, IP. It will provide support and general information in areas such as regularization, nationality, family reunification, housing, voluntary return, work, health, education, among other issues.