Algarve Situation Report 16th July 2020

Covid-19 Situation

The Algarve has 750 cases, plus 25 since Tuesday and remains at 15 deaths to date.

According to DGS these are divided as follows:: Albufeira has 127 , ( 2 deaths ); Faro – 106; Lagos – 95; Portimão – 95 , ( 3 deaths ) ; Loulé – 87 , ( 5 deaths ); Tavira – 35; Silves – 28; Olhão – 25; Vila Real de Stº António – 17, ( 2 deaths ); Monchique – 14; Lagoa – 13 , ( 2 deaths ); São Brás de Alportel – 7 , ( 1 death ); Aljezur – 6; Vila do Bispo – 4; Castro Marim – 4

AMAL meets with businessmen and associations for a strategy to combat the effects of Covid-19

Within the scope of the Special Recovery Plan for the Algarve, the Intermunicipal Community of the Algarve (AMAL) promoted yesterday a meeting with businessmen and associations from various economic sectors in the region.

The meeting was attended by the Secretary of State for Fisheries and Coordinator for the fight against COVID-19 in the Algarve, José Apolinário, and the Secretary of State for Tourism, Rita Marques and had as main objective to make a survey of proposals and contributions to present to the Minister of Economy, within the framework of a regional strategy to combat the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Algarve economy.

From the set of proposals presented during the meeting, AMAL highlights in a statement, three: to extend the possibility of using the simplified Lay-off until Easter 2021 (it is supposed to end on July 31 of this year); guarantee and bet that the Lay-off regime can be combined with training and qualification of human resources who cannot work during this period and also extend the tax and banking moratoriums to a period greater than March 2021.

The Secretary of State for Tourism, Rita Marques, after taking note of the various proposals presented, said that she will communicate them to the Minister and that “the plan with the measures for the recovery of the economy should be approved by the end of July”. He also left the guarantee that “on the Government’s side there is urgency and sensitivity for this issue and for the situation that is being experienced in the Algarve region”, words reiterated by the Secretary of State José Apolinário, who reinforced this idea stressing that “the contacts with the government have been frequent and that the executive has been particularly concerned with the economic situation in the Algarve”.

António Pina, President of AMAL, considered “fundamental that we make the concerns of entrepreneurs from all sectors of the region reach the Minister of Economy, because if tourism represents an important slice in our economy, we do not want, nor can we, stop worrying about all the other sectors, especially with the micro companies in our region and their managing partners, who need even more attention at this time”. The mayor also said that “if, on the one hand, we do not know when this pandemic context will end, on the other hand, we are sure that we are evolving into a very complex situation that jeopardizes the survival of many companies in the Algarve”. António Pina concluded, arguing that “although the current situation is quite worrying,

EDP ​​Distribuição signs protocol with Monchique City Council for forest fire prevention

EDP ​​Distribuição has signed a protocol with the Municipality of Monchique, which aims at mutual collaboration in the development of forest fire prevention measures, in municipal and private domains.

This agreement provides for the creation of safety conditions in low voltage electrical lines, as well as for the execution of the respective work to be carried out by mixed teams between the entities involved. According to a statement from EDP, the document also contemplates the intervention of these mixed teams in situations of accumulation of vegetation in the lanes next to the power lines whenever they coincide with the management and fuel bands associated with the municipal road network.

The protocol established between the two entities also provides for the donation of a biotritator, equipment for the disposal of residues from the cleaning of vegetation, which is intended for activities exclusively dedicated to the prevention of forest fires and will be used by the Municipality in these tasks. The equipment was delivered today to the municipality, in a meeting attended by António Leal Sanches, director of EDP Distribuição and Rui André, president of the Municipality of Monchique.

As the operator of a 179,000 km long aerial network, 28,000 of which are installed in forested areas, EDP Distribuição is present throughout the continental territory.

Over the past 12 years, it has invested a total of 88 million euros in the management of vegetation, of which 16 million refer to this year’s investment.

Albufeira extends application period to support fund for companies

Applications for the Albufeira Municipality’s Business and Associative Support Fund have been extended until July 31, the municipality announced.

You can apply for this support, in the amount of 1 million euros, catering and similar activities, trade in retail goods, provision of services, industry and agriculture, by emailing: age@cm-albufeira.pt .

This extension of the final date for the submission of applications, according to the Mayor of Albufeira, aims to “give the opportunity for a greater number of entrepreneurs to gather the necessary documentation for the instruction of these applications”.

Applicants must not have had a turnover in 2019 greater than 150 thousand euros and must demonstrate that they had been open for at least eight consecutive months in the same year, with the exception of seasonal activities.

If the support is approved, the beneficiaries are obliged to keep their respective activities open and to maintain jobs until December 31 of this year.

The Business and Associative Support Fund intends to support the treasury of companies located in the municipality of Albufeira and whose establishments were forced to close due to the covid-19 pandemic, with consequent abrupt declines in their productivity.

Bathing area at Odeleite dam will be ready by the end of the year

The Odeleite Dam Nautical Center will be completed by the end of the year, after the project has been recovered and financed with a loan from the European Investment Bank, Filomena Sintra, vice-mayor of the Municipality of Castro Marim, said.

The work will allow the construction of a structure with swimming pools and a set of supports so that the main dam in the eastern Algarve has bathing use.

Its completion was scheduled for before the summer, but this goal was exceeded due to difficulties in final approval of the project in the first two years of the municipal mandate, when the Castro Marim City Council lost the absolute majority of the PSD, recovered in 2019 after the midterm elections, justified councilwoman Filomena Sintra.

Upon recovering the absolute majority, the PSD launched a new tender, requested a loan of around 400 thousand euros from the European Investment Bank to finance the national contribution of the work, which has a total cost of 700 thousand euros, and delivered the works to a new contractor, after, in the first half of the mandate, the PS opposition and the Castro Marim Primeiro Movement prevented its execution as originally planned, explained Filomena Sintra.

Wednesday 15th of July

DGS Algarve statistics

In the Algarve, there are 17 new cases of infection to be registered according to the DGS bulletin, there are now 725 occurrences.

• Albufeira has 127 , ( 2 deaths );
• Faro – 106; Lagos – 95;
• Portimão – 95 , ( 3 deaths );
• Loulé – 87 , ( 5 deaths );
• Tavira – 35; Silves – 28 ;
• Olhão – 25;
• Vila Real de Stº António – 17 , ( 2 deaths );
• Monchique – 14; Lagoa – 13 , ( 2 deaths );
• São Brás de Alportel – 7 , ( 1 death );
• Aljezur – 6;
• Vila do Bispo – 4 and
• Castro Marim – 4

Moto Clube de Faro prepares parade “without gatherings”

This year there is no gatherings of the Moto Clube de Faro, due to the restrictions imposed by the pandemic Covid.19, but even so, they will not fail to mark their 39 years.

President of Moto Clube de Faro José Amaro stressed that the pandemic “forced us to cancel the gathering as we understand that health is first and we will follow all the rules of the competent authorities”.

He stated that he wishes this situation to pass as soon as possible, “so that next year, we can join together again”. In what would be the concentration week, however, some initiatives are planned at the local level.

José Amaro explained that a motorcycle exhibition opened today, in the building where Zara once went, on Rua de Stº António, and which will be open until next Tuesday from 10 am to 11 pm, with the presence of artisans and tattoos point.

Also in Baixa de Faro, another exhibition of three motorcycle brands, with test-drive, is also planned from Thursday to Saturday.

As for the parade, José Amaro said that they are waiting for the “consent of the responsible entities”, referring that the format will be the similar as in previous events, “but without stops or gatherings of people”. The event will take place as usual on Sunday morning in Vale das Almas towards Faro, “when we get to the city, everyone follows his route”, he stressed. The Moto Clube official said that there are many motorcyclists who came to the Algarve, in the certainty that they will come to visit the city, in other ways that Covid forced.

Algarve Tuesday 14th of July

Tourism

Covid-19: Marcelo defends positive discrimination for the tourism sector

The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, yesterday talked about “positive discrimination” for the tourism sector, considering that the Algarve is one of the regions where this discrimination is very important.

“Tourism in general, catering, hotels, sectors linked to tourism, deserve positive discrimination and the Algarve is one of the areas where this is very important,” Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa told reporters before a dinner with mayors in Lagos, Faro district, Algarve.

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa met at a working dinner with the mayors of the Algarve to analyse the economic situation motivated by the pandemic of the covid-19, one of the biggest tourist destinations in the country. The head of state indicated that, according to information obtained from the Government, this “is considering seriously looking at the tourism situation in terms of employment in the future, in addition to what has already been announced, and is very attentive to the situation in the Algarve”.

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said he hoped that on the 20th, when Ireland released its list of countries at risk, “it could translate into news different from that which could be feared by British influence or proximity”.

Covid-19: Costa hopes that Odiáxere party “will not be repeated anywhere else in the Algarve”

The Prime Minister, António Costa, said yesterday that he is convinced that the countries of the European Union are “finally” realizing that the great increase in the number of cases in Portugal is very localized, assuming that it has also sensitized their European counterparts.

“I have been [sensitized] and I think that finally it started to be perceived in some countries what is the great disparity of the situation in Portugal. We now have a country where the situation is practically very low and then we have 19 parishes, in more than 3,000, where there is a very significant number of new cases”, he said, during a trip to The Hague, during which he also addressed the issue with his Dutch counterpart, Mark Rutte, as part of efforts to get that message across, which he said he believed was getting through.

António Costa pointed out that “Belgium, for example, yesterday [Sunday] realized this and has already made a very clear distinction between Lisbon and the rest of the country; the Netherlands, which had put Porto together with Lisbon, has already removed Porto”, and revealed that today it had a telephone conversation with its Irish counterpart, with the same concern to explain the situation of the numbers of the covid-19 and the necessary differentiation.

“I also tried to make him aware of this differentiation and that, in particular, areas that are traditional tourist destinations for the Irish, such as the Algarve and Madeira, are in a clearly distinct situation from these 19 parishes”, he said.

According to António Costa, “this message is important, because people see the global numbers by country and then they are often unaware of the situation”.

On today’s decision by the Belgian authorities to place Alentejo and Algarve under orange alert, António Costa devalued the issue, considering that “a mere recommendation to go to the doctor” is not “a great disincentive” for people to travel to these regions, and noted that Belgium even “took care to describe in the box that published the name of the 19 parishes that are under red alert.

On the other hand, the Portuguese Prime Minister noted that, in the reference weeks taken into account, “the Algarve and the Alentejo were hyper-inflated by two absolutely atypical phenomena: the Odiáxere party”, which he said he hoped “will not be repeated anywhere in the Algarve, and the situation in the Reguengos de Monsaraz home”, two situations that resulted in an anomalous number of new cases that do not correspond to the pattern of the regions”.

António Costa underlined the “individual responsibility of each one”, and that “nobody can alienate”, stressing that “nobody can ignore that every time there is a distraction, this has a price, and a very high price”, of health, but “also of economic health of an entire region”, as was the case in Odiáxere, where a party was held that caused a great outbreak.

“May it not be repeated and that people have learned their lesson, because the whole Algarve and the whole country are paying a very high price for that party. Therefore, games like these cannot continue, and I think that everyone has also noticed, and I hope they have another type of behavior”, he concluded.

Couple arrested for carob theft on private property

The GNR Faro Territorial Command, through the Territorial Post of Tavira, yesterday arrested a man and a woman, aged 19 and 17, respectively, in flagrante delicto, for the crime of theft of carob in Tavira.

As GNR advances in a statement, the arrest resulted from a complaint that a couple was stealing carob from a property. The military of the Guard went to the place, “where the suspects intercepted” when they were in the collection of the referred fruit. The suspects were in possession of 180 kilograms of carob, with an approximate value of 144 euros.

The National Republican Guard also confirms that, the detainees were constituted defendants and the facts forwarded to the Faro Judicial Court. It should be added that the same police force, on Saturday, arrested a 28-year-old man and a 27-year-old woman for the carob theft, this time in Vilamoura.

Algarve Monday 13th of July

Covid.19: Truck of Hope travels Algarve until August 14

The Truck of Hope is back on the road and runs between the 9th of July and the 14th of August, the main streets and beaches of six municipalities in the Algarve: Portimão, Albufeira, Olhão, Tavira, Lagos and Lagoa.

The objective of this mission is to contribute to the covid-19 information and diagnosis process in the region, at a time of greater demand by tourists from all over the world during the summer holidays. The Camião da Esperança team advises on good public health practices, conducts tests and has a free nursing station available to the entire population.

After the first mission, which covered 21 municipalities and carried out more than 2500 tests, the Truck of Hope is back, for a mission totally dedicated to the Algarve region. With a focus on informing and testing, the mission aims to help contain the spread of the new coronavirus and collaborate with the Algarve Tourism Region, and municipal executives involved in the international projection and recovery of the Algarve’s image of excellence as a clean and safe.

The Camião da Esperança program includes the following locations and dates: Portimão – 9 to 13 July; Albufeira – 15th to 20th of July; Olhão – 22 to 26 July; Tavira – July 28 to August 1; Lagos – 3 to 7 August; Lagoa – 9 to 14 August. Services are available between 9 am and 2 pm.

Other news Algarve

Authorities identify alleged author of false alarm about child thrown overboard in Portimão

Maritime authorities have identified the alleged author of an anonymous report that said a child had been thrown overboard in Portimão, the case being referred to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, a navy source said today.

Speaking to Lusa agency, Portimão Port commander, Rodrigo Gonzalez dos Paços, specified that the maritime authorities were able to identify a woman, resident in Portimão, as the alleged author of “an electronic document sent last Thursday and that reported that a three-month-old child had been thrown overboard at Praia da Rocha”.

“The e-mail contained ‘three-month-old child thrown overboard at Praia da Rocha, please look for the child’,” explained the official.

According to Rodrigo Gonzalez dos Paços, shortly after the communication was received, “search procedures were launched at sea and on land, and after several hours it was verified that this was a false alarm”. The operations, which took place during Thursday afternoon, involved several personnel and means of the Maritime Police, the Ferragudo Life-Saving Station, Civil Protection, the Republican National Guard and the voluntary firefighters of Portimão.

GNR detains four individuals caught in the act of stealing items from a car in Boliqueime

Four men, aged between 29 and 48, were arrested by the GNR last Friday caught in the act of theft from vehicles in Boliqueime.When investigations were taking place in the context of an investigation into theft of a vehicle, the military of the Guard “detected the four individuals stealing tools that were inside, having intercepted and detained the four suspects”, the GNR stated.

A search was made for the residence of one of the suspects, and several car wheels and tires were seized; nine cannabis plants; an induction hob; a 6.35mm calibre pistol; various civil construction tools (drills, screwdrivers and angle grinders) and a vehicle used in the practice of the crime.

The suspects were present yesterday at the Faro Judicial Court, with one of them being held in preventive detention in prison in Olhão. For the remaining three, bail conditions consist of biweekly presentations to the GNR. The action had the reinforcement of the Territorial Detachment of Albufeira and the Detachment of Intervention of Faro.

PSP intercept young people who consumed alcohol on the street in Faro

At dawn on Saturday in Faro, the police intercepted a group of young people who consumed alcohol on the street. Two foreigners were eventually arrested.

The PSP stated that the agents had been injured after, they approached the group. The nine young men say there was no conversation or warning.

The police have been on foot patrol to control the gatherings, social distance and opening hours. The law says that after 11 pm, establishments cannot receive more customers, even if they continue to serve those who are already there. Businessmen and tourists are still adapting, while the authorities are tightening up with compliance with the rules.

Sunday 12th of July

Covid 19 Situation

The epidemiological bulletin of the Directorate-General for Health (DGS) this Saturday, 11th of July, attributes 7 more cases of Covid-19 to the Algarve, bringing the total numbers of accumulated cases to 695.

Covid.19: Tests on employees and the elderly at Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Loulé are all negative

The local authority of Loulé confirmed this morning on Facebook, that after tests were carried out on 119 employees and 166 elderly people in the home of Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Loulé, all of them were negative.

The operation, which was carried out by ABC (Algarve Biomedical Center), tested 235 people.

It is recalled that last Thursday a positive case from Covid was confirmed.19, in an official from Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Loulé, leading the Municipality together with the Public Health Authority and the ABC, to carry out screening tests on all employees and elderly people in the home.

FNAJ Action Day in Faro

National “Action Day” of the campaign “Desconfinar Jovem – Sua causa” – Action promoted by the National Federation of Youth Associations (FNAJ), which has the support of the Presidency of the Portuguese Republic, of the National School of Public Health of Universidade Nova Lisbon and the District and Regional Youth Associations, took place throughout the country yesterday.

In the Algarve, this took place at Praia de Faro (near the Clube Náutico), in which the Hon. State Secretary, Dr. José Apolinário and other guests participate to accompany dinstitutional guests accompany a youth brigade of 10 members in the distribution of protective material (disposable masks), awareness material and personal gifts (beach pillow with the campaign slogan – “The risk is real. Be this summer’s hero!”

President Safe Communities Portugal David Thomas was invited to participate and spoke with the Secretary of State on the work of Safe Communities Portugal and a number of matters concerning Covid-19

Saturday 11th of Juy

Covid-19 Situation

The number of confirmed cases in the Algarve as of today is 693 an increase of 7 from yesterday. Of these 277 are active cases, with 7 in hospital and none in intense care.

A total of 416 have recovered to date i.e. 60.02%

President of AMAL says Covid-19 situation under control in Algarve

The president of AMAL – Comunidade Intermunicipal do Algarve and the regional health delegate said today that the epidemiological situation in the region “is under control”, despite the existence of some specific cases.

Those responsible spoke in Loulé (Faro district), at the fortnightly press conference of the Civil Protection District on the covid-19. The representative of the municipalities, António Pina, said that “there can always be a party tomorrow and there will be a peak, but removing the peaks, the situation is under control”.

Health delegate Ana Cristina Guerreiro revealed that there were an average of seven new cases per day in the last week, totalling 693 positive cases and 17 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic, but with no record of fatalities since June 2. There are seven people hospitalized, none in intensive care.

One of the most recent positive cases is that of an employee of a nursing home in Loulé, but the source of the infection is known, “all close contacts are being tested today”. Ana Cristina Guerreiro took the opportunity to reinforce the importance of caregivers for the elderly and children “to have greater attention”, since they deal with more vulnerable populations.

“If you don’t feel well, even if in a light way, call the Saúde 24 line or contact a doctor, looking for help, and they won’t go to work,” he said.

As for the outbreak related to a party in Odiáxere, in the municipality of Lagos, a month later and with “1,900 tests carried out”, there were “142 positive cases, 104 still active and 38 people already recovered”. Regarding the concentration of Dutch young people on vacation in Albufeira, the delegate said that it is “worrying and a risky environment” for the transmission of covid-19, but said she was attentive to try to “find solutions to these risks”.

“It is not an exclusive response from Health, but from everyone. With the lack of definition, there is an increase in risk, so it is necessary to find a balance,”he said.

President of Regional Health Administration Concerned about Flu and Covid-19 this winter

ARS “I understand that people are concerned with summer – and this will not be the same – but, from the point of view of health services, I am more concerned with winter. Every year we have flu, this year will be no exception, but this time there will be flu and Covid-19”. This is the opinion of Paulo Morgado, president of the Regional Health Administration (ARS) of the Algarve, left this Friday, July 10th, at the pandemic balance press conference.

The official said that “we have to work so that we can have a winter with some tranquillity”.

Paulo Morgado gave as an example the “reinforcement of the flu vaccine”, already announced by the Government, “with the objective of preventing what will be the next season”. The ARS president revealed that the value of the r (contagion rate) in the Algarve “is less than 1”, which is a good sign, although it is necessary not to let your guard down.

«A negative result is just a photograph of the moment. This does not mean that things do not change days later. There are situations of asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic people and this aspect is fundamental for us to understand that the determinations of the health authority are not an order of imprisonment, but rather a job to contain the chains of transmission », he stressed.

Paulo Morgado revealed that the Mental Health Office, operating in each of the Health Center Groupings in the Algarve, has already assisted 117 people affected by Covid-19, including patients and health professionals.

Covid.19: Aljezur municipality tests employees after 1 positive case

The Municipality of Aljezur, decided to test the Municipality’s employees, after a worker accused Covid.19. According to a statement from the Chamber, the service to which the worker belongs has been closed, and all colleagues are quarantined.

There are already 7 positive cases in the municipality, of which 6 are recovering at home and 1 is hospitalized. The same communiqué reads that the chain of transmission is identified by the Health Authority, with no community transmission. The council calls for the population to follow the recommendations of the DGS – Directorate-General for Health, as a way of safeguarding public health.

Friday 10th of July

Covid-19 Situation

There are 7 more cases of Covid-19 in the Algarve, according to the epidemiological bulletin of the Directorate-General for Health (DGS), which has just been released. The region now has a total of 683 confirmed cases, in numbers accumulated since the beginning of the pandemic.

In the neighbouring region of Alentejo, DGS reports that there are 11 new cases of infection, but does not report any more deaths. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the Alentejo now totals 562 cases in accumulated numbers.

Enforcement

Prosecutor accuses young man for violating mandatory confinement in Lagos

A 20-year-old man, infected with covid-19, was accused by the Lagos Prosecutor’s Office of a crime of aggravated disobedience. He was caught by the PSP for violating the obligation of confinement at home.

In a statement, the MP reveals that it “filed an indictment for trial in an abbreviated case” against the accused.

The young man, of foreign nationality, was detected by the PSP on June 26 driving a car, “thus violating the obligation of confinement at home that had been imposed on him by the local health authority”. The defendant had tested positive for covid-19 and was prohibited from leaving the house.

Leisure

New Algarve service brings a bartender Home

‘Cocktails’ prepared live by a ‘bartender’ at home is the new service that a bar in Faro is promoting this summer in the Algarve, an idea that emerged during the confinement caused by the pandemic of Covid-19.

The service, which can also be carried out at the request of companies, includes the ‘bartender’ and all the logistics associated with the preparation of drinks, with several menus, including non-alcoholic ‘cocktails’ for children, with gums or ‘marshmallows’.

The project started with “the idea of ​​maintaining the functioning of the bar, the jobs and avoiding gatherings and illegal parties”, said the executive director of the EQEPEC group (acronym for Eu Quero, Eu Pode, Eu Consigo), which is promoting the service.

“Being able to take this service to customers makes more sense than taking ‘take-away’ drinks”, he notes, noting that ‘Barman at home’ is “a turnkey service”, which includes everything: glasses, ice, drinks and even personalized cups for children.

In addition, given the current context, the three ‘bartenders’ available to do the job – among them João Rodrigues, distinguished as the best Portuguese ‘bartender’ in 2016 – complying with “all the required sanitary rules”, guarantees the businessman.

Anonymous report about child falling from cliff leads Police to search

An anonymous report about the possible fall of a child from a cliff in Portimão led the police to undertake a search, so far without success. The authorities suggest that it is a “bad joke”.

“Please, a three-month-old child was thrown from the cliff at Praia da Rocha. Please look for the child.” This anonymous report, sent to the Maritime Police of Portimão, this Thursday, led the authorities to launch a search operation, which proved to be unsuccessful.

The police received the report by email. The sender did not identify himself or provide additional information. According to the commander of the Port of Portimão, Rodrigo Paços Gonzalez, despite being an anonymous complaint, one cannot “rule out any scenarios and the decision was to proceed with the searches”. In the late afternoon, operations were suspended, with no results.

In view of the possibility that it was a “bad joke”, the commander proposes to report the situation to the Public Prosecutor’s Office so that possible criminal responsibilities can be investigated, taking into account the amount of emergency and relief resources required. commit to this operation. In addition to the Maritime Police, the searches involved elements of the Navy, the Instituto de Socorro ao Casufragos and the Voluntary Firefighters of Portimão.

PJ investigates death of man in fire in Portimão restaurant

The Judicial Police (PJ) is investigating the circumstances in which the death of a man occurred on Wednesday night during a fire in a restaurant on Três Castelos beach in Portimão, a police source told Lusa today.

The same source declined to provide further information as the case is under investigation.According to the District Relief Operations Center (CDOS) in Faro, the man, around 50 years old, was found dead during a fire in a restaurant on the Praia dos Três Castelos, near Praia da Rocha, which occurred at 10:30 pm Wednesday.

“When the firefighters arrived at the scene, the man was in cardiorespiratory arrest, and it was not possible to reverse the situation. The death was declared on the spot by the team from the Medical Emergency Institute [INEM],”said the source.

The PJ is now trying to ascertain the circumstances in which the man died, as well as the origin of the fire, which partially affected the beach restaurant. 18 operatives from the Portimão Voluntary Firemen, the Maritime Police, the PJ and INEM were mobilized to the location, supported by nine vehicles.

Thursday 9th July 2020

Employment Program for the Algarve to Launch this Month

The Minister of Labour, Ana Mendes Godinho, said today that the Government will launch this month a program of specific employment measures for the Algarve, one of the regions most affected by the impact of the covid-19.

The available data indicatesthat, in May, in this region, more than 27 thousand unemployed were registered in the employment centres, a number that represents an increase of 41% compared to February and 202% compared to the same month of the previous year.

The minister added that the program that is being designed for the Algarve will have specific measures that include professional training, employment support and cooperation with regional partners.

In the report “Employment prospects”, released on Tuesday, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) estimates that more than 40% of jobs in the Algarve may be destroyed due to the pandemic, as this is a region in that tourism has a significant weight.

Algarve team wins European competition for solutions to minimize Covid’s impact on tourism

A team from the Algarve who represented Portugal in a European competition for innovative and disruptive solutions in the field of Tourism have won with a project whose main idea is the creation of technological solutions that allow to minimize the impact of Covid-19 in the Tourism sector and enhance new business alternatives.

The winner, among the eight final projects, was the Algarve Safe Tourism project, presented by the team made up of Daniel Guerreiro, of the Algarve Regional Coordination and Development Commission (CCDR Algarve), Jorge Cabaço, of the Algarve Strategic Accelerator (ASA), Miguel Fernandes (President of Algarve Evolution and founder of Dengun) and Vanessa Nascimento (Vice President of Algarve Evolution), who developed a solution to facilitate tourist demand, based on advanced technologies (block chain and data collection) and geolocation, informed the CCDR .

According to a note from the CCDR, for three days, the two Algarve teams, representing the Digital Innovation Hub of the Algarve (IHL), powered by the Algarve STP (Systems and Technology Partnership), contributed, in a marathon, without interruption, in the implementation of solutions for two challenges that emerged during the Covid-19 pandemic: to develop technological solutions to minimize the economic impacts in the area of ​​Tourism and to propose new business ideas to make the sector more sustainable globally.

CAST (Creative Accelerator for Sustainable Tourism) is a collaborative project funded by the European Union, with the aim of developing a network of incubators, accelerators and technological start-ups, SMEs and financiers, with the aim of forming a European community committed to the promotion and sharing knowledge, the use of technology and collaboration across borders, for a more sustainable tourism sector.

Public Prosecution against order to pay one million Euros to family of victims of cliff fall in 2009

The Public Prosecutor has appealed against the sentence that ordered the Portuguese State to pay more than one million euros to the families of the five persons who died from the collapse of a cliff at Maria Luísa beach, in Albufeira, in 2009.

In the appeal to the Central Administrative Court of the South (TACS), to which the Lusa agency had access yesterday, the Public Ministry expresses “non-conformity” and asks for the “nullity” of the sentence of the Tax and Administrative Fiscal Court (TAF) of Loulé “for excess of pronunciation”, for having condemned the Portuguese State to pay the victims’ families“ amounts higher than those requested by the claimants”.

The Public Prosecutor’s Office (MP) also claims in the appeal that the TAF decision in Loulé contains “factual error of judgment” and did not consider “proven facts indicated in the defence, in the process and arising from the testimony of witnesses”, presented at trial and that “imposed a decision different from the defendant”.

“The MP considers that the decision rendered on the matter of fact did not properly analyse the evidence, not having properly identified the facts that were not proven, nor specified, specifically, the decisive grounds for the court’s conviction, that is, it did not proceed to a critical analysis of the evidence, as prescribed”, argues the defence of the Portuguese State.

On May 27, the Loulé Tax and Administrative Court (TAF) ordered the State to pay more than one million euros to the families of the five killed for the collapse of a cliff at Maria Luísa beach, in Albufeira, in the district of Faro, in August 2009.

In the TAF sentence, Judge Patrícia Martins ordered the State to pay around one million and six thousand euros to two families and a survivor, the boyfriend of one of the fatal victims.

Wednesday 8th of July

GNR Enforcement action in Albufeira

The National Republican Guard (GNR) issued, on Sunday, dozens of administrative fines regarding offences committed by establishments and people in Albufeira, who disregarded the rules imposed due to the pandemic of the covid-19, according to the GNR.

According to the source, GNR was called on Sunday night to disperse hundreds of people of various nationalities who were concentrated on the public road and consuming alcoholic beverages on Rua da Oura – known as “The Strip” in Albufeira – in default the law and recommendations of the Directorate-General for Health (DGS).

“Several administrative offenses were handed out to dozens of people for the consumption of alcoholic beverages and to the owners of establishments that operated outside legally authorized hours,” he said. According to the source, “the infractions detected in that area have been daily”, namely the disregard for the rules imposed due to the covid-19 pandemic, “not only establishments operating after midnight, such as drinking alcohol on public roads ”.

The same source added that the GNR has reinforced actions to raise awareness among people and owners of establishments about the risks that people gather in this pandemic period, clarifying the mandatory use of masks in closed spaces and the distance between them safety.

“Despite the daily reinforcement of awareness-raising actions, people still do not respect the indications,” he said.

For his part, the Mayor of Albufeira, José Carlos Rolo, told Lusa that the municipality will reinforce awareness actions among the owners of the catering and beverage establishments, alerting them to the mandatory compliance with DGS rules.

“As of Wednesday, we will not only have meetings with the owners, but we will have a van circulating on the streets with sound information, where the measures in force in Portugal are indicated,” he said. According to José Carlos Rolo, the abnormal concentrations of people detected in the last few days at Rua da Oura, “have been, above all, young foreigners who are on finalists’ trips, mostly Dutch”.

“I assume that the rules and recommendations in the Netherlands are different from those in force in Portugal and that young people do not wear masks and do not respect the rules of distance, due to lack of knowledge”, he concluded. According to the mayor, the application and enforcement of the rules is being coordinated between the municipality and the GNR, “an entity that has been a judge when it detects non-compliance, namely during the opening hours of the establishments”.

Covid-19: It is necessary to “look forward and fight” for Algarve tourism

The President of the Republic said this Monday, in the Algarve, that it is necessary to “look ahead and fight” for tourism in the region to overcome the losses caused by the exclusion of Portugal from the air corridor with the United Kingdom.

“It is evident that everything is important, now we have to look ahead and we have to fight, first, for tourism that comes from other interesting and important origins, that may come and that will define positions in the coming days. And then the British Government itself said it would rethink in July, let’s see what can be done about this matter”, said Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.

The head of state spoke to journalists in Monte Gordo, Vila Real de Santo António, before a dinner with the mayors of the Algarve, and representatives of the Tourism Region and tourism business associations.

“It is necessary to pull through the Algarve fast, so that we can produce effects later this year” in tourism, defended Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, who wanted to hear the mayors and tourism representatives to try to help the Algarve to overcome the difficulties caused by the covid pandemic -19 and the UK’s decision to force the British to quarantine 14 days on arrival from Portugal.

RTA reminds the Portuguese (and not only) that “Algarve feels good”

“The Algarve looks good on you”. This is how the Algarve Tourism Region appeals to the Portuguese (and not only), to choose the region to spend their holidays.

The new campaign, launched last Saturday, shows Algarve landscapes, from the coast to the interior, after the one that was “a break, an interval in our lives”.

Now, it is highlighted in the video description, “we are back to discover how well this Algarve is doing. The Algarve of sun, sea, gastronomy, culture, nature and many other inspirations. An Algarve that is yours, that is ours. Come, the Algarve is fine for you!”

According to the YouTube channel of the Algarve Tourism Region, the promotional campaign for Turismo do Algarve aims to “motivate not only national tourists, but also foreigners, to enjoy the summer 2020 vacation in the region, reinforcing confidence in the brand Algarve and, consequently, the notoriety of the main tourist destination in the country”.

This motivational film “is starring one of the most successful international travel influencers couples today, Raquel and Miguel, two young Portuguese people who are passionate about travel… and the Algarve, where they wanted to meet each other and love had happened at first View”.

View here: https://youtu.be/cUW2RT06-ys

Tuesday 7th of July

GNR Closes establishments in The Strip Albufeira

GNR had to order the closure of establishments on The Strip Rua da Oura, in Albufeira, and to disperse hundreds of people on Sunday night.

The situation was on the verge of uncontrolled when hundreds of young Dutch people, on trips following their finals, huddled in two bars, without masks or safe distancing. It was the owner of one of the establishments who gave the alert. In an interview with SIC, he says he is afraid to open the doors again and the situation will repeat itself.

The Albufeira Chamber wants defined rules for the opening of bars, in order to make it possible for customers to be dispersed. Bars and clubs cannot open, but if they have a snack bar license, they can receive customers until 23:00.

This Monday, more than 2,000 young Dutch people were expected to arrive in Albufeira.

Aljezur first cases

The Aljezur City Council confirmed yesterday the first two positive cases of covid-19 in the municipality, according to a statement released by the municipality on the Facebook page.

“These two cases are identified, they are a couple and are duly monitored by Public Health and local authorities”, says the municipality. The origin of these two cases is the same as that of the Monchique outbreak and “all security measures are being monitored and taken to contain contagion”.

The municipality of Aljezur was one of the only municipalities in the Algarve that still had no cases of covid-19 registered since the beginning of the pandemic, together with Alcoutim and Vila do Bispo.

Albufeira reinforces assistance to bathers in non-concession areas

The Municipality of Albufeira reinforced the means of assistance to bathers in non-concession areas of the municipality, through a vessel, lifeguards and a 4 × 4 vehicle, the municipality announced.

From the beginning of the month until the end of September, several technicians from the Association of Swimmers of Albufeira (ANSA) are available for this mission and with the capacity to use the oxygen therapy device, the communication system and radio with loud voice to communicate at a distance.

This action started on July 1, when the Blue Flag was raised at the Marina of Albufeira and an emergency number was created in a bathing context, which is 915951936.

According to the responsible councillor, Rogério Neto, “this mission guarantees compliance with Decree-Law no. 24/2020, regarding access, occupation and use of bathing beaches in the context of the pandemic of the covid-19 disease, for the time 2020. Lifeguards are empowered, even with pedagogical functions, to ensure compliance with physical and social distance, as well as the use of personal protective equipment”.

In a statement, the Mayor of Albufeira, José Carlos Rolo, “the bases are created for a project that is intended to be broadened, in order to respond to the activity that is recorded throughout the year in the municipality”. “The municipality of Albufeira guarantees good assistance to all beaches in the municipality, through the use of communications and aquatic rescue equipment, in addition to reinforcing patrolling and raising awareness of good practices for bathing on Albufeira’s beaches”, concluded the mayor.

Monday 6th of July

Unemployment in the Algarve

According to data from the Institute of Employment and Professional Training (IEFP) unemployment in the Algarve increased by more than 200% in May to almost 28 thousand unemployed, reaching mainly the hotel sector, which despairs for the arrival of tourists to mitigate the “blow” of almost three months of losses.

The heat that embraces the Algarve reminds us that July has arrived, unlike tourists, who should be filling the region’s hotels, beaches and restaurants by this time, but who insist on not showing up in the usual amount for the time of year. According to IEFP, in May 2020 the Algarve was the region that registered the largest increase in the number of unemployed registered in the country, with a growth of 202.4%, compared to the same month last year.

“It is a complicated situation, with a very high number of unemployment, which worries us. In February, no one would believe that this would happen, because we had an increasingly dynamic economy, with employment increasing and unemployment decreasing”, says the regional delegate of that institute.

According to Madalena Feu, the increase in unemployment, contrary to the trend of the last few years, has been growing, compared to the same months of 2019: in March there were 21,636 unemployed in the region (41% more), in April another 26,379 (more 120%) and in May 27,675 (plus 202%).

As the beginning of the covid-19 pandemic coincided with the start of hiring for the tourist season, thousands of people were not even hired, while others were dismissed during the trial period. In a normal summer, Tivoli Hotels & Resorts would have around 1,000 people working in the six units in the Algarve – apart from those who are hired by the hour, the day, or the week – but, at the moment, it has only about half, according to the group’s regional director of operations, Jorge Beldade.

“We, in March, when the beginning of this pandemic, were in the beginning of hiring about 350 people at the time. We ended up hiring only 89 and, obviously, all the others stopped being hired and then the hotels closed and we started all people to ‘lay-off’ ”, he says.

In the Algarve, 85% of hotels reopened in June or are now reopening in early July, a number that is encouraging – taking into account the sector’s forecasts at the beginning of the pandemic, which did not indicate that so many units would reopen this year. . After the low season, when it was preparing to enter the tourist season, the region faces a summer “that will not be comparable” to last year and enters a low season again, which, in practice, will be equivalent “to three low seasons in a row ”, summarizes the leader of the Association of Hotels and Tourist Enterprises of the Algarve (AHETA).

https://www.algarveprimeiro.com/d/em-maio-desemprego-aumentou-mais-de-200-no-algarve-/33090-4

Faro Municipal Emergency Plan remains in force

The Municipal Civil Protection Emergency Plan of Faro will continue, following a decision by the Municipal Civil Protection Commission of the district capital, while the current Alert Situation is in effect, the municipality announced.

This measure was taken due to the increase in the population in the municipality during the bathing season and the evolution of the number of people infected in the Algarve region, thus intending to keep active preventive measures and the entire structure of response to the covid-19 pandemic.

The Municipality of Faro recommends that the population “continue to comply with the civic spirit that it has been demonstrating and that it remains informed about the safety and prevention recommendations and measures of the Directorate-General for Health, in particular those that respect the social modesty. and personal hygiene standards, ”he said in a statement.

Sunday 5th of July

UK decision will bring “serious damage” to the Algarve, hoteliers say

Tourism in the Algarve will have “serious losses” due to the United Kingdom’s decision to exclude Portugal from the air corridor that exempts citizens from quarantine when returning from travel, considered the main Algarve hotel association.

The president of the Association of Hotels and Tourist Enterprises of the Algarve (AHETA), Elidérico Viegas, told the agency Lusa that the United Kingdom made a decision “based on criteria that are not very objective” by including Portugal in the list and leaving out other countries where the situation epidemiological impact due to the covid-19 pandemic is more intense than in the Algarve or Portugal.

Elidérico Viegas gave the example of Greece, Italy or Spain, which were considered “green” countries and included in the air corridor with the United Kingdom, which is exempt from quarantine for 14 days when returning from these destinations, despite having registered a number of infected people. “Very distant” from those seen in the Algarve and Portugal.

“The impact is enormous not only for tourism, but also for the wealth of the region and the country itself”, estimated the president of the main hotel association in the Algarve, noting that the United Kingdom represents for the region “6,400,000 overnight stays per year, a third of tourists and overnight stays”and“almost 50% of passengers arriving at Faro airport”.

Elidérico Viegas also pointed out the “2.2 million British tourists who come to the Algarve every year” and considered that “it will not be the same” with these restrictions, even if there are Britons who may “eventually come to the Algarve, either directly or through other countries”.

“We are here before a situation that causes serious damage to the region’s economy and, above all, to the hotel and tourist companies”, anticipated the president of AHETA, who expects “the development of diplomatic and other efforts from the” highest officials in the nation “to revoke the decision “to impose quarantine on the British who return to their country from Portugal.

The measure should “be revoked both for the interest of the Algarve and for British tourists who want to come to the region”, argued Elidérico Viegas.

Faro and Romania “join hands” in the project “The Role of Art in Times of Crisis”

A new project “The Role of Art in Times of Crisis”, was announced yesterday by the Faro2027 team, responsible for the Candidacy of Faro to the European Capital of Culture, in partnership with the Cultural Center of Cluj-Napoca (Romania) and was presented on its website and official social networks Faro2027.

The project includes 28 works by artists from the Algarve and Romania that aim to help the community in general to understand and gain a new perspective on the moment we live in, revealing the fundamental role of art in our society.

According to the same publication, during the state of emergency, a consequence of the pandemic caused by Covid-19, the Faro2027 team launched the challenge to artists from all over the Algarve to develop artistic projects with the aim of informing and making the general public aware about the importance of monitoring and complying with health authorities’ recommendations for the common good. Each artist selected one of the three proposed themes – Together, Responsibility and Heroes – and developed an artistic work in a format easily presented online.

Portimão approves “robust and ambitious” strategy for 10 years in defending the forest against fires

The Municipal Assembly unanimously approved the new Forest Fire Protection Plan, which organizes prevention and combat in the next decade. Under the motto #portimao sem fogos depended todos” last Tuesday, June 30, the Municipal Plan for the Defense of the Forest Against Fires (PMDFCI) was presented, voted and approved unanimously by all members of the parties seated in the Municipal Assembly of Portimão. ) for the next 10 years (2020-2029 / 30).

According to the Municipality in a statement, this is a “robust and ambitious” strategy that included the involvement of entities that contribute to the prevention and fight against rural fires in the municipality.

Although the Municipal Commission for the Defence of the Forest of Portimão also approved, unanimously, on April 30, the Municipal Operational Plan (POM), which materializes the strategy for preventing and fighting rural fires for this year, and which is revised annually, with this plan, the municipality’s strategy for the coming years is materialized and assumed, with regard to the conservation and protection of the county’s rural space.

According to the same document, the Plan now approved, was prepared by the Technical Forestry Office of the Municipal Civil Protection Service and received a favourable opinion from the Municipal Forest Defense Commission and a binding opinion from the Institute for Nature and Forest Conservation (ICNF)), having been approved in unison by the executive of the City Council and by all members of the Municipal Assembly, after a period of public consultation.

Situation Report Algarve Saturday 4th July

More than 20 thousand tests in the Algarve made with a method that tests 10 people at once

The Algarve Biomedical Center (ABC) consortium has already carried out about 20,000 tests on Covid-19 using the pool method, which allows the detection of positive cases in groups of samples tested at once, the president, Nuno Marques, told Lusa.

The president of ABC – a consortium formed by the Hospital and University Center of the Algarve and the University of the Algarve, primarily responsible for testing Covid-19 in the region and in the Alentejo -, explained to the Lusa agency that this type of testing, which he called “sample” grouping “, allows you to test 10 people at once to see if there are positives.

According to Nuno Marques, instead of doing sample by sample tests, several samples are “grouped” and the “high sensitivity of the technique” of the method allows “to detect the existence of positive cases or inconclusive cases in the middle of a group”, increasing the capacity and speed of testing.

“The great benefit is that, during the same testing time, we can do 10 times more tests than those that could be done, greatly increasing laboratory capacity and giving a faster response,” he argued.

Afterwards, individual tests will only be carried out if the grouping sample proves to be positive, underlined Nuno Marques, stressing that, in case the group’s result is negative, everyone learns that they are without the disease.

“Basically, instead of being testing one by one, we make pools – we make groups – and we are testing 10 to 10”, synthesized Nuno Marques, noting that this testing method allows “to greatly increase the test capacity” and the ABC “there are already about 20,000 tests done this way”.

Nuno Marques said that ABC carried out studies to see how many samples he could test at once and found that the number of samples tested at one time could even be greater, but he guaranteed that, “for the sake of complete safety”, the option was for “making pools of 10 samples”.

Vila do Bispo maintains Blue Flag on all beaches

Eeliche, Burgau, Cabanas Velhas, Castelejo, Cordoama, Ingrina, Mareta, Martinhal, Salema, Tonel and Zavial are the beaches that once again carry the Blue Flag, awarded by the Blue Flag Association of Europe (ABAE).

On June 30, the Blue Flags were hoisted on the beaches of the municipality of Vila do Bispo, in a symbolic ceremony that started in Burgau beach, in the presence of the councillors of the Vila do Bispo City Council, Rute Silva and Fernando Santana, from representative of the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA), Élia Cabrita, of the Captain of the Port of Lagos, Conceição Duarte, of the Lieutenant of the Maritime Delegation of Sagres, Costa Sousa, of the representative of the Natural Park of the Southwest Alentejo and Costa Vicentina, Luís Ferreira, and of the presidents of the parishes of Sagres and Vila do Bispo and Raposeira, Luís Paixão and Dino Lourenço, respectively.

As the municipality of Vila do Bispo records in a statement, the award of this award “attests to the quality of the bathing waters of the municipality, the support infrastructures and the information and environmental education actions carried out on the beaches, representing the fulfilment of a vast set criteria of environmental nature, safety and comfort of beach users “.

Salema beach also received the “Accessible Beach – Praia para Todos” flag, an award given by INR – National Institute for Rehabilitation, as it is a distinction that is attributed to bathing areas that fulfill a set of conditions, allowing its use by people with mobility difficulties, namely pedestrian access; orderly and reserved parking; access to the bathing area; treadmills on the beach; adapted sanitary facilities located in an easily accessible place; first aid services and lifeguards with specific training.

Situation Report Friday 3rd July 2020

Municipality of Silves reminds bathers “that the virus does not take a vacation“

In the time of COVID-19, and with the arrival of yet another bathing season, the Municipality of Silves continues to invest in raising awareness among the population and holidaymakers to maintain protection and safety care against the coronavirus during vacation time.

In a statement, the municipality said that information panels were installed at all accesses to the municipality’s beaches, warning signs for the importance of safety distance, guidance signs and right-of-way traffic guidance and flip-flop stickers in order to facilitate and guide the circulation in the accesses to the beaches.

These measures are part of a protection and security awareness campaign against COVID-19, promoted by the Municipality of Silves, for the adoption of responsible behaviours and for the importance of maintaining protective and safety care, remembering that the virus does not take a vacation.

Albufeira Town Council has 1 million euros to help companies in the municipality

The Municipality of Albufeira today announced that it created the Business and Associative Support Fund for the municipality, with an allocation of one million euros, a measure to support companies with a tax address or head office in the municipality of Albufeira whose establishments were forced to close, under the law, or not being closed, they suffered abrupt declines in their productivity.

Applications must be submitted by July 15 (by email age@cm-albufeira.pt) using a specific form. Eligible activities are catering and the like, trade in retail goods, service provision and industry and agriculture.

Underlying this measure of the Municipality of Albufeira, is the intention to mitigate the losses of companies, supporting them in the resumption of the activity and in the maintenance of jobs related to them, as a means of safeguarding the economic and social sector of the municipality.

The Business and Associative Support Fund has an allocation of one million euros and is aimed at individual entrepreneurs or companies with fiscal residence or head office in the municipality of Albufeira, who have not benefited from other non-refundable state financial support, within the scope of of the Covid-19 pandemic.

In order to apply, entrepreneurs must not have had a turnover in 2019 greater than 150 thousand euros, and must demonstrate that they have had their activity open for at least 8 consecutive months in 2019.

Support beneficiaries are obliged to keep their activity open and to maintain existing jobs at the date of submission of the application until December 31, 2020, with the exception of those who carry out seasonal activities, who are expected to maintain activity in 2020 for the same months that were open in 2019, at least, until October 31, 2020.

Lagos refurbishes lighting at Avenida dos Pescadores in Vila da Luz

Vila da Luz seafront, which frames the beach and the view of Rocha Negra, is one of the main attractions of this old fishing village.

Committed to its enhancement, the Municipality of Lagos developed a work to refurbish the public lighting of this public promenade area.

Recently completed, the work not only the replacement of lighting and their redistribution in space, but also the creation of telecommunications infrastructures, taking advantage of the opening of trenches to provide the infrastructure for the ITUR network (telecommunications infrastructures in subdivisions, urbanizations and sets of buildings).

The contract cost 148313.50 euros (plus VAT).

Situation Report Thursday 2nd July 2020

Covid 19 statistics

According to DGS as at 1^st July the Algarve has so far 632 infected – 14 more than yesterday and 15 deaths.

The number of confirmed cases by municipality and deaths shown in brackets is as follows:

Regional count update: source (DGS): Albufeira has 121 (2 deaths); Faro – 85; Lagos – 81; Portimão – 81 ( 3 deaths ); Loulé – 78 ( 5 deaths ); Tavira – 36; Silves – 26; Olhão – 19; Vila Real de Stº António – 17 ( 2 deaths ); Lagoa – 13 ( 2 deaths ); Monchique – 9; São Brás de Alportel – 4 ( 1 death ); Vila do Bispo – 4 and Castro Marim – 4

Representatives of Algarve and Andalusia signal reopening of border

Official authorities from the Algarve and the Spanish region of Andalusia participated yesterday in a symbolic ceremony to mark the reopening of the Portuguese-Spanish border by the Guadiana International Bridge, after three and a half months of closure due to the covid-19 pandemic.

The president of the Algarve Intermunicipal Community, António Miguel Pina, and the president of the Algarve Tourism Region, João Fernandes, highlighted the importance of the moment for the economy on both sides of the border and for the socio-cultural relations between the border towns, in a ceremony in which they were accompanied by the representative of the regional government of Andalusia in the province of Huelva, Bela Verano.

Also accompanied by the presidents of the three municipalities that make up the Eurocity of Guadiana – Conceição Cabrita, from Vila Real de Santo António, Francisco Amaral, from Castro Marim, and Natália Santos, mayor of Ayamonte (Spain) -, António Pina and João Fernandes then delivered bags of Algarvian oranges to Spanish and foreign visitors who crossed the bridge to enter Portugal, as a way of “thanking them for their trust” that they place in the Algarve.

The President of the Algarve Tourism Region, João Fernandes, also highlighted the importance of the moment, stressing that the Spanish market is “responsible for more than one million overnight stays” in the Portuguese region and that the opening of the border benefits the economy of the two regions, very based on tourism.

The representative of the Government of Andalusia in the province of Huelva, Bela Verano, recalled how “the crisis of the covid-19 affected the health of compatriots and cross-border relations”, leaving the populations on both sides of the border “to suffer doubly from the isolation”, after seeing “the shared way of life stop dry”and“personal and commercial relations disappear immediately “with the closing of the crossings between the two countries.

“It is also very important to remember that there are Spanish residents in the Algarve, around 1300, who were eager to see their families,” said João Fernandes.

The president of RTA is hopeful that this reopening of borders could bring another breath to the regional economy.

Covid-19: Authorities remain at the borders with Spain to report on measures in force

SEF and GNR will remain at the land borders with Spain to ensure that people entering the country are “fully informed” of the measures in force in Portugal in the context of combating covid-19, it was announced today.

The land borders between Portugal and Spain were reopened today, after being temporarily closed on March 16 due to the covid-19 pandemic.

In a statement, the Ministry of Internal Affairs said that mobile checks of random and temporary character will be carried out on vehicles for the collective transport of passengers, motorhomes and light vehicles in Valença, Quintanilha, Vilar Formoso, Caia and Castro Marim.

Municipality delivers six more “top of the range” ventilators to Portimão Hospital

The Portimão City Council today delivered to the Hospital do Barlavento six intensive care ventilators model Dräger V600, manufactured in Germany and the first of its kind to operate in Portugal.

In a note sent by the municipality, it reads that, these state-of-the-art devices come to join the lung surgeon recently offered to that hospital unit and also considered “top of the range” with regard to ventilation in intensive care, allowing Hospital de Portimão a capacity “unparalleled treatment in the south of the country”.

In the same publication, the Municipality also highlights the acquisition of 12 infusion syringes and 12 infusion pumps, “essential equipment” in the treatment of critically ill patients.

In the same press release, the municipality recalls that it ordered a total of 24 ventilators of various types, for which the 350,000 euros initially allocated to the Portuguese Grand Prix Formula 1 in Motonáutica was applied, meanwhile cancelled due to Covid-19.

Wednesday 1st July 2020 Report by David Thomas

Andalusia – Algarve border reopening

AMAL and Turismo do Algarve will mark the reestablishment of the crossing point on the border between Andalusia and the Algarve, in a ceremony that will take place on 1 July, at 12:15pm, in the garden of Posto de Tourism of the Guadiana International Bridge.

The ceremony will comprise a small number of officials: The Secretary of State for Fisheries and regional coordinator of the fight against Covid-19 in the Algarve, José Apolinário, the consul of Spain in the Algarve, Eduardo Serra Jorge, the consul general of Portugal in Seville, João Queirós, the president of the Commission of the Regional Coordination and Development of the Algarve, Francisco Serra, and the regional director of Agriculture and Fisheries of the Algarve, Pedro Monteiro will be present.

This moment marks the end of the suspension of the exceptional and temporary measure to control people on the borders between the two countries, which was part of the programme to combat the pandemic of the Covid-19 disease.

Portimão and Alvor restart night time cultural tours

During every Thursday in July, the night cultural tours around Portimão and Alvor are back, a common initiative in the Municipality’s Summer program and which this year complies with the directives of the Directorate-General for Health (D-GS), due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Thus, and according to information provided by the municipality, on July 2, 16 and 30, participants are invited to discover the urban landscapes of Portimão, starting at 9 pm, with the objective of “articulating a route that connects buildings emblematic, architectural references, streets, squares, squares and gardens with historical significance “.

These tours take place at Praça Manuel Teixeira Gomes, next to the bandstand, where the participants visit Jardim 1º de Dezembro, Alameda da República, Casa Manuel Teixeira Gomes and Largo 1º de Maio.

Municipality of Silves maintains some aspects of service to the public as with a state of alert

In view of the transition from a state of calamity to a state of alert, effective from today, July 1, the Municipality of Silves informs that the municipal public service system will remain “in the same manner adopted until now “, resulting from the measures implemented to mitigate COVID-19.

In this context, the Municipality clarifies that contact with municipal services should continue to be made preferably through telephone contact (number 282 440 800, with dedicated lines) and email or skype, “being subject to face-to-face assistance only to urgent and urgent situations. “, by prior appointment and subject to compliance with specific safety rules, namely the mandatory use of a mask and compliance with the rules of respiratory etiquette and safety distance.

Also equipment such as the municipal tennis court, the complex of the municipal swimming pools of Silves (gymnasium and group classes on land), the Castle of Silves, the Municipal Museum of Archeology of Silves and the Municipal Library of Silves are already in operation, with rules of specific access and use for each of them.

The remaining municipal facilities of a sporting, cultural, recreational and recreational nature remain closed and the deadlines for the performance of procedural or procedural acts, within the scope of administrative procedures that imply the performance of face-to-face assistance, will also remain suspended.

Report Tuesday 30th June

Covid-19 Statistics

The number of people who have already recovered from Covid-19, in the Algarve, rose to 354, but that did not prevent active cases in the region from growing again, now settling at 242.

In two days from Saturday to Monday have been increases in cases in Albufeira (12 more), Olhão (3 more) in Faro and Portimão (one more in each) bring the cases to date to 615.

Increase that the number of recovered – two from Friday to Saturday and many others from yesterday to today – has not been able to compensate, which means that there are more active cases today than yesterday.

At this moment, the most worrying situation will be linked to the outbreak in Albufeira, which had already been identified by Marta Temido, Minister of Health, during this Friday’s pandemic press conference.

On the other hand, there are no new cases either in Lagos, where there has been a big increase in recent weeks related to an illegal party in Odiáxere, or in Tavira, more precisely in Cabanas, where there has also been a contagion outbreak recently.

Two arrest at Private party with two arrests in Almancil

Two 19-year-olds were arrested by the GNR for drug trafficking in Almancil.

According to a statement from the GNR, after a complaint, last Saturday, the 27th, that there was going to be a private party with a lot of noise, in an isolated residence, the military of the Guard went to the place and detected that there were 20 people at the party.

The person responsible for the event was identified, within the scope of the rules defined to combat the pandemic COVID-19. While the operation was underway, two vehicles arrived with two more guests “who adopted a suspicious behaviour” when they saw the GNR military, one of whom tossed a plastic package on the floor.

After carrying out two security searches on the suspects, money and a narcotic product were detected, namely: 75 doses of cocaine, 14 doses of hashish and 122 euros, with individuals being detained for drug trafficking. Following two house searches, GNR also seized four mobile phones; two SIM cards, a knife and two cannabis grinders.

The action had the reinforcement of the Cinotechnical Intervention Group (GIC) of the Intervention Unit (UI).

The suspects were made defendants and the facts referred to the Judicial Court of Loulé.

Covid.19: Castro Marim municipality extends support to vulnerable families in the municipality

In a statement, the Municipality of Castro Marim notes that, following the Covid-19 pandemic, it has been joining efforts to create and implement “exceptional and temporary measures” that help the resulting situations of fragility”.

He states that it was unanimously approved at a chamber meeting to allocate food vouchers for the most vulnerable families, given the current circumstances brought about by the covid-19 pandemic.

According to the authority, families who are in need due to the effects of the pandemic, and who have lost income due to their family economies, must submit their application to the Social Action Office of the Municipality of Castro Marim, by filling in a form and some documentation proving the economic situation of the household (see all at www.cm-castromarim.pt).

The vouchers will be allocated monthly and include the purchase of food and other essential goods, with a value of 25 euros for each element of the household, to be used exclusively in commercial areas of the municipality. It also mentions the same entity that, the aggregates can opt for a voucher of 25 euros, in case they intend to acquire a basket of products of the land.

Minister for the Environment and Climate Action visits area burnt by the Aljezur fire

The Minister of the Environment and Climate Action, João Pedro Matos Fernandes, will visit tomorrow the area affected by the fire of June 19.

According to a note from the Office of the Minister for the Environment and Climate Action, emergency stabilization works are already underway in the area affected by the fire, in a perimeter that encompasses the territory of the municipalities of Aljezur, Lagos and Vila do Bispo.

The Minister, accompanied by the Secretary of State for Nature Conservation, Forestry and Spatial Planning, João Catarino, will visit the areas where improvement works and emergency stabilization are taking place, which include interventions by mechanized teams from the Conservation Institute of Nature and Forests and the Forest Sappers Brigade of AMAL – Intermunicipal Community of Algarve, read in the same statement.

After the visit, the officials meet with the mayors of Aljezur, Lagos and Vila do Bispo.

Monday 29th June by David Thomas

Covid-19 cases

The number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the Algarve has risen to 612, since the beginning of the pandemic, according to data from the epidemiological bulletin of the Directorate-General for Health this Sunday, 28 June.

Since Saturday, according to DGS data, there are 17 more confirmed cases in the Algarve region.

UGT asks the Government for exceptional measures against unemployment in the region

The General Union of Workers (UGT) of the Algarve yesterday asked the Government to urgently implement exceptional measures to prevent unemployment in the region, which in May grew by more than 200%, from increasing further after the summer.

In a statement, the president of that union structure defended as “a priority to consider measures to support employment” so that “in two or three months”, when the low season begins, unemployment does not assume “even more dramatic” dimensions, in a context of covid-19 pandemic.

“The ideal would be to move forward with another exceptional measure for the region that would be more comprehensive and cumulative with that measure already in place”, said Daniel Santana, referring to the FormAlgarve program, which supports employers that sign contracts for at least 12 months with your workers whose contracts expire between September 1st and December 31st.

According to the union leader, the seasonality problem in the region was aggravated by the pandemic crisis, due to the “economy very dependent on tourist flows”, requiring “more incentives for candidate companies and with longer duration”.

Portimão: Municipality and ABC guarantee covid-19 tests for hotel workers

The Municipality of Portimão has just announced that it will establish a protocol with the ABC – Algarve Biomedical Center, in order to enable the workers of the hotel units in the municipality to be tested every two weeks on the drive thru operating at the Portimão Arena.

The measure was agreed following a video conference that brought together Thursday the Portimão Health Delegate, the Municipal Civil Protection, the Portimão hotel directors and the Mayor of the city, Isilda Gomes, to whom the hoteliers’ concern was conveyed, concerning the hiring of human resources from temporary work companies and the way in which these people are managed.

During the videoconference, the tourism officials showed willingness to carry out tests on Covid-19, every 15 days, to their employees, establishing that the municipality will bear the costs associated with using the Portimão Arena drive thru for this purpose, while hotels will pay for their tests.

It was also established a periodicity of monthly meetings to monitor the situation, with the participation of the public health and civil protection unit, with the next scheduled for July 22, an important time to carry out a situation report of the usual high season.

Castro Marim beaches awarded with Blue Flag, Affordable Beach and Gold Quality

The Municipality of Castro Marim announced, in a press release, that all beaches in Castro Marim – Alagoa / Altura, Praia Verde and Cabeço –had again won three quality awards attributed to bathing areas – Blue Flag, Accessible Beach Flag and Gold Quality .

According to the same document, the achievement of these awards “is the result of a rigorous and demanding work by the Organic Unit for Urban Management, Environment and Urban Services”, which aims to promote environmental information and education, water quality, environmental management, accessibility and safety and services on the beaches – help stations and signaling / information.

“These are distinguishing marks to which we want to add, in this particular year, the recognition of being safe beaches. All the security and prevention measures to Covid-19 have been taken, with the greatest collaboration and understanding of local businessmen and merchants and citizens”, stressed the Mayor, Francisco Amaral.

Sunday 28th June

Covid-19 cases Algarve

DGS registers 19 more cases of COVID-19 in the Algarve since yesterday

The number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the Algarve has risen to 595 since the beginning of the pandemic, according to data from the epidemiological bulletin of the Directorate-General for Health of this Saturday, 27 June.

In relation to yesterday’s data from the DGS, today there are 21 new cases in the Algarve region, but, as far as the accounting done by the Regional Health Authority is concerned, there are 19 more.

Covid.19: Intensive care in the Algarve reinforced with 30 new ventilators

Reinforcement increases the region’s responsiveness.

The Assistant Secretary of State for Health and Health, Jamila Madeira, will visit next Monday, the 29th of June, the Faro unit of the Centro Hospitalar Universitário do Algarve, where she will have a meeting with the Board of Directors.

According to ARS Algarve, the Secretary of State, will publicly signal the reinforcement of the intensive care network in the Algarve with 30 new ventilators and also the new investments underway within the scope of the plan to improve the SNS response.

GNR disperses gatherings in place in Lagos and Albufeira

The GNR stopped two parties that were taking place on the public road, with dozens of people, in Lagos and Albufeira, in violation of the rules defined to fight the pandemic of the covid-19, it was announced today.

In a statement sent to the Lusa agency, the Faro Territorial Command explains that, through the intervention of military personnel from the Lagos and Olhos D’Água Territorial Posts, the two parties that were taking place on Friday in Barão de São João – Lagos and Albufeira.

In the case of Lagos, the military went to the location, after a noise report and verified the existence of live music and dozens of people on the street and on the terrace consuming alcoholic beverages next to a beverage establishment, making it difficult to pass either by pedestrians or vehicles.

“In view of these circumstances, the military proceeded to identify the owner of the establishment and informed that the gathering of more than 20 people is not allowed, in compliance with the rules in force. After being approached by the GNR military, the people present at the event accepted the indications and ended the party “, the note reads.

In the second case registered in Albufeira, GNR also received a noise report and went to the site.

“It was possible to see the presence of several dozen young people on the public road who, after the arrival of the GNR military, followed the order to disperse,” the statement emphasizes.

GNR stresses that, of the various rules of occupation, permanence and physical distance in places open to the public, celebrations and events that involve the concentration of people in excess of the limit allowed by declaration of alertness, contingency are not allowed under the Civil Protection Bases Law, and the consumption of alcoholic beverages on the public road is also prohibited.

The Minister of Health reassured today the users of the Portuguese Institute of Oncology (IPO) in Lisbon, after the situations of patients from other regions infected with Covid-19 in that hospital, namely a woman from Monchique, who ended up infecting five of her family members .

Minister of Health reassures about the IPO, after the cases in Monchique

Marta Temido answered a question posed by Sul Informação, at the press conference presenting the most recent data on the pandemic. The newspaper wanted to know if, after this outbreak that affects six people in Monchique, one of them a cancer patient, IPO users can be calm.

The minister began by saying that “it is very important that the National Health Service, like the rest of the country, resume its assistance activity and that people, when they need it, use health services with tranquility”.

He admitted that, since the IPO “the specialized hospital of reference for the entire area below Lisbon”, this “originated some cases, specifically contacts of users of the IPO that may have later originated positive cases in the Algarve region”.

However, the minister recalled that the detection of these cases happened “because the IPO has instituted a security procedure, as all hospitals in the National Health Service have, as there are other hospitals in the Portuguese health system, and as is generally being done. , at least, in the European Union’s health services, which is the systematic evaluation of users who are going to undergo certain treatments and the evaluation of professionals who are considered at risk for the effect”.

https://www.sulinformacao.pt/2020/06/ministra-da-saude-tranquiliza-em-relacao-ao-ipo-depois-dos-casos-em-monchique/

Algarve Saturday 27th of June

Covid-19 statistics

Yesterday, the Algarve has no new cases of Covid-19, while the Alentejo registers over 40 infected people and one death, according to data from the epidemiological bulletin of the Directorate-General for Health of this Friday, 26 June.

In numbers accumulated since the beginning of the pandemic, the Algarve has 574 cases, the same as Thursday. In Alentejo, there are now 409 cases accumulated. In the Algarve, DGS maintains the same 15 deaths.

Covid-19: Algarve must have “particular requirement” to avoid behaviour in the summer – Minister

The Minister of Internal Administration, Eduardo Cabrita, defended today that the Algarve must have a “particular requirement” to avoid risky behaviour during the summer, admitting that 2020 will be an atypical year in terms of tourism.

“Together, we will build evidence of our ability to respond with confidence, with attention to risks and with a particular demand in relation to security behaviours that falls on everyone. This is a responsibility of citizens, regional economic agents and all stakeholders, who have political or institutional responsibilities, “said the minister in Faro.

Eduardo Cabrita, who was speaking at the presentation of the “Algarve Seguro” program, stressed that, with the spirit built over the “most difficult months ever” of Portuguese institutional life, in an allusion to the covid-19 pandemic, it could be “built, with confidence, a safe Algarve for the future “.

“The Algarve is a region of security and, from a health point of view, one of the safest destinations in the world”, he continued, noting, however, that, in 2020, the Algarve will be “very far” from the historical results of the last years, on the passenger indicators at Faro Airport or overnight stays.

“2020 is not going to be the best year ever. It will be a year in which, with everyone’s efforts, we will build trust to welcome national citizens, who will have a very significant presence, and those that we want to welcome from abroad “he added.

Algarve Seguro Presentations

During the presentation of the program, at the Regional Tourism Algarve headquarters, officials from the police forces, Civil Protection and health authorities revealed the respective numbers of reinforcement personnel for the region in the summer months. The event was attended by around 50 police, military and representatives from several government entities plus the President Safe Communities Portugal.

The GNR will reinforce its security force in the Algarve during the summer with more than 2,600 military personnel, who will join the approximately 1,000 who are permanently stationed in the region.

“We will receive about 2,650 military personnel, divided into five areas: public order, motorized patrol and cycle, cavalry, binomials and 52 candidates for guards, who will carry out on-the-job training here,” said the director of National Operations at GNR , Colonel Guerra Henriques. The PSP, whose Faro District Command has 838 members, will reinforce this force, until September, with two teams from the Special Police Unit’s Intervention Corps, in addition to the Prevention and Immediate Reaction teams (two in Faro and two in Portimão ), to address crime in urban areas.

R#8220;On a case-by-case basis, according to an assessment of the risk that is inherent in all the operations that we proceed, through the identification of critical assets, vulnerabilities and level of impact, we will provide the Faro District Command with Transit teams, Rapid Intervention teams, ‘drones’ and other police means and equipment, “said quartermaster Pedro Grilo, head of PSP’s Policing and Public Order division.

Unlike in recent years, there will be no members of foreign police forces in the Algarve, since these partnerships are suspended, given the pandemic context.

Algarve Friday 26th of June

Covid – 19 Statistics

The Algarve registered yesterday 574 infected persons to date, 22 more than Wednesday and 15 deaths to date no change.

Regional count: source (DGS):

• Albufeira has 99 , ( 2 deaths );
• Loulé – 76 , (5 deaths );
• Portimão – 72 , ( 3 deaths );
• Faro – 70;
• Lagos – 70;
• Tavira – 33;
• Silves – 25;
• Olhão – 14;
• Vila Real de Stº
• António – 16 , ( 2 deaths );
• Lagoa – 13 , ( 2 deaths );
• Monchique – 8; Vila do Bispo – 4;
• São Brás de Alportel – 3 , ( 1 death ) and
• Castro Marim – 3

Cabanas de Tavira has a new contagion focus with eight cases of Covid-19

Tavira has eight new cases of Covid-19, “all of them with the same contagion focus, in the parish of Cabanas”, the Câmara de Tavira announced yesterday.

Ana Paula Martins, Mayor of Tavira, revealed that the first cases of this new outbreak are three residents of Cabanas “who worked together”, who transmitted the disease to five other people, in a work and family context.

Despite not having much information on the cases for now, the Regional Health Authority has ensured that “the transmission chain is identified” and that “tests are still being carried out” to those who have contacted the cases already confirmed. “Direct contacts have all been tested. But tests are still being done on other people who may have been exposed to contamination”, he added.

“The number may still grow, although I very much hope that it does not happen”, warned Ana Paula Martins. Bearing this in mind, the Mayor of Tavira appeals to the population “to be as safe as possible; tests are being carried out and there are people in prophylactic isolation”.

“We ask those who have been placed in isolation to respect it and the population in general to protect themselves and avoid gatherings in cafes and elsewhere, until we are sure that the chain is contained. My appeal is this: try to contain the chain and not go beyond these cases”, she appealed.

Covid.19: “Irresponsibility” leads GNR to intervene in the weekly fruit and vegetable market in Quarteira

The President of the Parish Council of Quarteira, Telmo Pinto, together with his executive were present, this Wednesday, in the fruit and vegetable producers market to remind the population to the use of masks and due compliance with social distances. New rules were also implemented with the vendors, according to a statement from the Parish Council.

Being a market with strong adhesion by the population, a new rule was imposed on sellers, based on the guidelines given by the Government and the Directorate-General for Health, which dictates that the sale of products will be “exclusively to those who are on site with personal protective equipment “.

As stated in the statement, “since some people did not comply with the impositions”, it led to the intervention of GNR with the seizure of products from unauthorized sellers and the suspension of three sellers,, as a way of enforcing people to comply with the measures the new measures. The Quarteira Parish Council says it is aware of the decisions imposed by the competent authorities, not agreeing with the “irresponsibility of some who can jeopardize the health of all”, he concludes.

The Slide & Splash water park in Lagoa, will reopen on June 29.

According to the water park, “a rigorous operational plan was drawn up, with the main objective being the safety and health of visitors and employees” due to Covid-19.

“Exposure to the virus is an inherent risk in any public place”, but “Slide & Splash is committed to a responsible effort in the implementation of preventive measures, in order to avoid this risk. We also believe in the fulfillment of these measures by our customers”.

The capacity of the park has been reduced by half. In addition, “we request that the distance between people, at least 2 meters, be kept, except for cohabitants. The access to the slides is signalled by a single entrance, duly marked. On the floor or on the sides of the waiting lines, safety distances between users are marked”, explains the water park.

The use of a mask and shoes is mandatory in all enclosed spaces such as bathrooms, restaurants, shop, infirmary and reception.

Presentation Algarve Seguro 2020 Program

Eduardo Cabrita, Minister of Internal Administration, presides, this Friday, June 26, from 16:00, at the presentation session of the Algarve Seguro 2020 Program, at Regional Tourism Algarve (RTA) in Faro.

This program foresees a reinforcement of the resources of the Forces and Security Services of the Ministry of Internal Administration, as well as of the Civil Protection agents during the summer months. The program, which comes into force every year, takes into account the fact that the population of the Algarve increases during the holiday season.

Thursday 25th June 2020

Covid-19

In the Algarve, 16 more cases were reported by DGS since Tuesday, bring the total to date of 552 confirmed cases.

According to the newspaper Sulinformacao quoting official sources, the Algarve municipalities where, in the last two days, new confirmed cases of the disease have been registered are Portimão (+6), Albufeira (+4), Lagos (+2), Monchique (+ 1) , Silves (+ 1) and Tavira (+1).

Although some new cases continue to appear, the pace of the increase has slowed down, which seems to indicate that the situation caused by the illegal Odiáxere party is already under control.

The City Council of Silves hoisted the Blue Flag yesterday on all beaches in the municipality.

The ceremony yesterday was attended by Rosa Palma, Mayor of Silves; Mário Godinho, the Vice-President, Luisa Conduto, the Councilor of Peloro do Ambiente; Élia Cabrita, Jorge Pessoa of the Portuguese Environment Agency; Jorge Pessoa, Deputy Captain of the Port of Portimão Captaincy; Ricardo Pinto, President of the Parish Council of Armação de Pêra; Nelson Correia, Commander of the Municipal Civil Protection and Forest Service; and Luis Santos, Head of Education, Sports, Youth and Social Action Division of the municipality.

According to a note from the Municipality, in addition to the Blue Flag, the Accessible Beach flags were also hoisted, this year contemplating a new location, increasing to four the accessible beach locations in the municipality. Thus, Praia dos Pescadores – Nascent area, joins the areas already known as accessible, at Armação de Pêra Beach next to the Mini-Golf garden and Fortaleza, and at Praia Grande Poente.

In the same note, it is mentioned that all beaches in the municipality of Silves were also distinguished for the quality of their bathing water, receiving the “Praia Quality de Ouro 2020” Award by Quercus – National Association for Nature Conservation.

Monchique has six new cases due to IPO outbreak

The municipality of Monchique now has six cases of covid-19, due to the outbreak that originated at the IPO (Portuguese Institute of Oncology), in Lisbon, about a week ago, the local Mayor, Rui André said on Tuesday.

The beginning of the outbreak in that municipality “was due to the episode of an oncological disease of a lady residing in Monchique in a treatment in Lisbon that resulted in the infection of that person. Then the virus spread to the family, there are six people infected in two houses”, said the mayor.

According to the same source, at this moment all elements of the two families and close contacts have already been tested, and, apart from the six infections detected (the cancer patient and five close relatives), all tests were negative.

According to Rui André, infected people are asymptomatic and confined to their homes, where they must remain for a period of two weeks, accompanied by the county’s health authorities.

These cases interrupt a long period during which that municipality in the Algarve interior did not have active infections.

Leisure time in Lagos adapts to the pandemic

The free time occupation project “Viver o Verão”, promoted by the municipality of Lagos, adapted to the covid-19 pandemic has undergone changes that were recently approved at the last town hall meeting, the municipality announced.

This new model ensures “a safe response to the largest number of children, young people and families, respecting the current rules and guidelines of the Directorate-General for Health,” according to the statement.

The groups of participants will consist of a maximum of eight children from 8 to 12 years old, who remain in the project for a period of 15 days, in the morning or afternoon shift, with no meal included.

The new rules will allow 128 children and 32 young monitors to be employed every fortnight, for a total of 640 participants in this year’s edition.

The project will be developed at Espaço Jovem, at Basic School 1 of Bairro Operário and at Basic School 1 of Odiáxere, while the Bensafrim and Luz centers will not work this year because they “do not meet the conditions required by the rules in force”.

In order for everything to run smoothly and guaranteeing all preventive care, a Procedures Manual was drawn up that defines personal, common and mandatory rules for all employees involved.

Wednesday 24th of June

Faro Airport “intensifies” movement with the arrival of summer

The Algarve continues to resume the flow of commercial passenger flights, with increases in the coming days of the travel calendar of several foreign companies with Faro International Airport as a destination.

According to RTA, this week Ryanair resumes flights from Dublin, Stansted, Manchester, Porto and Brussels; Transavia strengthens its connections with flights from Rotterdam, Eindhoven, Paris, Montpellier, Lyon and Nantes; Eurowings will have flights from Dusseldorf and Stuttgart, Cologne and Hamburg. As of July, flights by Air France will resume, which will fly from Paris, British Airways and Jet.2com, from all its UK bases.

According to Turismo do Algarve, these join the first connections made in May, with flights from Edelweiss and Luxair, and in the first half of June with Transavia, Brussels Airlines, TUI Belgium, Volotea (from Lyon ), Wizzair (from Luton-London), EasyJet (from Belfast – Northern Ireland), TUI Germany (from Dusseldorf and Frankfurt), Lufthansa (from Frankfurt), SWISS (from Geneva) and Luxair (from Luxembourg).

“The gradual resumption of air connections to the Algarve is a positive sign for tourism in the region, for the economic and social fabric and, above all, it is proof that there is an important perception that we are a destination in the eyes of the rest of the countries”, stated João Fernandes, president of RTA.

“It should be noted that all security measures to receive national and international tourists continue to be taken. Recommendations are being applied that are part of the ‘Algarve Clean & Safe’ Manual of Good Practices, in line with the stipulated by the health authorities, and in addition, Faro International Airport is implementing basic measures to receive passengers, such as the measurement of temperature, the reinforcement of signs to indicate physical distance and information on the use of masks and protections at service counters “, he added.

Covid-19 testing in Lagos

Following the outbreak of Covid 19 detected in Lagos, testing has been intensifying, in order to lose epidemiological propagation chains and control the outbreaks of infection as soon as possible, resuming the necessary confidence among the population and of the various sectors of activity.

An area dedicated to Covid-19 (ADC) is open on the weekend at the Lagos Health Center.

Operation: Everyday from 9 am to 19 pm, only for users with symptoms or contacts with infected persons.

For questions to be clarified or if you have been at the party or contacting participants, you should call 633 282 096 of the public health line. Testing appointments are from 9:00 to 16:00

Covid.19: Portimão defines ratio per person for outdoor swimming pools

The City Council of Portimão decided, by council resolution that for the calculation of the maximum capacity in the outdoor pools of the municipality (those for collective use), the ratio of one person per 8 square meters should be used, considering only the area total pool.

In a statement, the Municipality mentions that the decision approved unanimously, took into account the current epidemiological context and the fact that the swimming pools “constitute recreational spaces visited every year by thousands of people”. Aspects were defined about the operation and use of the pools, in order to mitigate the risk of contamination, which can arise with “the respiratory secretions – coughing and sneezing – of an infected person, as a direct vehicle of transmission”, notes the same document.

Examples are the pools of tourist developments, hotel units, or common use in a building condominium, among other situations. This decision is based on Decree-Law no. 24/2020, of 25 May, which regulates the access, occupation and use of bathing beaches for the bathing season and whose rules also apply – with the necessary adaptations – the operation of outdoor swimming pools.

Algarve Tuesday 23 of June

Covid-19 cases linked to the party in Lagos rise to 111

The number of positive cases of covid-19 associated with the party in Odiáxere, in the municipality of Lagos, has risen to 111, of whom 19 are children under 9 years old, the Regional Administration of (ARS) of the Algarve said yesterday.

In the statement, ARS Algarve added that at the Centro Hospitalar Universitário do Algarve – Hospital de Faro, two people remain hospitalized, aged 27 and 39, with no record of hospitalizations in intensive care in the Algarve.

“All other cases remain in isolation from home,” he adds.

The number of active cases of Covid-19 in the Algarve has risen to 180, according to official data from the Regional Health Authority. Of these, 174 people are at home, while six are admitted to the Hospital de Faro (but none in intensive care). According to these figures, the total number of confirmed cases has already reached 537.

Applications are open for strengthening health care in the Algarve.

The Regional Health Administration (ARS) of the Algarve has opened applications, on a temporary mobility basis, for doctors and nurses willing to perform functions in the region during the summer period of 2020.

With this measure, the Ministry of Health aims to reinforce, during the summer months, the provision of health care in the Algarve region, without compromising the regular and normal functioning of other health services and establishments.

Using the mobility option, namely the partial mobility provided for in the law, the Algarve is preparing simultaneously for the temporary increase in population that usually occurs during this period of the year and for the situation of containment and prevention caused by Covid-19. ARS Algarve strives to provide temporary free accommodation for selected health professionals, according to local availability.

Large increase in unemployment

The number of unemployed registered in employment centers increased 34% in May compared to the same month of the previous year and 4.2% compared to April, according to data released today by the Institute of Employment and Professional Training (IEFP).

According to the IEFP, at the end of May, 408,934 unemployed were registered in the employment services of the continent and autonomous regions, a number that represents 75.1% of a total of 544,351 job applications. The total number of unemployed increased by 103,763 (34% more) in year-on-year terms and by 16,611 (4.2% more) in relation to the previous month.

It is necessary to go back to January 2018, when there were 415,539 unemployed enrolled in the IEFP, to find a higher number than that verified in May 2020. The increase in unemployment occurs in the month in which Portugal left the state of emergency due to the covid-19 pandemic and moved to a state of calamity and the gradual lifting of confinement measures.

The Union of Parishes of Faro created the Entrepreneur Support Office (GAE).

In a statement, the União de Freguesias stated yesterday that the initiative also comes under the scope of extraordinary measures related to Covid-19 “to facilitate, inform and accompany entrepreneurs” who want to invest in the parishes, create new jobs and implement their ideas and ‘startup’, “in order to transform synergies and innovative projects into business realities”.

According to the same source, the GAE will seek to answer the most frequent questions asked by entrepreneurs in the different phases of the project, “from the initial phase through the elaboration and maturation of the idea and business plan, through its implementation and constitution as a company, to the prospects for its growth and development “.

To take advantage of this service, those interested should contact the Union of Parishes of Faro by e-mail: gae@uf-faro.pt or telephone 289889760 and make an appointment in advance, for a personalized service.

Municipality promotes screening of Covid-19 to the Fire Department of Alcoutim

Partnership with ABC – Academic Center for Research and Biomedical Training in the Algarve. The Municipality of Alcoutim has established a partnership with ABC, to conduct a serological screening of the operational personnel of the Voluntary Firefighters of Alcoutim, responding to a concern evidenced by the Direction and Command of this institution.

The Mayor of Alcoutim affirms: “The purpose of these tests is to remove any asymptomatic situations and establish the necessary comfort for these emergency and emergency professionals, as well as to maintain the safety of our residents”.

Monday 22 of June

The Directorate-General for Health announced this Sunday, the existence of 1,530 deaths in Portugal, 2 more compared to yesterday.

There are 292 more infected, for a total of 39,133, points out the epidemiological bulletin released by DGS.

The report indicates that the North region has the highest number of deaths 814 and 17,249 cases, followed by the Lisbon and Vale do Tejo region with 436 deaths and 16,762 cases, the Center region with 248 deaths and 3991 cases, from Alentejo 374 cases and 2 deaths, Azores 144 and 15 deaths and Madeira with 92 positive cases.

The Algarve registers 521 infected – 22 more than yesterday and 15 deaths.

Covid-19: Clube de Odiáxere says that “family” party was for 20 people having alerted GNR

The Clube Desportivo de Odiáxere, in Lagos, where the illegal party that gave rise to an outbreak of covid-19 was held, apologized for the “tragic dimension” that the event reached, but points out that it was them that called the authorities.

In a long explanation posted on Saturday on its Facebook page, the sports club reports how it was requested to hold the birthday party, which took place in the club’s ballroom, on the 7th of June, and which resulted in the infection of 90 people with covid-19, according to data provided by health authorities.

The club’s management states that the clarification aims to “expose the truth of the facts, in the first person, without subterfuge or untruth, assuming as always”, all its responsibilities, wishing “at last, that as soon as possible, this episode will be finished and without further consequences”.

“We feel extremely injured and deceived by everything that has happened”, he says, adding that, “since the first hour”, they made all the declarations, “with transparency, although, quite naturally, very sad and shaken by the unfolding of all events”.

The club says that it was a private individual who requested the use of the club’s lounge for “a family and private birthday party for a maximum of 20 people”.

Face-to-face classes at Pinheiro and Rosa end after 2 more cases of Covid-19

The face-to-face classes at the Escola Secundária Pinheiro e Rosa, in Faro, ended after two more employees tested positive for Covid-19.

Francisco Soares, director of the Pinheiro e Rosa School Group, said that “this is a preventive measure” to “avoid contagion”. Thus, the next week (the last one for classes) will only be “distance classes” for the approximately 150 students of the 11th and 12th years.

After there was a positive case last Thursday, the 18th, the decision was still made to continue the face-to-face classes, but at Escola EB 2, 3 Neves Júnior, which belongs to the same group. Now, with these two confirmed cases, «we are going to close everything», explained Francisco Soares.

https://www.sulinformacao.pt/2020/06/acabam-aulas-presenciais-na-pinheiro-e-rosa-depois-de-mais-2-casos-de-covid-19/

Sunday 21st of June

DGS Covid-19 update Algarve

Yesterday the Algarve has a total of 499 cases of COVID-19 and 15 deaths, 19 more infections than the previous day, according to the epidemiological bulletin of the Directorate-General for Health.

This new increase in the number of positive cases of the disease in the Algarve is due to the outbreak resulting from an illegal party in Lagos, in the beginning of June, which has already caused about 90 infected people.

The municipality of Vila do Bispo, which had not recorded any cases since the beginning of the pandemic, is already part of today’s epidemiological bulletin.

According to the situation released yesterday by the District Civil Protection Commission of Faro, the region has 135 active cases, six of them hospitalized but not in intensive care and 330 patients already recovered.

Investigation into the illegal party in Odiáxere

The Public Ministry (MP) has opened an investigation to ascertain the circumstances surrounding a birthday party held at the facilities of Clube Desportivo de Odiáxere, Lagos, Algarve, at the origin of an outbreak of Covid-19.

The inquiry was opened on Friday by the Public Ministry of the Lagos section of the Department of Investigation and Penal Action (DIAP) in Faro, indicates today the website of the local MP.

“Within the scope of the inquiry, the eventual framing of this factuality in the practice of crime will be evaluated, namely the spread of disease”, adds the DIAP of Faro in information posted on the website.

The investigation opened after the Minister of Justice requests the Attorney General’s Office (PGR) to intervene in the MP to represent the State, “to institute damages actions against the promoters of the Odiáxere event in Lagos, which resulted in the infection of more than seven dozen people, including children “.

Algarve Biomedical Center – The probability of a second wave this winter is very high

Nuno Marques runs the Algarve Biomedical Center (ABC) biomedical research center, which has been at the center of combating the pandemic. To DN, he talks about this struggle of the last three months, and the future, in which masks, social distance and hand washing will be mandatory, “at least in the next two, three years”.

Doctor at the hospitals of Faro and Portimão, professor at the University of Algarve and president of the Algarve Biomedical Center (ABC), a partnership between those institutions for biomedical research, Nuno Marques has been at the forefront in combating the covid-19 pandemic in Portugal .

He was one of the drivers of diagnostic tests in scientific research centers across the country, in a network that now covers 22 centers, which was “decisive” in the most critical phase and “is to continue”, he says. The doctor, professor and researcher has no doubt that this network “is an opportunity” for “a faster and more effective global development” in the country.

The likelihood of a second wave of the pandemic in winter, he says, “she is very tall”, so “we have to be very attentive” and “continue to prepare”. Social detachment, wearing masks and frequent hand washing, however, came to stay “for the next two, three years, at least”. It is a new way of life that “we must adopt”. And never let your guard down, because “a new outbreak can occur at any time”.

The ABC center played a central role in combating covid in the Algarve. Three months after the disease arrived in Portugal. (Note we will publish the full account of this article in English shortly)

Câmara de Loulé launches health safety plan in the bathing areas of the municipality

The Municipality of Loulé said yesterday that at a time when the pandemic of COVID-19 “does not stop”, it is promoting a series of initiatives to strengthen the confidence of tourists and residents, ensuring hygiene and sanitary measures in bathing areas. .

In a statement, the Municipality explained that a working group was created with a view to preparing proposals for measures and procedures, to contribute, through AMAL, to the preparation of the manual on the exceptional and temporary regime for the occupation and use of beaches, in the context of COVID-19.

On the other hand, the Chamber says it has created, “a strong communication campaign, with an information and awareness component” aimed at beach users to comply with all the rules recommended by the Directorate-General for Health.

The signage created by APA – Associação Portuguesa do Ambiente for the country’s beaches was also applied, namely the implementation of flags, which function as red, yellow and green “traffic lights” and allow to inform holidaymakers about the occupation of the respective beaches.

To support those on the beach, the Municipality of Loulé has hired and trained several teams of beach assistants, duly identified, to carry out awareness-raising actions, in conjunction with the National Maritime Authority, and other tasks such as the cleaning of various equipment.

Judicial Police seize 1.4 tonnes of hashish in Tavira

Yesterday morning, 1,400 kilograms of hashish were seized on a Tavira beach and two men were detained.

“After an exchange of information between the PJ and the GNR Coastal Control Unit, the vessel was monitored, António Madureira explained to Lusa. Following this operation, which took place at Praia do Barril, in the municipality of Tavira, the authorities seized 43 bales of hashish, a total of 1,400 kilograms, and detained two men, aged between 30 and 40 years.

“These are two men who were already referenced and who had already been arrested for this type of crime,” he said. According to António Madureira, the detainees will still be present today in court for the application of the respective enforcement measures.

Latest news concerning fire at Aljezur municipality – 21^st June – 0730 hrs.

The fire that broke out on 19^th June afternoon, in Aljezur and spread to the municipalities of Vila do Bispo and Aljezur, is under control, but “difficult days” are still coming, so the “device will remain” on the ground. Vítor Vaz Pinto, operational commander for the Algarve, stated the following a few minutes ago.

Despite being “dominated at 9:10 am”, “there was a set of more or less violent re-ignitions that were being stopped”, he acknowledged.

It will be a difficult night, tomorrow also difficult and the day after tomorrow. The next few days are going to be difficult. If weather conditions are confirmed, we are going to have a difficult week with regard to rural fires, ”he added.

“Fortunately, and given the complexity of the fire, there is no personal injury, neither in combatants nor in the population,” said Vaz Pinto, stressing that the priority is the safeguarding of people, goods and environmental heritage.

He added that 35 people had to be displaced due to the fire and that the Vila do Bispo Parish Council was preparing a solution in the event of needing to be welcomed, which was not necessary because everyone found a solution by their own means. “We are going to have a difficult night, like tomorrow and the next few days too,” anticipated Vaz Pinto, stressing that it is not possible to predict when the fire may be said to be extinguished.

Vaz Pinto also said that the initial attack on the fire, on Friday, in Vilarinha, Aljezur, was done in a “muscular and enlarged” way, because the area in question was identified as a risk area, but wind conditions have made it difficult the work and caused the rekindles, which are also expected during the night.

Commander Richard Marques, who was in charge of the operation during the afternoon, explained that the affected area is “25 kilometers in perimeter and 10 kilometers from tail to head”, but guaranteed that the means have been positioned in the areas most at risk for attack any rekindles. He added that there are “eight track machines to consolidate fire, but the wind is strong and we have projections that are difficult to overcome”. Adelino Soares, Mayor of Vila do Bispo, said that whoever “is asking for support, is receiving it”.

These are people who burned houses, made of wood and without any type of license, or motor homes and who can seek help from the municipality. “We still don’t know if it was someone’s first home, but each of these points was identified”.

As at 2045 hrs a total of 466 personnel supported by 154 vehicles and one aircraft and one helicopter are deployed.

Saturday 20th of June

Covid 19 situation in Algarve and the illegal party

In a press conference to take stock of the numbers of covid-19 in the Algarve, Ana Cristina Guerreiro said that “until 00:00 yesterday [Thursday]” there were “76 cases”, but in the meantime, the number rose to 90 , and the results of the tests carried out yesterday are still awaited.

“Only two [people] remain hospitalized because their health status deserves some attention,” said the official, adding that there are 345 people in isolation at home to avoid new transmission chains.

According to Ana Cristina Guerreiro, so far “1,222 tests have been carried out” in Lagos, an average of 250 per day, which number she expects to decrease today, “with some still taking place over the weekend”.

Most of the positive cases refer to people residing in Lagos, and “not everyone is at the party”, with cases already involving family members, he stressed. The main strategy of the authorities is the “identification of the people who participated in the party and the respective contacts”, with forwarding for testing, for the time being “no more serious measures”. The contagion was caused by an illegal party that took place on June 7, in the ballroom of the sports club of Odiáxere, in Lagos, allegedly to celebrate a birthday.

The Minister of Health today ruled out the possibility of a sanitary fence in the Algarve, following the outbreak of covid-19 in Lagos, saying that this is not this measure that prevents people from having risky behaviors.

Promoters of illegal party in Lagos may incur the payment of damages

“The Minister of Justice yesterday asked the Attorney General’s Office for the intervention of the Public Ministry to, in representation of the State, institute damages actions against the promoters of the Odiáxere event in Lagos, which resulted in the infection of more 70 people including children”, reads in a note sent by the Public Ministry. (Figure now increased to 90)

The Lusa agency yesterday questioned the Attorney General’s Office as to whether the Public Ministry is going to open an investigation to ascertain responsibilities in the organization of the party and if the promoter of the event has already been identified by the authorities, but has not yet received a response.

Illegal party- Investigation by the GNR

José Apolinário Secretary of State and regional coordinator on the Covid-19 pandemic in the Algarve yesterday praised the response capacity of the Algarve to COVID-19, since the region has only 135 active cases, 76 of which are linked to the “unfortunate event” of the illegal party in Odiáxere, Lagos. Figures since update to 90.

He stated that the National Republican Guard (GNR), “has made its inquiries and presented its competent participation to the Public Ministry. It will now await the development that will result from this complaint.

According to José Apolinário, “eventually they could be facing a crime of spreading the disease. The evidence goes in that direction ».

Faro distributes disinfectant gel dispensers in local shops

The Faro City Council started yesterday to distribute disinfectant gel dispensers to the municipality’s merchants, under the “Faro Protege” initiative, the municipality announced.

This action represents an investment of around 90 thousand euros and already has more than 800 participating establishments in the municipality.

In partnership with the Association of Commerce and Services of the Algarve Region (ACRAL), Association of Commercial Development of the Historic Area of ​​Faro, Association of Hotel and Similar Industries of the Algarve (AIHSA) and the Cultural and Activist Association of Downtown Faro (OCAB), about 1000 disinfectant gel dispensers will be distributed.

The Mayor of Faro, Rogério Bacalhau, accompanied by representatives of the various associations, yesterday delivered the first 300 dispensers, while the rest will be delivered in the coming weeks.

This initiative aims to promote hand hygiene and give consumers back the confidence to visit traditional shops and restaurants in the municipality.

Aljezur keeps zero cases even after outbreak in Lagos

The Aljezur City Council reported yesterday that the municipality remains without cases of covid-19, even after an outbreak in the neighbouring municipality of Lagos due to the holding of an illegal party.

In a statement published on its website, the municipality clarifies that, since the beginning of the pandemic and until today, “there is no record or knowledge of anyone infected with coronavirus” in that municipality in the district of Faro. The municipality took the opportunity to appeal to people to seek information about the pandemic from official sources, since the “excessive abundance of information”, some “false and erroneous”, increases the difficulty in finding “reliable guidelines”.

“In this period of uncertainty in which we are preparing to receive our visitors, just as we do and well every year, we must reinforce the prevention and protection measures”, concludes the Câmara de Aljezur.

Friday 19th June 2020

Covid-19 Statistics

The Algarve yesterday has a total of 448 cases of COVID-19 and 15 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic, 35 more infections than Wednesday.

This large increase in the number of positive cases of the disease in the Algarve is due to the outbreak resulting from an illegal party in Lagos,

Covid-19: President of the Ordem dos Médicos reminds that “the Algarve is the image of the country abroad”

The Ordem dos Médicos stated yesterday the need to intensify an awareness campaign for the security rules against the covid-19 in the Algarve.

“The issue of the health screen is a decision that has to be taken by the Director-General of Health with the Ministry of Health and listening to the mayors,” said the president of the Ordem dos Médicos who spoke to journalists in Porto, after a visit to the São João Hospital.

In an intervention in which he stressed several times that “the pandemic is not over yet”, but also analysed the need for an economic recovery., When asked about the current situation in the Algarve, an area where outbreaks of the new coronavirus have been detected in recent days, Miguel Guimarães called for the intensification of alert campaigns.

“The Algarve is the image of the country abroad, it is the place that will probably have more foreign tourists. The reinforcement measures have to be big (…). If people comply, the virus will have a lot of difficulty in spreading. In the Algarve we have to insist on this even more with a very, very, strong campaign “, said Miguel Guimarães.

The president of the Regional Council of the South of the Portuguese Medical Association, Alexandre Valentim Lourenço, also defended today, in an interview with Diário de Notícias, more stringent measures for the Algarve area.

Covid-19: ARS President says “there is no danger of the Algarve closing“

In response to the Order of Doctors, the Regional Health Administration (ARS) of the Algarve guaranteed today that it has the installed capacity to respond to any outbreaks of covid-19 that arise in the Algarve, such as what was recorded in Lagos, “without danger of closing” the region.

The chairman of the ARS / Algarve board of directors, Paulo Morgado, told Lusa that “there is no danger of the Algarve closing, the Alentejo closing or the country closing” because what is happening “at this moment is the appearance of small outbreaks here and there ”, which can happen anywhere in the“ national territory ”or in other countries.

Paulo Morgado Chairman of the Algarve Regional Health authority (ARS) replied that “These are alarmist statements. At the moment, the situation of the pandemic and the epidemic in Portugal is not completely controlled, it is true, but we are in a downward phase of the curve. We may have a second wave, like other countries where the disease exists, but if this wave is going to be bigger or smaller, nobody knows and nobody is able to predict it”, said the president of ARS.

Paulo Morgado assured that “the Algarve has the capacity to respond”, as “it had for the first wave” of the pandemic, when “it was never close to running out of installed capacity” to treat patients infected with the new coronavirus.

“We have the capacity to have around 250 covid patients admitted to our hospitals and the maximum we had was a tenth of that, in terms of inpatient capacity”, he exemplified, considering that, “in an outbreak of 100 people, maybe only 10 are who need internment”.

Echoing the Chairman of the ARS Algarve the president of the Algarve Intermunicipal Community (AMAL) today accused the Ordem dos Médicos of being “alarmist” about the regional response capacity to possible outbreaks of covid-19 and praised the role of the regional authorities in the Lagos outbreak.

“Although the [Lagos] outbreak has had a greater effect than any episode so far, the situations are identified, the contacts are defined, people are controlled and it is part of the process of deflation [situations like this],” said António Miguel Pina, speaking to Lusa.

António Pina therefore asked the representatives of the Order, “whether the president or those of other structures, when they speak of the Algarve, and at this time of the year, speak” only and exclusively about the problems of their professional careers and their profession”.

“The Portuguese cannot take very seriously what the statements of this organisation are, which is a mixture of union and Order, because on Monday they say that more doctors are needed and on Friday they say that there are enough doctors”.

Covid-19: Misericórdias suspend visits to 24 social facilities in the Algarve

The president of the regional secretariat of the Misericórdias do Algarve told Lusa yesterday that visits to users in 24 social facilities have now been suspended due to the outbreak of covid-19 caused by an illegal party in Lagos.

“In the face of the outbreak that arose in Lagos, we decided to suspend visits to the social facilities of Misericórdias throughout the western Algarve, to safeguard the thousands of users and the approximately 1,500 employees”, said Armindo Vicente.

The president of the regional secretariat, a structure that integrates 23 mercies across the Algarve, specified that the suspension of visits covers 12 Misericórdias do barlavento, in a total of 24 social structures, including nursing homes, long-term care units, homes for young people and mental health.

The contingency measures cover the Misericórdias of Aljezur, Vila do Bispo, Portimão, Monchique, Lagos, Alvor (Portimão), Estombar (Lagoa), Silves, Alcantarilha and Armação de Pêra (Silves) and Albufeira.

Visit by President Safe Communities Portugal and British Vice Consul

This week British Vice Consul in Portimão, Clive Jewell, together with Safe Communities Portugal President, David Thomas, met with Faro Airport Director, Alberto Mota Borges and two of his senior managers, Pedro Bettencourt and Vitor Andrade, for a discussion on the measures now in place at Faro Airport, as flights into the Algarve region are slowly and cautiously beginning to operate again.

The airport has a comprehensive and impressive set of measures in place to protect passengers, and to encourage them to protect themselves, their fellow travellers and airport staff. This includes the compulsory wearing of face masks, social distancing everywhere, contactless lifts with foot pedals, screens at check-in desks and over 100 hand gel dispensers throughout the airport.

Some airport services and amenities are open and others will do so soon. More information at the Faro airport website here: https://bit.ly/30XqsBs

Secondary school closed in Faro due to COVID-19 employee

The Pinheiro e Rosa Secondary School, in Faro, was closed yesterday after an employee tested positive for covid-19, according to the City Council of the district capital.

The same source from the municipality told the agency Lusa that the only students who were in classes are from the 12th grade and were transferred to another school, while teams of fire fighters from Faro disinfect the school.

Algarve Regional Health Administration (ARS) has also confirmed the existence of a positive case of covid-19 detected in an employee of the Pinheiro e Rosa secondary school.

The health authorities are monitoring the evolution of the situation and evaluating the proximity contacts maintained with the employee who tested positive for the application of any isolation measures, said the same source.

However, ARS did not give any instructions for the closure of the school, said the source of the organization that oversees the hospital and emergency services in the Algarve region.

Portimão beaches boast quality awards and “high levels of health security”

In a statement yesterday, the Municipality of Portimão highlighted the strong commitment “to measures without parallel to prevent Covid-19”.

The municipality announced yesterday that, in addition to the quality and safety that characterize the beaches of Portimão, this year the adoption of several preventive measures in view of the current pandemic of Covid-19, so that tourists “fully enjoy its fine sands and the serene sea”.

Examples of the attributes of excellence of this tourist destination, are that yesterday the Blue Flag and the flag “Accessible Beach – Beach for All” were raised, which attest to the environmental quality of the seaside resorts in the municipality of Portimão, which were the target of a set of actions to ensure the safety of regulars, he stressed.

The Blue Flag is raised at this time of the year on the beaches of Alvor, Três Irmãos (includes Torralta), Vau, Três Castelos, da Rocha and Marina, the latter displaying the award for the first time, he said.

Thursday 18th June 2020

Covid 19 Statistics

In the Algarve yesterday, six more cases were reported by DGS compared with Tuesday, bringing the total to 413 to date. The Odiáxere party has its weight in these numbers, but these numbers refer to the official residence of those infected not the place of testing or where they maybe currently living. The number of positive cases so far from the illegal party stands at 37 with two still hospitalised.

This means that if someone has been infected at the event but lives, for example, in Lisbon, they will see their case recorded in the capital’s numbers. These figures are then adjusted later.

Misericórdias de Lagos, Portimão, Alvor, Vila do Bispo and Aljezur close the visits again as “prevention”

The Santas Casas da Misericórdia of Lagos, Portimão, Alvor, Vila do Bispo and Aljezur yesterday banned visits by family members to the users of the homes under their responsibility, as a way of “preventing” possible contagions, following the illegal party that has already caused nearly 40 new cases of Covid-19 .

Armindo Vicente, president of the Secretariat of Misericórdias do Algarve, told the South Information that this “concerted measure” was decided today.

In all, “this decision covers 12 residential establishments”: six homes in Lagos, one home and a Continuing Care Unit in Portimão, one home in Alvor, two in Vila do Bispo and another in Aljezur. In the case of the latter, visits to users had not yet been reopened and will now be postponed for some time.

In the case of Misericórdia de Vila do Bispo, of which Armindo Vicente is the provider, an employee who had “family members at the party” and therefore may have contacted infected people, is now at home, “prophylactically”, awaiting the results of the screening tests you’ve done. “It is better to wait a day or two than to take the risk”, stressed the provider.

“The problem is that many of the people who attended the party in Odiáxere live in Lagos and the surrounding counties and have family connections in many places. There are many family ramifications. For this reason, prevention is better”, concluded Armindo Vicente.

Further actions being taken following the illegal party

Within the scope of the contagion focus by COVID-19 recently identified in Lagos, with origins attributed to an illegal party that took place on the 7th of June in Odiáxere, the Municipality confirms that “several steps” were taken between the health authorities, and some affected private establishments, “with the aim of circumscribing and controlling this epidemic outbreak as soon as possible”, assures the Câmara de Lagos in a statement.

Trying to identify the people who participated in the party and others who had close contacts with the participants, namely in the family and in the work context, was one of the first measures, which has been accompanied by an intensive campaign to identify those for testing.

After the tests already carried out during the weekend, on Monday and Tuesday, a team made available by ARS is today at the Municipal Sports Pavilion, until 17:00, in order to promote ” intensive action” of conducting screening tests at COVID-19 to all people not yet tested who were present at the event that took place on the 7th of June in Odiáxere, as well as to family members and other close contacts, namely co-workers of these people who participated at the party.

Also at the Lagos Town Hall in the Paços do Concelho 21st Century Building, as there are signs of possible contacts with infected people, an intensive harvesting action will take place today, as a preventive measure, in the event of any of these may have been in contact with infected people.

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Wednesday 17 June 2020

Sixteen positive cases and two hospitalised following an illegal party held in Odiáxere

There are already 16 positive cases from Covid-19 related to an illegal party that brought together, on the 7th of June, over 100 people in Odiáxere, in the municipality of Lagos.

Two of the people infected with covid-19 following an illegal party in Lagos are hospitalized, according to the regional delegate of Health of the Algarve, who hopes that responsibilities will be attributed to the organizers of the event.

“Of the confirmed cases, there are two people aged 39 and 27 admitted to CHUA [Centro Hospitalar e Universitário do Algarve], in Faro. When covid patients are admitted, it is because their clinical condition is worrying”, said Ana Cristina Guerreiro.

At a press conference, the regional health delegate said she hoped “that responsibilities and their legal consequences could be attributed” to the organizers of the event, which took place on June 7 at the Odiáxere sports club.

“Having a party, we talk about more than 100 people, with such a dimension, in a pandemic moment, when the need for social distance, the use of masks has been so publicized (…), I hope so, that responsibilities are assigned”, he stressed.

So far, health authorities have conducted more than 100 tests, identifying 16 cases of covid-19 infection related to the party, two of which refer to children aged 12 and 7 who were not at the event but were infected by family members.

There are also five people waiting for results and at least 10 people waiting to take the test, added the official, stressing that the majority of people involved are “people of working age who work in multiple locations”.

Meanwhile he mayor of Lagos called for “greater attention, on the part of everyone”, for “compliance with the rules and, above all, more penalty for those who do not comply with them”.

“As in everything in life, those who do not comply must be punished”, he said.

President of Regional Health Authority calls for people not participate in illegal parties

Parties like the one in Odiáxere (Lagos), which has already infected 16 people with Covid-19 , have been taking place “across that Algarve”, particularly in the past weekend and with the participation of many Algarvians. For this reason, Paulo Morgado, president of the Regional Health Administration (ARS), calls for not participating in “this type of event”.

In a press conference, held this Tuesday, June 16, Paulo Morgado assumed that, in the future “many more parties are going to happen”.

The appeal “to the community in general” is not to “participate or organize events of this type” because we all have to “keep vigilant”.

Parties like the one in Odiáxere, where around 100 people will have participated, may “have consequences, as this one is already having, in the sense of having dozens of cases”, leading “to the closure of economic activities” and harming “the country”.

In addition, “irresponsible” acts translate into “immense hours of work for our health professionals who have made an immense effort”.

“The whole community is affected by a series of irresponsible acts. The message is this: we must all be vigilant about what happens in our communities. We know what is not permitted by law. Whoever organizes, should be held accountable and we all have to be vigilant”, he added..

Covid.19: Aljezur Council delivers protection kits to the population

During the Council meeting, held on June 9 the entire municipal executive, plus the heads of the Aljezur Solidário Group (Carina Sebastião, Cláudia Correia and Joana Rosa), who represent a group of more than 30 volunteers, undertook the delivery of the first 1500 community masks to the Municipality of Aljezur.

These community masks, totalling 3500, are the result of a project by Aljezur Solidário – a group of voluntary citizens, who were willing to produce them, accepting the challenge by the Municipality of Aljezur.

According to the municipality, the masks, “with different dimensions for men and women and with different patterns, were manufactured with 3 protective layers (including filter) and elastics that can be adjusted to the face of those who wear them”.

The masks and a set of 3 filters, make up the Kits that will be distributed to the population, in a small bag, read in the council’s statement, which thanks “the commitment and dedication” of this group of volunteers, who “with enormous solidarity and generosity, wanted to contribute in this time of pandemic, to help others “, he stresses.

Lagoa installs people counting system on the council’s beaches

A system of automatic counting of entries and exits on each beach, in real time, is being installed on the beaches of Lagoa. This measure will allow interested parties to know, before going to the beach, the level of capacity of each area «and make a more informed choice».

The new system and its articulation with initiatives from other entities were verified during a visit by the Secretary of State for Fisheries and the regional coordinator of the fight against COVID-19 in the Algarve, José Apolinário, held during the afternoon of Friday, June 12.

The Mayor of Lagoa, Luís Encarnação, the councilors Jorge Pardal and Mário Guerreiro, the president of the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA), Pedro Coelho, the commander of the Port of Portimão Rodrigo Gonzalez dos Paços, the 2nd district commander of Protection Civil, Abel Gomes and the Commander of the Lagoa Volunteer Firefighters, Vítor Rio, were some of the members of the delegation that confirmed on the spot the conditions of application of safety measures on the beaches of this Algarve municipality.

The information collected by the sensors installed by the municipality is automatically treated in the context of the “smart city” and made available to the public on the municipal communication channels – web site, Facebook profile – but also by other entities, such as in the mobile application “Info praia” of APA for smartphones or tablets, which can be downloaded for free through the “Google Play” and the “App Store”.

Tuesday 16 June 2020

New gym in Silves

City Council considers this “the best public gym in the Algarve region”

The municipality of Silves recently completed the construction of the new Gymnasium in the Complex of Municipal Swimming Pools in Silves, in a significant investment, which amounted to 234 thousand euros and includes the execution of the work and the acquisition of equipment.

Between the new and the old gym there are marked differences. The area of ​​the most recent equipment covers 403 square meters, which supplants the 88 square meters of the old space.

The maximum utilization capacity is now 70 people, more than tripling the 20 people in the previous space. The old gym had 23 machines, while the new one is equipped with 39 machines or platforms.

On the other hand, “the equipment purchased is of high quality and of the reference brand in the Fitness area, allowing to increase, in number and quality, the practice of cardiovascular and strength training exercises”.

The new gym will reopen on June 15, being equipped with supplementary support material, such as weight supports, Olympic bars, dumbbells and other material for functional training.

Covid-19: Alcoutim offers tests to those who return to the municipality in the summer

The Alcoutim Chamber will make service and diagnostic tests for covid-19 available to people connected to the municipality who intend to return in the summer and come from areas most affected by the pandemic, the president told Lusa today.

Osvaldo Gonçalves explained to Lusa that the measure was designed to avoid cases of infection among the population of the municipality, mostly elderly and residing in villages dispersed in the mountains, intended “mainly to the diaspora” that left the municipality to reside in other cities or countries and “Usually returns in the summer”.

Most of the approximately 3,000 inhabitants of that municipality, which since the beginning of the pandemic and have not registered any cases so far, are over 70 years old and belong to groups at risk.

The mayor indicated that the testing will be carried out in collaboration with the Algarve Biomedical Center (ABC) – consortium formed by the Hospital and University Center of the Algarve (CHUA) and the University of the Algarve -, having been agreed “an initial number of 1,000 tests” , which can be adjusted if necessary.

The tests “are voluntary” and interested parties can express their intention to undergo the covid-19 screening test by calling 800 208 302, between 8:30 am and 3:00 pm, and a date for collection is scheduled at the headquarters of each of the parishes, explained Osvaldo Gonçalves.

Rural fire in São Marcos da Serra

A fire broke out yesterday in the Mato area, near São Marcos da Serra, Silves municipality, this Monday afternoon, June 15th.

According to data from the Civil Protection, published on its website, the incident started at 4:14 pm and mobilized 28 operatives, supported by five land and one air means, activated by a dispatch of the first alert given at 4:26 pm.

According to a source from Faro’s District Command for Relief Operations (CDOS), the fire was in a bush area, in Monte das Pitas. The initial attack on the fire brought it under control very quickly. The fire was extinguished within 90 minutes.

Monday 15 June 2020

According to the municipal confirmed case figures of this Sunday 14th, the data now coincides with those of DGS accounting for 395 cases.

There are no changes, as far as deaths are concerned, with the DGS confirming 15, two less than those indicated by the regional authority.

DGS informs in the bulletin that “The information presented refers to the total of medical notifications in the SINAVE system, not including laboratory notifications. As such, it may not correspond to all cases per municipality. When the confirmed cases are less than 3, for reasons of confidentiality, the data are not presented. ”.

The registration of cases, according to the Regional Health Administration of the Algarve, “is done through the National Epidemiological Surveillance System (SINAVE), where doctors enter the data of those infected”, whose address is relative to that present in the National Registry of Users and, therefore, “there is a discrepancy in the location of cases when the epidemiological analysis is carried out and deepened”.

“Only when the analysis is done one by one, is it possible to validate the number of cases per municipality”, said the ARS, since, for example, the infected person may be living in Beja, but his residence is in Sagres.

Covid.19: Worker who tested positive in a nursery in Quarteira is asymptomatic

The last 26 tests have been carried out on the institution’s staff, the Mayor of Loulé, stated last night that the results were negative.

In a message on Facebook, the mayor thanked ABC – Academic Center for Research and Biomedical Training in the Algarve “for the speed of testing and analysis carried out”.

The care center was closed, after a case of covid-19 was detected in an employee.

One case reported on Thursday, with tests carried out on 30 employees of that institution that turned out to be negative.

For the time being, the children at that day care center will not be tested.

This morning the António Aleixo Foundation said in a statement that the worker who tested positive “will remain in quarantine, as well as all colleagues who have had a closer relationship”; in total of 16 people, by decision of the regional health authority.

The same source says that the worker “was and remains without any symptoms of the disease”.

All António Aleixo Foundation services will continue to operate fully, both in Quarteira and Loulé facilities, including some nursery and pre-school rooms, “within the limits allowed by the available staff who are not subject to quarantine”, confirms the same statement.

Lagoa receives masks from the Chinese Embassy in Lisbon

The Embassy of the People’s Republic of China offered 1,000 surgical masks to the City Council of Lagoa, out of concern for the municipality’s workers, the municipality announced.

Over time, the City Council of Lagoa and the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China have been building a relationship of cooperation and friendship, which according to the communique’s statement will be “to continue and deepen”.

The masks received are of type I, certified by the standard EN: 14683: 2019 and meet all the requirements of the European Directive No. 93/42 / EEC, of ​​14 June 1993, on medical devices.

Sunday 14 June 2020

Among the cases of infection confirmed in today’s bulletin from the General Directorate of Health (DGS), 428 are hospitalized, 77 of which are in intensive care units. The Assistant Secretary of State for Health and Health revealed on Friday that the occupancy rate of the Intensive Care Units in Lisbon and the Tagus Valley is 65%.

Covid 19 – DGS

There were no new cases reported in the Algarve in the last 24 hours, with the region remaining at 393 confirmed cases to date.

Man found dead on the side of the road between Loulé and Boliqueime

The National Republican Guard (GNR) is investigating the circumstances in which the death of a man found on 13^th June in the morning on Estrada Nacional 270 in Loulé occurred, a source from that force told Lusa. According to GNR, the body of the 56-year-old Ukrainian national was found at 7:00 am on the side of the road between the city of Loulé and the village of Boliqueime, in the district of Faro.

According to the source, concerning the evidence collected at the site, “everything indicates that it was a hit and run that happened several hours beforehand”. GNR indicated that the man’s body was transported to the Office of Forensic Medicine at Hospital de Faro to undergo an autopsy.

Municipality of Silves says it has recently completed the construction of “the new and large” Gymnasium of the Complex of Municipal Swimming Pools.

The investment amounted to €234,000, including the execution of the work and the acquisition of equipment. The municipality explains in a press release that the area of ​​the new gym covers 403 m2 in relation to the 88 m2 of the old space, with a maximum capacity of 70 people (20 people in the previous space). The old gym had 23 machines, while the new one is equipped with 39 machines or platforms.

The Municipality stresses that “the equipment acquired is of high quality and of the reference brand in the Fitness area, allowing to increase in number and quality, the practice of cardiovascular and strength training exercises”. The new gym, which will reopen on June 15, is equipped with supplementary support material, “such as weight supports, Olympic bars, dumbbells and other material for functional training”, he explains.

Investing on clean energies makes Águas do Algarve “more and more green”

Águas do Algarve is “more and more green”, thanks to the measures that have been carried out within the scope of the Energy Efficiency and Production Plan (PEPE), and has” been standing out so much in electric mobility as in the production of renewable energy », with the objective of achieving energy neutrality, according to the company.

PEPE, explained Águas do Algarve, “adds a wide range of energy efficiency measures and electricity production from renewable sources in order to reduce consumption, increase own production and improve the conditions for the acquisition of electricity”».

In the area of ​​mobility, the company acquired 14 light passenger vehicles and 2 light goods vehicles, all of them electric, which travelled, among about 310 thousand kms in 2019.

“The use of electric vehicles implied an electrical energy consumption of 40,196 kWh, which corresponds to the emission of 19 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere. The replacement of conventional vehicles with electric ones has made it possible to avoid the emission of 49 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere”, explained the company responsible for the Algarve’s multi-municipal water supply and basic sanitation system.

Municipality of Loulé to hire 25 firefighters

The Municipality of Loulé launched an external competition to hire 25 firefighters by 23rd June to join the Loulé Fire Department, the municipality announced. Candidates must be between 18 and 25 years old and have completed their 12th year of schooling, in addition to a good physical and psychological capacity.

Recruitment is done through a competition to provide evidence and general knowledge and practical evidence preceded by medical inspection. This reinforcement of firefighters at this time of year is due, according to the statement, “to respond to many other occurrences that take place daily with regard to cases of illness, protection and relief of people and property and, of course, in the context of current pandemic situation ”, in addition to the fires.

Saturday 13th June

Câmara de Loulé announces that tests will be carried out for all pre-school staff

The Municipality of Loulé saw today the first positive case for COVID-19 in an employee of a day care center in Quarteira of the solidarity network of the municipality.

According to the determinations of the public health authorities, the Municipality says that “all the measures that are understood as the most adequate to protect children, educators and other personnel of the institution” have been taken “where the day care center operates.

In the face of this positive case, the Municipality of Loulé declares that it will promote extensive screening, in order to test all educators and assistants in the preschool network of the Municipality of Loulé “in all its segments, public, private and solidary “.

The municipality estimates that a total of about 460 people will be tested, among all teaching and non-teaching staff.

The Municipality of Loulé informs that “it will continue to closely monitor the evolution of the situation” in that day care center in conjunction with public health and other authorities, under the coordination of José Apolinário, government official in the Algarve to combat COVID-19, expressing “total” readiness to collaborate and assist in the “urgent task of controlling the situation and protecting the entire community”.

Day-care in Quarteira Closed Due to Positive Case

A day-care centre in Quarteira, in the municipality of Loulé, was closed yesterday after a case of covid-19 was detected in an employee, a source from the Regional Health Administration (ARS) from the Algarve said.

According to the same source, the positive case was reported on Thursday, having already been tested on 30 employees of that institution – belonging to the António Aleixo Foundation -, which turned out to be negative.

During the day, tests for the disease caused by the new coronavirus will be carried out to the other employees of the day-care centre, and the children “will not be tested”, said the source of ARS / Algarve.

Over the weekend, the health authority will assess whether the day-care will reopen over the next week, he concluded.

This is the second day-care centre in the Algarve to close after a positive case of covid-19 was detected, having closed on Monday a day-care centre in the parish of Santa Bárbara de Nexe, in the municipality of Faro.

In this case, the nursery closed after the disease was detected in a 2-year-old boy, whose mother was also infected.

Lagoa municipality receives masks offered by the Chinese Embassy

On Friday, June 5, the Lagoa City Council received 1000 surgical masks, offered by the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China, “in a manifestation of concern for the Chamber’s workers”.

In a press release, the municipality states that Lagoa and the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China have been building and reinforcing cooperative relations and bonds of friendship “which are intended to continue and deepen strategic relations in the field of international relations”.

For this purpose, 1000 type I surgical masks, certified by the EN: 14683: 2019 standard and which meet the essential requirements of the European Directive No. 93/42 / EEC, of ​​14 June 1993, on medical devices, were sent. In this way, employees will be able to continue working for the benefit of the citizens, maintaining a safe environment for all, he stressed the same authority.

The Mayor, Luís Encarnação, defends the interest in maintaining the line of understanding in deepening the bonds of friendship and has already expressed his thanks for the effort made in the offer made by the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China.

The virus knows no borders and this is an invisible enemy, which must be combated with the effort of all, together and cooperation, underlined the mayor.

COVID-19: Lagos tests lifeguards in the municipality

Lifeguards who provide service on the beaches of the municipality of Lagos will undergo screening tests for the new Coronavirus tomorrow, Saturday, June 13.

The tests will be carried out by technicians from the ABC – Algarve Biomedical Center, as was the case with teaching and non-teaching staff in the county’s schools.

The objective of this action, an initiative of the Municipality of Lagos, «is to prevent possible outbreaks of contagion and to ensure that whoever has the important mission of saving lives on the beaches meets all the conditions to provide this function to bathers in this bathing season, lived in the context of pandemic”.

Friday 12th June 2020

Covid-19 Situation

DGS Bulletin says that Algarve does not have new cases of Covid-19 and attributes 3 more to Alentejo.

According to DGS data, since the beginning of the pandemic, the Algarve has added the same 391 positive cases of Covid-19 from yesterday. In Alentejo, the number rises to 277.

According to DGS, the number of deaths in the Algarve remains at 15.

In the last four days the Algarve has only registered two confirmed cases.

The good news is that the total recovered has also gone up and more than new cases and deaths. There are now 313 people recovered from Covid-19, in the Algarve, eight more than in the past few days. The recoveries took place in Loulé, Albufeira and Silves.

These data mean that there are only 63 active cases of Covid-19, at the moment, in the Algarve region. Of these, only 4 are admitted to the hospital in Faro and none of them ventilated or in need of intensive care.

Olhão: Covid-19 tests for all 122 pre-school professionals

Within the scope of the 3rd phase of deflation resulting from the covid-19 academy, and the consequent reopening of pre-school establishments, the Municipality of Olhão promoted on Wednesday morning a screening of all teaching and non-teaching staff this cycle of studies.

In total, this action involved 122 professionals from all over the municipality.

The diagnostic tests were carried out by the Algarve Biomedical Center (ABC), the academic biomedical research and training center in the Algarve, with the collaboration of the Municipal Firefighters.

Since the risk of contagion by covid-19 is still a reality, Isilda Pereira, from the direction of the Dr. Francisco Fernandes Lopes Group, points out the close cooperation that has been taking place between the municipality and the schools and underlines the importance of this measure of the Municipality “Which meets the fears of the school community and guarantees the safety of all: teaching and non-teaching staff, children and their families”.

Earth tremor

The Portuguese Institute of the Sea and the Atmosphere reports that it registered at 10:35 in the stations of the Seismic Network of the Continent, an earthquake of magnitude 2.9 of the Richter scale, whose epicentre was located about 45 km to the South-Southeast of Lagos.

Until the drafting of this communiqué, the IPMA said it had not received any information confirming that this earthquake was felt.

Thursday 11th June 2020

Health

So far in the Algarve there are 391 infected – 2 more compared to yesterday and 15 deaths. The number of confirmed cases in the last 3 days has increased by 2.

Navy seeks missing sailor off the coast of the Algarve

Lisbon Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Center (MRCC Lisboa) is coordinating a search operation at sea by a 54-year-old citizen of the Czech Republic, crew member of a Hong Kong flag merchant ship, which is sailing about 40 miles south of the Algarve coast.

The alert was received at MRCC Lisboa at 11:20 am, through the communications network of the global maritime distress and safety system (GMDSS), reporting that a container ship bound for Sines had reported one of their crew missing.

Taking into account the period that elapsed between the time when the individual was last seen on board and the time when his absence was detected, a search area was defined for the allocation of search and rescue means, both surface as aerial.

The search operations are carried out with the commitment of Portuguese Navy resources, namely the NRP Escorpião and NRP João Roby, as well as the Portuguese Air Force P 3-C CUP + aircraft, from the 601 – Lobos squadron.

Lagoa: Second phase of distribution of social masks has started

The second phase of distributing community masks in the municipality of Lagoa began last Monday, June 8, the municipality announced.

The new phase of the delivery of masks for social use is ensured by the Parish Councils and Unions of the municipality. It is intended for people who have not received this personal protective equipment for any of the various reasons identified during the first distribution period that ran from May 12 to June 5, 2020.

The delivery of face masks in this 2nd phase responds to direct requests from citizens who can choose to go in person to the premises of the Parish Councils and Unions or contact via telephone.

In the case of the Porches Parish Council, the telephone number to be used for this purpose is 966 011 927. In turn, the União de Freguesia de Lagoa and Carvoeiro has 960 457 017 available.

The Union of Parishes of Estômbar and Parchal can be reached at 282 420 030. The Parish Council of Ferragudo has nº 282 461 369.

Wednesday 10th June 2020

Algarve

The Algarve has no new cases of Covid-19, (the second date in a row) but the Alentejo registered five more infected, according to data from the epidemiological bulletin of the Directorate-General for Health (DGS) of this Tuesday, 9 June.

According to DGS data, the Algarve maintains the same 389 cases, in numbers accumulated since the beginning of the pandemic. In Alentejo, the number rose to 273.

The number of deaths in the Algarve, according to the DGS, remains at 15. Even so, data from the Regional Health Administration (ARS), revealed already last Thursday, account for yet another death: from a foreign citizen , resident in Portimão. In other words, the 16th death has not yet been recorded by the Directorate-General for Health.

In Alentejo, there is still only one death.

Algarve Diocese creates diocesan commission to protect minors and adults

The Diocese of Algarve created in late May a diocesan commission to protect minors and vulnerable adults, a structure that aims to combat sexual abuse by members of the clergy, it was announced yesterday.

In a statement, the Diocese of the Algarve said that the creation of the commission resulted from the application of a determination of the Holy See and “it appears as one of the Church’s proposals to combat sexual abuse by members of the Catholic clergy”.

In this sense, in addition to the application of disciplinary measures and civil and canonical processes, “in order to decisively face this phenomenon inside and outside the Church, it was decided to create these diocesan bodies”, the note reads.

According to the Diocese, this commission aims to “listen to and forward complaints of cases of sexual abuse and power committed in the ecclesiastical sphere, against minors and vulnerable adults”, as well as “accompanying all the actors in each case and helping to heal those who were injured”.

At the same time, it seeks to “promote opportune awareness actions in order to promote a culture of accountability and prevention”, the note continues.

In addition to the guidelines of the Portuguese Episcopal Conference regarding the treatment of cases of sexual abuse of minors, this commission will prepare a “specific regulation that determines the way it works and will be approved by the diocesan bishop”.

Quarteira Fairs and Markets resume activity

Sellers and customers have to wear a mask.

As part of the process of gradually resuming economic activities, the fairs and markets in the parish of Quarteira have reopened with various health security measures.

Following the indications of the Directorate-General for Health, sellers and customers were asked to wear a mask and comply with the safety distance of at least two meters.

The Weekly Market of Fruit and Vegetable Producers takes place on Wednesday, starting at 8:00 am, at Rua Infante Santo. The Clothing Market, (Gypsy Market) takes place, also on Wednesday and also starting at 8 am, in Fonte Santa.

Finally, the Antiques and crafts Fair takes place on the first Saturday of each month, starting at 8:00 am, at Rua Infante Santo.

Aquashow does not open doors this year due to COVID-19

Aquashow Park, in Quarteira, will not reopen this year due to the potential risks associated with the COVID-19 pandemic, the company announced.

“After a careful assessment of the current situation, with the objective of minimizing potential risks associated with the new coronavirus (COVID – 19) and following the recommendations of the World Health Organization and the General Health Directorate”, the park management “decided to act preventively and to follow a principle of social responsibility in favour of public health for all” with the announcement of its closure.

However, the company guarantees in a statement that it is “continuing the daily work of constantly improving the quality and diversity of its space, preparing news for 2021”.

The Aquashow Hotel, the park’s hotel unit, will reopen on July 1.

Tuesday 9th June

Covid-19 Health figures

The Algarve and Alentejo have no new cases of Covid-19, according to data from the epidemiological bulletin of the Directorate-General for Health (DGS) of this Monday, 8 June.

According to DGS data, the Algarve has the same 389 cases, in numbers accumulated since the beginning of the pandemic, and the Alentejo the 268.

Until Friday, the Algarve region recorded 299 recovered people, with a recovery rate of 78.5%,

Olhão: Pre-school teaching and non-teaching staff will be tested at Covid-19

The Municipality of Olhão decided to promote a screening of the entire teaching and non-teaching staff in this cycle of education, within the scope of the 3rd phase of deflation resulting from the covid-19 pandemic, and the consequent reopening of pre-school establishments.

In a statement, the municipality says that the diagnostic tests will be carried out by (ABC) – the academic biomedical research and training centre in the Algarve, and will be conducted, due to issues of availability of the laboratory, on June 10.

According to the councillor of Education, António Camacho, “although we are experiencing a phase of progressive and gradual deflation, the risk of contagion by covid-19 is still a reality. For this reason, we believe it is essential to carry out an exhaustive screening of all pre-school professionals, in order to guarantee the safety of all: teaching staff, non-teaching staff, children and their families”.

Algarve hoteliers believe that domestic market reduces losses

Hoteliers in the Algarve believe that the national market can offset losses during the last three months, a period in which tourist revenues were reduced to zero, said the president of the largest sector association in the region.

Speaking to the Lusa agency, the president of the Association of Hotels and Tourist Enterprises of the Algarve (AHETA), Elidérico Viegas, indicated that confidence in the domestic market “results from very favourable behaviour”, which already translates into the number of reservations.

“Reserves of national tourists are rising every day in hotels and in the Algarve developments that have reopened, which gives us some confidence to believe in some recovery this year,” he said.

The official stressed that the opening of accommodation units in the Algarve, closed due to the covid-19 pandemic, is taking place “at a good pace, but in phases”, with an estimated 60% in the middle of the month and the rest in the first week of July.

Municipality of Faro donates 100,000 Euros to schools.

The Municipality of Faro has approved the granting of an extraordinary financial contribution of 20 thousand euros to each of the five groups of schools and non-grouped schools in the municipality – in a total amount of 100 thousand euros – for the acquisition of technological equipment as part of the support to the process distance learning and teaching.

The municipality explained in a statement that the measure announced will serve “to face the effects of the pandemic crisis”, so the groups can proceed with the acquisition of technological equipment to distribute to students from needy families in the municipality.

The initiative stems from the protocols for delegating competences and transferring resources signed on February 4 between the Municipality of Faro and the João de Deus, Pinheiro and Rosa, Tomás Cabreira, D. Afonso III and Montenegro School Groups.

Portimão opens registration for Summer Vacation monitors

Registration for monitors for “Férias Portimão 2020” has already opened, a municipal project for children and youth in the municipality.

Registration is open until June 16.

Based on a program full of recreational, educational, cultural and sporting offers, the initiative will run from 29 June to 14 August.

According to the Câmara de Portimão, this project represents «an effort to maintain activities that reach children and young people between 6 and 12 years old and their leisure needs, taking into account the measures imposed in the current pandemic situation».

Those interested in participating as monitors must be students between 18 and 25 years old, expressing their availability from the 25th of June until the end of the program.

Monday 8th June

Algarve Health Authority

According to DGS on Sunday, the Algarve has recorded 389 accumulated cases since the beginning of the pandemic, and 304 recovered. There are currently 69 active cases in the region.

According to municipal figures Loulé had 2 new cases of Covid-19 in the municipality bringing the total to 100 infections, according to the daily information that the regional health authority sends to the mayors. There were also two more cases one in Portimão and the other in Albufeira.

On Saturday, in the report that the regional health authority sends daily to the municipalities, 385 cases were registered.

However, according to the DGS national report there were 7 additional cases in the Algarve on Sunday, a discrepancy of 3 compared to municipal figures.

Marta Temido, Minister of Health, at the daily press conference, explained that “some health administrations had not reported cases at the day in question, hence they had been accumulated in the last few days and have only now been registered on the national data base”. This explains the discrepancy in numbers.

https://www.sulinformacao.pt/2020/06/loule-atinge-os-100-casos-de-covid-19-desde-o-inicio-da-pandemia-mapa-interativo/

Mayor of Faro states beach operators not complying with the law.

At the official opening of the bathing season, Rogério Bacalhau, Mayor of Faro, was present at Faro Beach on Saturday morning, June 6, where he told journalists that, in that bathing area, the laws were not being complied with.

“Throughout this week we found that on the beach there were some operators who continued to allow access to new customers after 11 pm and did not close at midnight. Here on the beach, throughout this week, there were several gatherings with young people drinking, running, having fun, but in excess. That’s what we tried to fight a little”.

The municipality launched on Friday, June 5, measures to be in force while the state of national calamity has been decreed, which lasts until 11:59 pm on June 14.

All recreational, leisure and amusement activities in open spaces, public roads, or spaces and private roads equivalent to public roads, are prohibited in the whole municipality of Faro, and especially in the entire area of ​​Praia. As a way of minimizing the spread of the new Coronavirus, the municipality determined a reduction in the hours of all public establishments, for the period between 06:00 and 24:00, and from 23:00 onwards access to new customers is prohibited during days of the week.

According to Rogério Bacalhau, “what we define is nothing more than what is already in the law. Above all, it was also a wake-up call for people to have fun, but respect the law”.

Sunday 7th of June

Man arrested for several home burglaries in the Algarve and Alentejo

A man in his 40s, resident between the municipalities of Monchique and Ourique, was detained by GNR last Thursday after a long investigation by the Criminal Investigation Centre (NIC) of GNR. The thefts occurred in several houses in the municipalities of Monchique, Portimão, Vila do Bispo and Beja. The individual took advantage of the fact that the owners were in their country of origin to carry out the robberies. According to sources the stolen objects are: cars, motorcycles, construction tools, among others. The suspect will be present to court for bail conditions.

Vessel with migrants intercepted in Ria Formosa Olhão

A vessel with seven migrants on board was intercepted by the Maritime Police of Faro and Olhão on Saturday, around 12 noon, in the Ria Formosa. According to the National Maritime Authority (AMN), the men were between 20 and 30 years old and claim to be Moroccan.

The alert was given by a fisherman, who telephoned the Local Command of the Maritime Police of Faro reporting “that a vessel with men on board appeared to be lost, near the Faro-Olhão bar. AMN immediately deployed two Maritime Police vessels, one from Faro and the other from Olhão, to the location”.

“The vessel intercepted, was already inside the Ria Formosa, between the Hangares Nucleus and the Culatra Nucleus”, added the Maritime Authority. The Maritime Police followed the vessel up to the Olhão Lifeguard Station quay, “the seven men disembarking and being directed to the Local Command of the Maritime Police of Olhão, where they were monitored by an INEM team, awaiting the arrival of the Aliens and Borders Service”.

Saturday 6th June

Covid-19 situation report Algarve

As the Regional Health directorate stated yesterday morning at a press conference at the District Civil Protection Command, that the region has registered 5 more cases of Covid.19 (381), in relation to the data reported yesterday by the General Health Directorate, which pointed to 376.

Ana Cristina Guerreiro spoke of 4 people who are hospitalized, but without any cases in in intensive care units. There have been 299 recovered so far, giving an average of 78.5% recovered and 16 deaths.

136 people are under active surveillance. Altogether 30 thousand tests were carried out in the Algarve, which is equivalent to 7% of the resident population.

The Health Delegate said that in Lar de Boliqueime there are 3 residents who are hospitalized and two employees who are recovering at home. Regarding the outbreaks of migrants that were registered in Tavira and Armação de Pêra, the “infected people are recovering” she confirmed.

Director Regional Health Algarve regarding Social distancing concerns

Despite the region is going through a “stable and close to normal” phase, Ana Cristina Guerreiro, reminded people to be more careful with the social distance in the esplanades of cafes and restaurants, “I have received complaints about this; reporting cases of people who do not respect the minimum distance on the terraces. She added you can remove the mask but it is essential to respect the safe distance”.

At the same conference, Paulo Morgado – President of the Regional Health Administration of the Algarve (ARS), stated that there is only one infected health professional, “all others have recovered”.

He added “that despite the situation being stable, the disease exists and is in the community, so I call for a responsible attitude to continue to prevent the transmission of the virus, not only to residents but also to all those who visit us, minimizing the number of cases and helping the economy, as I think that nobody wants to go backwards”.

The Algarve is preparing for the arrival of tourists, the borders will also open, “but the rules must be strictly adhered to by everyone”, he stressed.

Opening of the Bathing Season at Praia da Rocha in presence of the Prime Minister

On Saturday, June 6, the opening of the bathing season and the public presentation of the application “Info Praia”, will take place from 10:30 am in Praia da Rocha with the presence of Prime Minister António Costa.

Before the public session for the presentation of the new application of the beaches, the delegation will have the opportunity to walk the walkway to the area where the information flag of the beach is raised. Then the Prime Minister will walk through the connecting bridge to the beach support bar where the ceremony takes place.

The ceremony will begin with a welcome by the Mayor of Portimão, Isilda Gomes, and the Vice President of the Portuguese Environment Agency, Pimenta Machado, will present the “Info Praia” application, which provides a set of rules and procedures so that beaches can be enjoyed safely.

The Minister of National Defence, João Gomes Cravinho, and the Minister of Environment and Climate Action, João Pedro Matos Fernandes, will participate in the ceremony, with the closing by the Prime Minister.

The initiative, which will also count on the presence of the Secretaries of State for Fisheries, Tourism, Environment and Health, marking the opening of the bathing season, being transmitted live on Facebook in the Municipality of Portimão.

Judicial Police donates computers to children from CPCJ Faro

Southern Directorate of the Judicial Police (PJ), have donated 14 pieces of equipment to the Children and Youth Protection Commission (CPCJ) of Faro to distribute to those who need it most.

Aware of the added difficulties that the COVID-19 pandemic has brought to the most vulnerable families, especially with regard to access to computerized means for distance learning, the PJ decided to make the donation.

The initiative, which received the agreement of the national director of the PJ, aimed to help students from needy families. According to Nídia Cavaco, president of CPCJ Faro, it was that police who came into contact with the institution.

“It was an excellent and unexpected surprise. I had already received some requests for help from parents who were experiencing many difficulties. Even organized and working families, with two or three dependent children and low wages, find it difficult to manage this situation. Thus, we were able to respond in record time. The computers were cleaned and delivered”.

The beaches of the Algarve will reopen to the public this June 6th, according to the requirements defined by the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA).

In a statement, Regional Tourism Algarve highlights the “quality and safety of Algarve beaches” attested by the 87 Blue Flags awarded this year by the European Blue Flag Association, with Praia do Ancão, in Loulé, to be the first nationally to hoist this symbol on the 15th of June.

João Fernandes, President of RTA underlines “the region is prepared to receive, as always, tourists and visitors on its beaches and it will be the duty of all of us, from tourist agents to citizens, to assume as positive the access rules in force and individual protection measures and safety distances”.

The official points out that “awards such as the Blue Flag are proof of the success of the destination’s bet on an increasingly safe, environmentally sustainable and accessible sun and sea tourism. These distinctions gain even more relevance in this phase of lack of definition in which the Portuguese can already enjoy the beaches again as a place of leisure and, above all, of well-being for the body and mind”.

Friday 5th June

Foreigner resident in Portimão is the 16th fatal victim of Covid-19 in the Algarve

The number of deaths caused by Covid-19 rose to 16, according to daily information that the regional health authority sends to mayors. The death was that of a foreign citizen residing in Portimão, as the Portimão Chamber itself reported on the page dedicated to the pandemic.

The Portimão City Council revealed that the person who died came to be considered recovered “after several weeks of hospitalization”, but “died due to other complications”.

This death appears today in the report that the Algarve health authority sends daily to the municipalities, the South Information found from an official source. Even so, perhaps because it is not a death that can be directly attributed to Covid-19, this death was not included in the bulletin of the epidemiological situation in Portugal of the General Directorate of Health today.

https://www.sulinformacao.pt/2020/06/estrangeiro-residente-em-portimao-e-a-16a-vitima-mortal-da-covid-19-no-algarve/

Algarve beaches will have surveillance monitored by the minute

Non-concessioned beaches will receive increased attention during the 2020 bathing season. Guarded areas will have informative signs about the capacity. Officers of the Maritime Police will use their own mobile application ( app ), coordinated by the Captains of Porto, with information in real time, in order to facilitate a faster management of resources and resources. Everything to promote safety in the Algarve sands.

The Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) revealed the maximum capacity numbers for each concessioned bathing area on Wednesday, May 27. Despite numbers still in informal consultation, it is already possible to have an idea of ​​what the 2020 bathing season will be like, starting on Saturday, June 6th.

Fernando Rocha Pacheco, head of the Southern Maritime Department, says that he made “a very detailed and exhaustive survey” for the Captaincy of the Port of Faro [which has jurisdiction at Praia da Deserta, Praia de Faro, Quinta do Lago , Ancão, Garrão Nascente, Garrão Poente, Vale do Lobo, Loulé Velho, Almargem, Forte Novo, Quarteira and Vilamoura].

“In all of them, in general, the numbers of the maximum capacity defined by the APA are always higher than the average daily frequency of bathers in previous years. That is, we will not have difficulties in accommodating people who come to our beaches with the proper spacing, because the maximum capacity was calculated with the factor COVID-19, of social distance, and in fact the maximum capacity numbers are higher than that which is the average frequency”, estimates Rocha Pacheco.

Beach Capacities in the Algarve

The Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) published on its website (https://apambiente.pt/), all the maximum capacity values ​​for the beaches in the Algarve. In the west, there are 79 concessioned bathing areas, 48 ​​of which are large and 31 small. With greater capacity is Praia da Rocha, in Portimão, with potential for 8800 people. Next is Meia Praia Nascente, in the municipality of Lagos, with 8700.

Much smaller beaches are with less than 100 users, are: Arrifes (Albufeira), Albandeira (Lagoa), Camilo (Lagos), Marinha (Lagoa) and Tremoços (Lagoa). Praia da Marinha is the smallest in the entire region, with the possibility of 15 bathers in total.

In the east the 31 referenced beaches were classified as large. Faro Beach and Monte Gordo Beach (Vila Real de Santo António) are the largest, with the potential for 12600 users.

Next is Manta Rota (Vila Real de Santo António), with capacity for 6300. The only Sotavento beach that is below 1000 bathers is Fuseta-Ria, with the possibility of having 700 people.

Detailed list of beaches western Algarve Albufeira to Sagras and capacities here

Detailed List of beaches and capacities Loule to Vila Real Santa Antonio here

Bathing season: Câmara carries out several interventions in Praia de Faro

The Municipality of Faro informed that several interventions were carried out in Praia de Faro with a view to preparing the bathing season, which will start this Saturday, June 6th.

In a statement the municipality says that in the last few days, “minor repairs and regularization of sidewalks and pavements, wall paintings, horizontal signs (pedestrian crossings, parking, indications and pedestrian arrows on sidewalks and walkways) have been carried out, as well as cleaning the road and in the estuary (sand, urban garbage and debris) “.

Soon the Municipality hopes to also disclose new safety and prevention measures to be implemented, taking into account the COVID-19 pandemic, ̶#8220;in order to promote an environment of safety and well-being among users” in this bathing area of ​​the municipality, read in the same document.

Algarve nurse on the front line against suicide

Carolina Marques, 45, a nurse at the Pedopsychiatry service at the Faro unit of the Centro Hospitalar e Universitário do Algarve (CHUA), has volunteered since April in a national prevention line launched by the Center for Suicide Studies (NES). Goal is to save lives.

The COVID-19 virus attacks physical health and, above all, has caused a significant and widespread increase in the psychological suffering of many people, from all age groups and social backgrounds.

For this reason, in April, during confinement and in a state of emergency, the Center for the Study of Suicide (NES), of the Hospital de Santa Maria, launched a specialized response for the whole country.

Carolina Marques, an Algarve nurse who is at the forefront, considers that the exceptional height that we live requires to overcome the social taboo that has led this problem to silence.

“Most people, even health professionals, approach the topic with fear. But this suicide prevention work cannot be done out of fear. It has to be done realistically. When approaching someone, we have to ask clearly, if they have thoughts of death, if they have a suicidal ideation or plan. These are different things, but this is how you assess the seriousness of the situation. If we are around, what happens is that the person does not feel understood”, begins by explaining to the windward Carolina Marques, a specialist nurse in mental health. Read more.

https://www.barlavento.pt/destaque/enfermeira-algarvia-na-linha-da-frente-contra-o-suicidio

Thursday 4th June

Algarve Anticipates Severe Drop in Occupancy This Summer

The Algarve is expected to register a 30% occupancy for the summer of 2020, something that “had never been experienced” in the region, the president of the Portuguese Association of Travel and Tourism Agencies (APAVT) said yesterday.

In the specific case of the Algarve, as it is “the region that most depends on tourism and international air bridges”, he stressed.

“The big challenge will be to maintain a reference structure for the Algarve’s hotel and entertainment offer”, he suggested, emphasising that the Algarve “has to survive the crisis”.

Since May 18, some businesses have reopened, with the opening of the bathing season scheduled for June 6.

The president of APAVT was speaking during the digital conference “Algarve no Horizonte – How the next bathing season will be”, organized by Ambitur magazine and which brought together several public and private entities in order to discuss how the destination is preparing for the season bathing in the context of the pandemic.

Municipality of Loulé supports the reopening of pre-school education

The return of preschool education that took place on Monday has been supported and accompanied by the Municipality of Loulé, which aims to “ensure a better integration and adaptation of the entire school community to this new reality”, announced the municipality.

Throughout the month, pre-school staff in the municipality of Loulé will receive awareness-raising activities, with advice on the adaptation and reorganization of routines, spaces, materials and activities related to hygiene and means of protection.

Socio-emotional action is also planned, due to the psychological impact that the pandemic had on the school community, which will focus on the weaknesses, resistance, insecurities, anxieties and fears of the professionals.

The principals, coordinators, general supervisors and other elements of the school groupings in the municipality of Loulé will also receive technical training on hygiene, protection and basic recommendations to be adopted.

In April, the Municipality of Loulé purchased 750 tablets and 170 computers from students who did not have this equipment, so that they can access distance learning.

Faro Airport: EasyJet resumes 3/4 of their operation in July and August

EasyJet has announced that it will resume three quarters of its operations in July and August, starting with around 50 flights in and out of Portugal – including Faro airport – in a “very cautious schedule” that will depend on the response of demand for flights and the evolution of the pandemic.

Speaking to Lusa, the Director General of the airline responsible for Portugal, José Lopes, explained that the goal is to try during July and August, the peak of the summer operation, to stimulate demand, with a balance between a launch of a promotional tariff for travel between July 1 and October 31st, 2020, in conjunction with the implementation of security measures, that will be put in place in order to allow the airline to resume some operations.

EasyJet will operate 50 flights in July, and 59 in August, to and from Portugal, through its four main airports (Lisbon, Porto, Faro and Funchal).

EasyJet expects to fly around 78% and 92% of the routes that serve Portugal in these two summer months.

These destinations will, however, operate less frequently than usual, he said.

“It is a scenario where we must respond to apparent demand. At any time, if demand does not react in the way we expect or if there is a change in the restrictions implemented in the various destination countries, or even a change in the level of the pandemic itself, we may logically have to readjust ”, explained the Director-General of the company in Portugal.

Wednesday 3rd June

Covid.19: António Pina criticizes the “irresponsible” attitude of young people who went to a “party of deflation”

The case of Covid-19 announced yesterday in Olhão is of a woman of about 30 years old, who contracted the disease during a party of deflation “outside the region”, where she travelled with four other “young adults” from this municipality, revealed the António Miguel Pina, Mayor of Olhão.

What Sul Informação has learned from other sources is a group of five young women, who will have participated in a party in the Greater Lisbon area, to which other recent cases from Covid-19 are associated.

In a post on the social network Facebook, the mayor of Olhão spares no criticism of the five residents, who accused them of “disrespect for the sacrifice of all” and of having “a selfish and irresponsible attitude”, contradicting “what has been the general behaviour of the local population”.

Contacted by Sul Informação , António Pina said he did not want to give further details about the case, referring to his post , but admitted that “there is a risk of community transmission”, since the case was only detected days after the party in question.

“At this moment, all people who have been in contact with the members of the group – family, friends and others – are in quarantine and being followed by health authorities. I don’t have the exact numbers, but there will certainly be dozens of people”, he said.

The five young women were tested, but only one was positive.

https://www.sulinformacao.pt/2020/06/jovem-que-foi-a-festa-de-desconfinamento-e-o-novo-caso-de-covid-19-em-olhao/

Portimão Museum receives “Clean & Safe – Cultural Heritage” seal from Turismo de Portugal

The Portimão Museum received the “Clean & Safe – Cultural Heritage” seal, an initiative promoted by Turismo de Portugal to recognize organizations and companies of interest to the tourism sector that fully comply with the recommendations of the Directorate-General for Health, avoiding contamination by the new coronavirus.

The Museum of Portimão, which can be visited on Tuesday from 2.30 pm to 6 pm and from Wednesday to Sunday between 10 am and 6 pm, ensures the health and safety conditions of visitors and collaborators, through a set of rules, in articulation with the competent authorities, namely the mandatory use of a mask and disinfection of the hands, with a gel solution at the entrance and exit of the building, a disinfectant mat, social distance and maximum capacity for long-term exhibitions in 20 people, while that the temporary exhibition rooms can receive up to seven visitors, points out the municipality.

https://www.algarveprimeiro.com/d/museu-de-portimao-recebe-selo-clean-safe-patrimonio-cultural-do-turismo-de-portugal/32539-1

Workers of the JJW Hotels & Resorts Group advance to strike

The workers of the JJW Hotels & Resorts Group, owned by the sheikh Mohamed Bin Issa Al Jaber, held on, Tuesday 2 June, a plenary session at the group’s headquarters in Portugal, at the Pinheiros Altos project, in Quinta do Lago, in protest concerning overdue wages

The workers unanimously decided to go on strike next June 12. With this form of struggle, “they demand payment of wages in arrears and the fulfillment of their rights”.

At the moment, according to the Hotel Union of the Algarve, “there are workers who say they have not yet received the full salary for the month of March and others have not yet received anything for the month of April, in addition to the fact that the monthly salary is already in arrears of May”.

This Union also denounces that “once again, when the company’s management became aware that the workers were organizing themselves to participate in the plenary, it confronted them with a new promise, which once again was not fully fulfilled, and with phone calls from hierarchical superiors so that workers do not participate in the plenary ”.

Tavira Camping

The Ilha de Tavira Camping Park will remain behind closed doors during the summer, due to the “impossibility of ensuring all hygiene and safety conditions”, announced the municipality.

The decision was taken after the conclusion that the opening of the campsite would have to lead to the implementation of extraordinary measures that, according to the Tavira City Council, “are not operational”.

Among the new measures was the adaptation of the health facilities, the reinforcement of security and cleaning and additional hiring that “due to its specificity and rules imposed on public procurement, would not be possible immediately”.

“We believe that next summer we will all be able to enjoy our beaches, concerts, fairs, terraces and restaurants as we wish and that our municipality, with the collaboration of all, will again offer its residents and those who visit us the riches of its natural, cultural and gastronomic heritage ”, concludes the municipality in a statement.

Orange sells more and at better prices thanks to the pandemic

The covid-19 pandemic has benefited the Algarve citrus industry with an increase in demand and prices, which foresee the total flow of production until the summer, said the president of the Algarve Citrus Operators Association (AlgarOrange).

José Oliveira, president of AlgarOrange, which groups nine companies and associations of citrus growers from all over the Algarve, told Lusa that this is one of the sectors that “least suffered from the pandemic” and that the summer varieties of orange are being sold “practically twice” the price of the previous year.

“At this moment, in this last phase of the summer varieties, with the phenomenon of covid-19 the demand has increased and – as production is not much, because it was lower this year – this has been reflected in prices, which have risen,” he said that leader, quantifying in the order of 70 cents the value that the producers are getting for the kilo of orange.

The same source underlined, however, that “there is still no perception of how the market can evolve in the near future”, because “there are variables that can influence” the prices paid to citrus growers.

https://jornaldoalgarve.pt/laranja-vende-se-mais-e-a-melhores-precos-gracas-a-pandemia/

Tuesday 2nd June

Algarve Hotel and Tourism School reopens its doors

The face-to-face classes start again yesterday June 1st, at the School of Hospitality and Tourism of the Algarve, in Faro, and will continue until the end of July. The practical component of the courses is a high priority on this return to school.

“Expectation, anxiety, nervousness, joy…. There are many sensations on the return to school for EHTA students who today resume their classroom activities”, emphasizes the direction of EHTA.

Students take back control of stoves, benches and utensils for a new, renewing and stimulating stage for everyone: the return to practical classes in Cooking, Pastry, Bakery, Restaurant, Bar and Housekeeping.

EHTA management has implemented all safety measures and therefore sees this return of life to the school premises with complete confidence.

https://www.sulinformacao.pt/2020/06/escola-de-hotelaria-e-turismo-do-algarve-reabre-portas/

ASAE seize 200 thousand masks in South region

ASAE apprehended a total of 206 thousand masks from two stockholders in the South Region. In one case, CE marking labels were being used on masks that had never been evaluated.

In the first warehouse, ASAE detected “the existence of KN 95 masks, whose safety and use instructions were not in Portuguese and others had the CE marking, without being accompanied by the EU declaration of conformity”, explains the ASAE in communicated.

In the same importer, “social” masks were also detected without any document proving their compliance with safety requirements.

In that warehouse alone, inspectors learned 6365 units of KN 95 masks and 130,000 “social” masks, for a total value of 272,000 euros.

Tests on preschool professionals in Lagos were negative

74 professionals from pre-school education in Lagos were tested this Saturday, May 30, at Covid-19 and all were negative.

According to the Câmara de Lagos, the tests covered “educators, animators, operational assistants and some administrative staff from the two school groups”.

The tests were carried out at the Júlio Dantas School Group by technicians from the Algarve Biomedical Center, an entity that had also previously tested the teaching and non-teaching staff who resumed their on-site activity with a view to restarting classroom activities with students from the high school.

ICNF issues 92 infractions for wild camping in Costa Vicentina

The operation, which took place on 24 beaches, resulted in the issuing of 92 infractions for offence, resulting from camping, wild motor home and parking in places that are not allowed.

The Institute for the Conservation of Nature and Forests (ICNF), through the regional directorate of the Algarve, in conjunction with the Nature and Environment Protection Service (SEPNA) of the National Republican Guard (GNR) and National Maritime Authority carried out, on Saturday, May 30, inspections and action in the Natural Park of Southwest Alentejo and Costa Vicentina.

The action involved 14 vehicles (seven from ICNF, five from GNR and two from the National Maritime Authority) and 35 agents (17 Nature Watchers and 14 Military from GNR and four from the Maritime Police).

Monday 1st June

Covid- 19 Situation Algarve

As of Sunday 31^st May in the Algarve there are 370 confirmed cases – 3 more than yesterday and 15 deaths. A total of 292 have recovered.

Mayor of Castro Marim calls for checks on incoming tourists to avoid “a disaster”

Francisco AmaralFrancisco Amaral wants tourists arriving from countries hard hit by the Covid-19 pandemic to either bring recent negative test results with them, or to undergo an examination on arrival in the Algarve, to avoid “a disaster”.

The Mayor of Castro Marim and a doctor by profession, told Sul Information that he was “very concerned” about the fact that there are no concrete screening measures for Covid-19 for those arriving from outside the country – as happens, for example, in Madeira – and fears that there may be a new wave of cases in the region, even worse than the first.

“What was ideal was that whoever came, namely from countries with high levels of pandemic, such as the United Kingdom – we already have thousands of English reservations and bookings -, should bring with them a negative test, done very recently”, considered the Mayor.

If that didn’t happen, they would have to do it on arrival. It could be done there on the drive thru of Parque das Cidades, where there are all the conditions. Logically, tourists would pay for this test” he added.

https://www.sulinformacao.pt/2020/05/amaral-quer-turistas-testados-a-covid-19-para-evitar-um-descalabro/

Beaches: Dealers consider the year “practically lost”

Concessionaires for the Algarve beaches disagree with the capacity defined by the authorities for the beaches in the region, considering that it will be difficult to cover costs and that this year it is “practically lost”, according to the vice-president of an association of the sector, in a report covered by Lusa on Saturday.

“We understand that the Portuguese Environment Agency and the Ministry of the Environment have tried and done everything, because it is not easy, in this pandemic situation and with restrictions, to get the beaches up and running. We are not going to say that we agree, but at least we accept” said Artur Simão.

The vice-president of the Association of Industrials and Similar Concessionaires of the Beaches of Orla Marítima do Algarve (AISCOMA) believes that the formula found to define the capacity of each beach can help the concessionaires to “cover some expenses”.

However, despite recognizing that, “in the situation in which entrepreneurs and dealers are now,” the solution found “can help”. He added that this “is going to be a very different year from the others”.

“We will see how things will go, because only during the bathing season will we see the difficulties that we will have, although we already know that this year is practically lost”, he stated”.

On the defined occupation capacity for the beaches in the Algarve, Artur Simão replied that “there are numbers with which he does not agree, because some sand areas, have more capacity than the defined”.

106th anniversary of the municipality of São Brás de Alportel

The Secretary of State for Social Action, Rita da Cunha Mendes, will participate this Monday, June 1, in the celebrations with a solemn session broadcast live on social networks.

In the context of a pandemic, São Brás de Alportel has prepared a “special” program to commemorate the 106th anniversary of the elevation to the municipality. In order to ensure compliance with the safety rules of the Municipality Contingency Plan in the context of preventing the spread of the new coronavirus COVID19, the commemorative program was adapted using new technologies to restrict access.

The program starts at 9:30 am, with the traditional homage to the Mausoleum of João Rosa Beatriz, founder of the municipality, in a more restricted format.

The protocol ceremony of Hastear da Bandeira is scheduled for 10 am, in the outer space of Paços do Concelho. A moment with restricted access and which will count on the collaboration of the Humanitarian Association of the Voluntary Firefighters of São Brás de Alportel and the Philharmonic Band of São Brás de Alportel – ACREMS.

https://www.algarveprimeiro.com/d/secretaria-de-estado-da-acao-social-nas-comemoracoes-dos-106-anos-do-concelho-de-sao-bras-de-alportel/32501-1

Minister of Science, Technology and Higher Education to be received by Mayor of Loulé

According to the municipality, this is a working meeting between the Minister, the municipal representatives and the ABC – Algarve Biomedical Center, where “the status of the development of the ABC – Loulé Health and Research Center project” will be made.

After the meeting, Manuel Heitor, accompanied by the President of the Autarchy and other members of his team, as well as the President of ABC, will travel to the site where the Loulé building will be built, where several research projects will operate in the future, together with scientific research in the field of biomedical sciences.

The Municipality of Loulé considers it an “important investment”, in partnership with ABC – Algarve Biomedical Center, with the objective “of improving the health conditions of the population and the prestige of the entire Algarve region in the area of ​​innovation and scientific research” , he says.

Sunday 31st of May

Covid 19 cases

The epidemiological bulletin this Saturday, May 30, from the Directorate-General for Health (DGS), confirmed another case of Covid-19, in the Algarve. The Algarve region now has 367 infected patients since the beginning of the pandemic. As for Alentejo, it maintains the same 259 cases (in accumulated numbers). The total deaths remain at 15.

Algarve Shopping reopens with additional measures to ensure the safety of customers and employees

“Algarve Shopping reopens next Monday, June 1, whose activity was suspended, in conjunction with the health and government authorities. Our priority is to “guarantee visitors, tenants, service providers and employees a safe and comfortable environment”, said Carla Martins, Director of Algarve Shopping – “We are an open air shopping center, with natural air circulation and we have implemented a set of measures, among which I highlight the installation of disinfectant gel dispensers in all the entrances of the Center and the placement of signs and notices through the sound system of the good practices of social conduct, with special emphasis on the need to comply with the distance of 2 meter”,

“ There will be reinforcement of the cleaning teams, an active surveillance team, ensuring the application of the mandatory mask use rule, as well as access control and compliance with the defined number of visitors ratio.

Covid.19: International flights start returning to the Algarve

The Algarve Tourism Association, confirms in a statement that “there are already several international flights” that, from the end of June, will be returning to the Algarve. Companies like Edelweiss, Luxair Tours, Transavia, Lufthansa, Ryanair or Jet2 are some of the companies that are announcing the resumption of some of their connections to Faro.

“This is very positive news for the Algarve”, says João Fernandes, President of Turismo do Algarve, “The destination is arousing growing interest among airlines and international tour operators and this is a clear sign of the confidence we are achieving transmit to all travellers

The Algarve is being recognized as a safe and well-prepared destination to return to receive tourists, which validates the enormous commitment and joint effort that all agents of the tourism sector in the region implement best practices to ensure the protection and well-being of all those who visit us “, he explains. “We believe that this perception is also the result of the intense communication campaign that Turismo do Algarve has undertaken”.

University of the Algarve – ´Skills 4 post-Covid – Competencies for the Future´

The Minister of Science, Technology and Higher Education, Manuel Heitor, and the rector of the University of Algarve, Paulo Águas, will promote the session “Skills 4 post-Covid – Competencies for the Future”, which will take place on June 1st, at 2:00 pm, in the Grand Auditorium of the Gambelas Campus. The session will be broadcast live on UAlg’s YouTube channel, through the following link: https://www.youtube.com/user/universidadealgarve

Promoted by the General Directorate of Higher Education in close coordination with the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), Ualg states in a statement that this initiative has the collaboration of higher education institutions. It also aims to stimulate “a rapid adaptation in teaching, learning, work and research practices and approaches to better prepare the transition to the post-COVID-19 period, as well as to reinforce and enhance the joint response of science and higher education systems”, read in the same document.

Practical difficulties faced by Restaurant owners.

Some restaurants, snack bars and cafes in the Algarve are facing great difficulties in complying with the rules of social isolation, because of the “uncivilized behaviour” of many customers, this week some owners and business owners told Jornel de Algarve.

A restaurant worker in Albufeira that reopened on May 18, Ruben Granadeiro, stated that he is not going through easy days: “Every day we have situations where customers arrive at the restaurant without a mask and when we explain the situation and ask for to put it seems that we have become enforcers; we are simply made fun of”, he told JA.

He noted that these situations occur mainly with Portuguese tourists and local residents and regrets that he has not yet seen anyone inspecting commercial spaces. An employee of a snack bar on the island of Faro, António Ferreira stated that most customers “sit in it” when he asks them for some time to disinfect tables and chairs. “The police will only go there if there is a complaint,” he said.

“Sometimes, when I go to disinfect the tables, they still make fun of me. They say they are already disinfected, as I heard for days” he says, stating that, contrary to what one might suppose, resistance to the rules is majority on the part of his clients. António asserts that he is almost always entitled to an “ugly face” when he asks his clients to put on the mask. “The rules are for wearing a mask off tables, but rare are those who wear them when they go to the bathroom or leave the restaurant”, he said.

https://jornaldoalgarve.pt/clientes-desrespeitam-regras-sanitarias-nos-restaurantes/

Saturday 30th May – David Thomas

Covid-19 situation

DGS yesterday released figures yesterday which in terms of deaths and confirmed cases have changed very little over the last month in the Algarve. This is a very positive sign as despite the easing of the lock down measures and increased travelling within Portugal this has had no resulting increase in the region.

No of confirmed cases to date: 367

No of deaths to date: 15

No in hospital: 5

No in ICU: 1

Number recovered: 285 – Recovery rate: 77%

No under surveillance: 99

Portimão clarifies concessionaires and economic agents about the opening of the bathing season

On 28^th May concessionaires and other economic agents from the beaches in Portimão municipality, participated in an awareness-raising action promoted by the Portimão City Council | Municipal Civil Protection Service, in partnership with the local Public Health Unit at the Portimão Arena auditorium.

According to a communiqué from the Portimão municipality, the meeting aimed to provide information support to entrepreneurs who, as of June 6, “will be responsible for ensuring the best security conditions for users of their spaces in the next summer period”.

The session also served for the Municipality of Portimão to provide clarifications on doubts raised about the support for businessmen, specifically at this moment when economic activity is resuming, the same source adds.

Loulé will be the first municipality in the country to raise the Blue Flag

The Blue Flag Association of Europe has announced that presentation sessions for seaside resorts awarded Blue Flags in 2020, will take place from June 15th, starting in Portugal in the municipality of Loulé, where the first national flag will be raised at Praia do Ancão, the municipality said.

In a bathing season marked by COVID-19, the Câmara de Loulé advances that the Associação Bandeira Azul Europa (ABAE) defends “an exceptional, transient and temporary criterion”, and the entities responsible for the awarded beach are responsible for implementing the extraordinary rules in their space.

The Municipality is already taking “due diligence”, in order to safeguard “in the best possible way” the local economy and the health of residents and visitors of the municipality, in collaboration with the other competent entities.

The hoisting of the Blue Flag and “Accessible Beach” awards will be attended by several entities: national coordination of the Blue Flag Program, Tourism of the Algarve, ARS Algarve, Captaincy of the Port of Faro, Portuguese Environment Agency, Parish Councils, and Municipal Companies, among others directly involved in the beach area.

Four men arrested for robberies with firearms in Olhão

The Judiciary Police reported that they identified a group of individuals suspected of committing robberies with firearms, carried out on a public road in Olhão, in the months of March and April 2020.

The police operation was launched yesterday morning, with four men aged between 20 and 25 years being detained, as well as several house searches, in Olhão and São Brás de Alportel, “which allowed the seizure of crime instruments and products “, said a PJ spokesperson.

The defendants will be present at the first judicial interrogation to the competent Judicial Authority, in Faro, for the application of coercion measures.

The direction of the inquiries is in charge of the 2nd section of DIAP in Faro.

Situation Report Friday 20th May

Algarve beach capacity

The President of the Intermunicipal Community of Algarve (AMAL) expressed his satisfaction today with the indicative numbers for the capacity on the beaches of the region, in the context of the pandemic of covid-19, considering that they will allow to manage the sands, making them safe.

“The figures provided by the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA) are only indicative, although there is a beach or another, in one or another municipality, in which there may be an adjustment,” said the president of AMAL, António Pina, to Lusa.

APA published on Wednesday the potential occupancy capacity of beaches in the Algarve and Tejo / Oeste regions, taking into account that June 6th marks the beginning of the bathing season, as determined by the Government in the context of the pandemic of 19, and APA is responsible for determining the capacity of the beaches.

In the opinion of the president of the association that aggregates the 16 municipalities in the Algarve, the ratios that were created are an important aid for the management of the Algarve sands, “so that one can create information for those who have to decide and choose a beach in safety”.

“In order to understand if the beach is more or less full, we have to have an indicative number, so the document helps in managing and avoiding conflict. We are evaluating and, if we have to change anything, we are always available, because the important thing is to manage well and carefully, in order to create a safe beach”, he stressed.

Portimão considers that the planned capacity allows safe beaches

The Mayor of Portimão, a municipality with the most watched beach in the western Algarve, considered that the capacity planned for the municipality’s sands allows for “safe beaches”, stressing that the capacity can be changed.

According to the plan that estimates the potential occupancy capacity of the beaches, released by the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA), Praia da Rocha, in Portimão, has a capacity for 8,800 people, although it is indicated as a beach susceptible to eventual problems of capacity.

Asked by the Lusa agency about the possible stocking problems mentioned in the document, Isilda Gomes said that this indicator only warns of the possibility that the capacity of the beach will be exceeded at certain times, “since it is an urban beach, where it is easier let that happen ”.

“I am not worried, because if we reach a certain point in which we find that the surplus space is too much and that allows us to have more people, APA is available to change, as long as it demonstrates that there is a capacity to receive more people”, he pointed out .

Isilda Gomes (PS) stressed that “the planned capacity is indicative and allows safe beaches”, noting that this capacity of users on the beaches “was estimated according to the area of ​​the sands” and that there is no “opposition” in Portimão what was found”. (Source Lusa)

Alcoutim Municipality reopens services and face-to-face service from June 1

Municipality of Alcoutim informs that, following the de-confinement guidelines, from 1 June, the face-to-face service to the public by the municipal services will resume, within the normal opening hours (from 8:30 am to 3:00 pm).

The same source stated that, the resumption of public attendance to the public by municipal services “will imply conditioned access to municipal buildings”, according to their area and type of services, in order to guarantee “the recommended distance between citizens”, as well as the mandatory disinfection of hands at the entrance to buildings and the mandatory use of a mask.

Those places re-opening include: the Casa dos Condes (Municipal Library), Castle, Museums, Espaço Gerações, Espaço Guadiana and Espaços do Cidadão, he added.

According to the same publication, some sports and leisure activities (physical activity outdoors, in small groups and the guidelines of the Directorate-General for Health) will be restarted. Meanwhile, the “Senior University” and the Municipal Swimming Pools, Pavilions and Soccer Field remain closed; and the water consumption reading service and the cancellation of payment for the service in person, the collection service for places, and the operation of fairs and non-food markets were suspended, he concluded.

https://www.algarveprimeiro.com/d/autarquia-de-alcoutim-reabre-servicos-e-atendimento-presencial-a-partir-de-1-de-junho/32443-1

Thursday 28th May

State ordered to pay more than 1ME to families of victims of the Maria Luísa beach accident

The Loulé Tax and Administrative Court (TAF) ordered the State to pay more than one million euros to the families of the five killed for the collapse of a cliff at Maria Luísa beach, in Albufeira, in August 2009.

According to the ruling, with today’s date and which the Lusa agency had access to, Judge Patrícia Martins ordered the State to pay around one million and six thousand euros to two families and a survivor, the boyfriend of one of the fatal victims.

“From the evidence produced, it is concluded that over the years prior to the collapse and between 2008 and 2009, the State, through the entities that are in charge of monitoring the beaches, according to the criterion of the zealous and diligent official, was not demonstrated that he has fulfilled the care duties that he was obliged to monitor the state of deterioration of the leixão”, says the sentence. Source Lousa

President Turismo do Algarve and AMAL challenge TAP flight plan to Algarve

The president of Turismo do Algarve, João Fernandes, and the President of the Intermunicipal Community of the Algarve (AMAL), António Miguel Pina, contest the air route plan for the next two months made public by TAP, as it does not serve the main national tourist destination.

In a statement, João Fernandes and António Miguel Pina, defend that “Before the pandemic, the supposed airline with the country’s flag provided only 3 daily flights from Lisbon to Faro, on a timid air bridge with the national hub. When the pandemic broke out in Europe, TAP was dispatched to supply the already reduced connections to Faro International Airport and, according to the plan now presented, the resumption of activity to the Algarve will be very slow, with only two daily connections in July”.

For the presidents of Turismo do Algarve and AMAL, the plan to retake part of the operation announced Monday by the airline TAP “does not serve the Algarve, nor does it follow the example of the world airline counterparts, who announced a more robust resumption of the operation for the region”, they maintain, citing as an example the companies Edelweiss (with first commercial flight Zurich-Faro on May 28), Luxair Tours (flight Luxembourg-Faro on May 31) or Transavia Netherlands (with operation Amsterdam-Faro from June 4th).

Covid-19: Silves approves exemption from municipal fees for merchants

The Silves Municipal Assembly approved the exemption from paying public space occupation or advertising fees for merchants or service providers who had their activity suspended during the state of emergency, was announced today.

In a statement, the municipality said that local businesspeople and traders can, from now on, “request from the municipal services the reimbursement of fees from March 2020 onwards”, being exempt from any fees until December.

“Through this tax exemption, the municipality of Silves will have to give up its revenue, estimated at around 93 thousand euros, to immediately relieve the negative impact of the economic paralysis resulting from the closure or the forced suspension of the activity of commercial establishments and provision of services ”, the note reads.

COVID-19: Albufeira tests 200 nursery professionals

Municipality wants to guarantee safe return to activity in kindergartens.

The municipality of Albufeira started a test period on COVID-19 yesterday, Tuesday, May 26, covering around 200 day care professionals who handle a total of 1007 children, from educators, technicians, animators, auxiliaries, cooks and others, in order to “guarantee a safe return”.

The tests are supported by the municipality and end at the beginning of next week, being carried out using the RT-PCR methodology, performed by the reference laboratory, determined by the Regional Health Administration in the municipality of Albufeira – Aqualab.

The testing covers the 11 public kindergartens of the public network, which comprise a total of 43 classrooms distributed by the various school groups. The kindergartens of Olhos de Água, Vale Carro, Vale Serves, Ferreiras, Paderne, Guia, Vale Parra, Albufeira – Av. Ténis, Albufeira – Caliços, Vale Pedras and Albufeira – Correeira are included. It also includes the Infantário da Cooperativa “Os Piratas” and APEXA.

https://www.barlavento.pt/algarve/covid-19-albufeira-faz-testes-a-200-profissionais-de-infantarios

Wednesday 27th May

Project “COVIDAlgarve” yesterday promoted a new awareness campaign in the municipality of Lagos

The students of the Integrated Master in Medicine at the University of Algarve were again in Lagos yesterday to promote another awareness raising action to help the population in combating the pandemic by COVID-19.

According to a statement from the Lagos City Hall, a group of eight students from the 5th year of Medicine undertook this, with the support of the municipality and parishes in the municipality, security forces (GNR and PSP), Civil Protection, Voluntary Firefighters from Lagos and Intermarché, to various housing areas in the city of Lagos (Bairro dos Moinhos, Bairro 28 de Setembro and Bairro 25 de Abril) and to the villages of Chinicato and Espiche.

In this initiative, students promote the action “Disinfect the Algarve”, which consists of creating awareness and explanations about the correct hand hygiene, respiratory etiquette measures and compliance with social distance, in accordance with the rules of the World Health Organization and Girector General of Health.

The information is accompanied by the delivery of an alcohol gel and community masks, the latter provided by the Municipality of Lagos, read in the same statement.

Fire to the north of Alte

A fire that broke out yesterday at 15.27 hrs in a bush area, in Águas Frias de Baixo, in the parish of Alte, in the municipality of Loulé was brought under resolution at 17.56 hrs.

At its height a total of 106 operatives supported by 26 vehicles and 3 aerial means were deployed.

This was the first fire this year where over 100 operatives had been deployed.

According to the District Command for Relief Operations (CDOS) the fire consumed “scrub and scattered forest stands”. According to the same source “there are no homes at risk”. A JCB machine was also used to help fight the flames.

Public petition “For the Construction of the new Lagos Hospital to be considered

The Assembly of the Republic will consider on Wednesday a petition promoted by the Municipal Assembly of Lagos that recommends to the Government the “urgent construction of a new hospital” in that Algarve city to increase the efficiency of the National Health Service.

The public petition “For the Construction of the new Lagos Hospital”, in the district of Faro, entered the parliament in March 2019, having gathered 4,580 signatures since it was launched by the municipal council in December 2017.

In the document, the Lagos Municipal Assembly justifies the construction of a new hospital unit due to the fact that “the current hospital has “been impaired in its capacity to provide services to the population” of the three municipalities it serves: Lagos, Vila do Bishop and Aljezur, which form the Terras do Infante.

“Valences, services and human and material resources, namely diagnostic services, were removed and maternity and the operating room were closed, the latter had played a very significant role in reducing waiting lists, since populations of other municipalities in the Algarve and Alentejo ”, reads the petition.

Tuesday 26th May

The Lagos Chamber will distribute 100,000 community masks to the population.

The distribution of the masks began on Friday, May 22, with the local Private Institutions of Social Solidarity, schools in the municipality, Civil Protection and security forces.

As of 25 May, this was conducted through local door-to-door contact, with local commerce and in some residential neighborhoods, namely in conjunction with other initiatives, such as the case of the COVID-Algarve project (awareness raising actions promoted students of the last year of Medicine at the University of Algarve).

The masks will also be made available to residents, for collection between the 1st and the 26th of June, in various service locations (in the City Hall, in the Parish Councils and in the municipal markets), upon presentation of an identification document.

Each citizen will receive a kit with three reusable masks made of washable material, to allow greater durability.

The municipality reinforces, however, the information that the use of a mask, although constituting an additional protection measure, does not replace the rules of social distance, respiratory etiquette, hand hygiene and the use of physical barriers, and must be used properly.

https://www.sulinformacao.pt/2020/05/lagos-distribui-100-mil-mascaras-pela-populacao/

Municipalities deliver ventilators to the University Hospital Center of the Algarve

The Intermunicipal Community of Algarve (AMAL) delivered on Tuesday, the 26th of May, 20 invasive ventilators to the Centro Hospitalar Universitário do Algarve (CHUA).

Delivery took place at 3 pm at the Hospital de Faro, and was attended by local councilors from the Algarve.

These ventilators S1 100 Superstar, correspond to the first 20 of the 30 that were purchased. The remaining 10 are expected to arrive in our country on the next flight from China.

The 16 Municipal Councils of the Algarve transferred to the Academic Center for Research and Biomedical Training in the Algarve (ABC) about two million euros for the acquisition of equipment and materials needed by hospital units in the region to combat Covid-19.

AMAL’s contribution resulted from a meeting with the Regional Health Administration of the Algarve and the Centro Hospitalar Universitário do Algarve.

https://www.sulinformacao.pt/2020/05/municipios-entregam-ventiladores-ao-centro-hospitalar-universitario-do-algarve/

Covid.19: More than 4,000 visors have already been produced at the Loulé production center

In an initiative by Arlindo Martins, a professor at the Loulé Secondary School, which had the support of the Municipality of Loulé, more than 4000 visors produced at the Gama Lobos Palace in Loulé have already been distributed by several institutions from the western to the eastern Algarve.

The information is advanced by the municipality, which also says that at the end of March, a period in which the COVID-19 pandemic had its most critical phase in the country, “the professor decided to start printing 3D visors, aimed mainly at professionals that were (and continue to be) at the forefront of combating the new coronavirus “.

The Municipality immediately joined the initiative, in terms of the provision of space, having transformed part of the Gama Lobo Palace into the headquarters for the production of visors in the city. Municipal technicians helped in the production and a large part of the equipment and material was made available and purchased by the Chamber (3D printers, transparencies, rubber bands and PLA filament).

https://www.algarveprimeiro.com/d/covid19mais-de-4-mil-viseiras-ja-foram-produzidas-no-centro-de-producao-de-loule/32377-1

Monday 25th May

Emergency landing at Faro airport

An Airbus A330 from the company Air Tanker, which came from Accra, the capital of Ghana, bound for London, made an emergency landing this Saturday afternoon, at Faro Airport, after an 87-year-old passenger suffered a cardiorespiratory arrest.

The Algarve First knows from a source linked to Faro Airport that the victim’s death was declared at the Centro Hospitalar Universitário do Algarve in Faro.

“The flight diverged to Faro due to the need for medical assistance to a passenger”, explained the communication department of ANA Aeroportos Portugal to our newspaper. In the rescue of the victim was an INEM pre-hospital emergency team that transported the victim in resuscitation maneuvers to the hospital. At 8:20 pm the Airbus A330 resumed its journey to London.

Beaches

Despite the fact that the real “flood” after the confinement of COVID-19, is only expected from June, many bathers that this Saturday sought the sun and the sea in Faro Beach, and the bathing season only starts 6 of June.

The high temperatures observed in the region, associated with the good state of the sea (little wind) proved to be irresistible for thousands of bathers, who did not miss the opportunity to take a dip and sunbathe, always with the rules implemented by the General Directorate of Health (DGS).

Rocha Pacheco Captain of the Port of Faro of the Maritime Authority stated that the beaches are still without lifeguards, being watched by the Maritime Police, appealing for social distance and for people to comply with what is implemented ”. It should be noted that the Maritime Authority is exerting increased efforts of inspection, surveillance and awareness on the beaches so that the measures are being followed.

The demand for the beach was not limited to Faro, having been found a little throughout the south of the country.

Test kits

The Algarve Biomedical Center (ABC) has “total confidence” in the kits, produced in partnership with three other entities for testing Covid-19, and whose distribution was suspended, this Saturday, May 23, by Infarmed.

Infarmed “has doubts about the safety” of the kits, prohibiting their distribution “until they have answers”.

Contacted by Sul Informação , Nuno Marques, president of ABC, guaranteed that these kits, which have already been used to carry out tests in day care centers and homes in the Algarve and Alentejo, as well as in other parts of the country, “give us security and efficiency”.

“Infarmed said what it did was a request for information that we received yesterday afternoon, Saturday. With that, we suspended the distribution, but we will give details later”

The kits are produced by the Algarve Biomedical Center, in partnership with the Instituto Superior Técnico and the companies Logoplaste and Hidrofer.

Sunday 24 May

From our volunteers reporting in the Algarve

As at 1300 hrs on Saturday 23^rd May, So far in the Algarve there are 361 infected – 3 more compared to yesterday and 15 deaths. According to a detailed national report published on 18^th May, of the 356 positive cases in the Algarve(accumulated numbers), 236 have recovered, nine are hospitalized and 15 died at home, 96 patients were being treated and followed up, in addition to the 170 who are under active surveillance by health authorities, according to the data released and updated at 00:00 on 18 May.

Since the beginning of May until 18^th May, the number of confirmed daily in the Algarve does not exceed seven infections, a number that in the last days has remained between one and three, according to the charts provided by the Regional Health Administration of the Algarve (ARS). The day with the most cases was April 4, with 50 new infections in the region.

There are 66 Population Support Zones installed throughout the Algarve, but only three of them are activated at the moment, in the municipalities of Albufeira, Portimão and Tavira “for quarantine / prophylactic isolation”, according to the document of the District Civil Protection Commission. Compared to other regions of mainland Portugal, the Algarve is only ahead of the Alentejo in the weekly evolution of the number of cases per 100 thousand inhabitants, behind the North, Center and Lisbon and the Tagus Valley.

Recovery rate

According to the Regional Health Authority, the Algarve has a recovery rate of 66.3% and, since March until this week, 21,710 tests have already been carried out, with a negative result. In the Algarve hospitals, in addition to the three people in intensive care, six more people infected with the virus are hospitalized and 15 died.

The number of recovered people in the Algarve began to exceed the number of infected people on May 7, a positive trend that has been maintained and reinforced until this week and which is a good sign in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic in the region.

Mayor of Loulé thanks generosity of the Association of the People’s General Union of China in Portugal

The Mayor of Loulé, stated yesterday, that over the past few weeks, the municipality “has witnessed several initiatives and gestures of solidarity coming from many public and private organizations, as well as from anonymous volunteers who made themselves available to support the population and local entities in the prevention of COVID-19”.

For Vítor Aleixo, the participation and commitment of all “has been fundamental” to prevent the spread of the disease and to combat the social and economic problems resulting from it.

At this time when the use of a mask “seems essential” for the continuation of people’s daily activities, namely with regard to resuming the face-to-face work of the services, the mayor on behalf of the Municipality of Loulé, thanks the Associação União Geral People from China in Portugal donated 8,000 disposable masks (surgical type).

Municipality of Portimão announces new social support

In a press release, the Municipality of Portimão presented the new social support response to vulnerable families in the municipality. According to the same source, on average 600 daily meals are prepared in social canteens and 630 baskets are delivered monthly to needy families.

Within the scope of the measures of the Social Emergency Fund, approved by the Municipality of Portimão, the Solidarity Card is launched to provide extraordinary support to vulnerable families in the municipality that suffered an abrupt and sharp drop in the value of their monthly income due to the epidemiological situation of Covid-19, to ensure the acquisition of foodstuffs by issuing solidarity vouchers for purchases at the Municipal Market of Portimão.

The municipality advances that the Solidarity Card is intended exclusively for residents of the Municipality of Portimão, aged 18 years or over, “who suffered an abrupt and sharp drop in the value of their monthly income as a result of the pandemic situation of Covid-19, and whose maximum per capita value does not exceed the national minimum wage, which is 635 euros”.

https://www.algarveprimeiro.com/d/cartao-solidario-e-nova-resposta-de-apoio-social-dirigido-a-familias-vulneraveis-de-portimao/32345-1

Saturday 23rd May 2020

São Brás de AlportelSapers carrying out cleaning and maintenance work

The Municipal Team of Forest Sapers of São Brás de Alportel is carrying out cleaning and maintenance work on shrubs in rural and forest areas.

The objective, explains the Chamber of São Brás, is to reduce «the fuel load near homes and on the forest road network».

These are works integrated in the Municipal Operational Plan, approved on April 16, which never ceased, despite the Covid-19 pandemic.

“These essential civil protection services have always been maintained uninterruptedly and are being carried out with all the conditions of safety and protection by the Municipal Forest Sappers”, says Vitor Guerreiro, president of the City Council.

Fuel maintenance and management is further reinforced with awareness-raising actions among the general population, who are alerted to the importance of clearing forests and reducing risk behaviors in the forest, essential factors in order to avoid problems with fires forestry during the critical period.

https://www.sulinformacao.pt/2020/05/sapadores-florestais-de-sao-bras-estao-em-trabalhos-de-prevencao-de-incendios-rurais/

Loulé Market Re-opens today

The weekly clothing market, which takes place on Saturday mornings in Loulé, next to the Santo António Convent, reopens to the public tomorrow, May 23, as part of the gradual resumption of economic activities in the municipality.

The market will reopen doors with several health security measures. Following the indications of the Directorate-General for Health, “all operators and visitors must wear a mask or visor and maintain social distance in this area”.

Vendors must also “be provided with disinfectant products, such as alcohol gel, to proceed with hand hygiene during their activity”.

After the reopening, last week, of the weekly market of food producers in Loulé and Quarteira, this is another step in the resumption of the activities of street vendors.

Covid.19: Teaching and non-teaching staff from Lagos schools tested negative

The Lagos Council reported that the results of the tests carried out this Wednesday in school groups in Lagos are already known.

ABC – Algarve Biomedical Center was called to carry out COVID-19 tests to all professionals of educational establishments (including teaching and non-teaching staff) who resumed their functions in schools this week, ensuring the classroom activity to students of the 11th and 12th years of schooling in the subjects that have a final exam.

The result of this diagnostic action was today communicated to school groups, accusing 100% of negative tests. For the municipality, this information “allows to reassure the school community and confirm, once again, the favourable situation in the municipality of Lagos in terms of the pandemic, with the absence of active cases”.

https://www.algarveprimeiro.com/d/covid19pessoal-docente-e-nao-docente-das-escolas-de-lagos-testou-negativo/32329-1

Friday 22nd May 2020

Faro Bikers Festival cancelled

José Amaro, President of the Motoclube de Faro, announced minutes ago through a video with his voice that this year’s biker concentration will not take place due to Covid.19.

In the video, emblematic images of previous concentrations appear, with José Amaro pointing out that health comes first.

Speaking to Agência Lusa, the president of the Algarve motoclub, which has organized the rally for 38 consecutive years, regretted that there were no conditions to receive the thousands of motorcyclists who travel from various parts of Europe and the world, acknowledged that “it is difficult to cancel event of 39 years”, but considered that health is first and, for this reason, it was decided not to carry out the concentration in 2020.

José Amaro explained that the decision was made due to the impossibility of holding festivals in Portugal, the need for social distance and the restrictions imposed on the transport and movement of people between countries.

Asked about the impact of the annulment of this year’s merger, José Amaro replied: “It is always bad for the club and for the city of Faro, because it is an important event”.

“It is sad, but it is now necessary to comply with these rules so that next year this can go smoothly,” he added, recalling that the event has been taking place for 38 years “without interruption”.

The same source said that the Motoclube de Faro is thinking of undertaking another initiative so that the 39 years of the concentration can be marked in 2020, but guaranteed that the format has not yet been decided.

https://www.algarveprimeiro.com/d/concentracao-de-faro-nao-se-vai-realizar-oficial-/32287-1

Loule Rural Fire Intervention Priorities

At a time when the critical period of forest fires is approaching, the mayor of Loulé, Vítor Aleixo, the councillor responsible for Civil Protection, Carlos Carmo, the District Operational Commander of the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority, Vítor Vaz Pinto, the Territorial Commander of the Republican National Guard, Daniel Ferreira, and the Commander of the Municipal Firefighters, Irlandino Santos, were in the Municipal Park of Loulé yesterday morning at the welcoming ceremony of the municipal forest intervention teams, who have been working since the past May 15th.

At that moment, which symbolically marks the start of yet another season of mobile surveillance, the 13 elements who, from May 15 to October 31, will do daily, and uninterruptedly, from 9 am to 9 pm, were welcomed. Surveillance in the vast forest area in the municipality of Loulé, namely in Serra do Caldeirão.

The municipal forest intervention teams assume a fundamental role, taking into account their valence and preparation, being equipped with a 4×4 vehicle with first intervention equipment (with around 500 liters of water). Considering that the first intervention and the initial attack on forest fires are fundamental and decisive for the success of their extinction, these teams will be able to develop armed surveillance actions.

In addition to surveillance, detection and first intervention, these teams also collaborate in raising awareness among the population, especially in rural parishes in the interior – Alte, Ameixial, Salir and União de Freguesias Querença, Tôr and Benafim – considered to be first priority in the field of defence of the forest against fires by the Institute for the Conservation of Nature and Forests.

Confirmed Cases in Tunes

The Union of Parishes of Algoz and Tunes has just announced that two more cases of Covid-19, in the village of Tunes, have been confirmed today.

This is a couple living in an urbanization in this town in the municipality of Silves, adds the note from União de Freguesias, published on their Facebook page.

These new cases, confirmed this Thursday, are not yet included in the daily epidemiological bulletin released in the early afternoon by the Directorate-General for Health, which only refers to the data until midnight today. This bulletin pointed to just one more case in the Algarve, since yesterday.

The confirmation of these two cases in Tunes appears, stresses the local authority, “after 45 days of the confirmation of the last positive case of Covid-19 in our parish”, “rising to a total of 5 positive cases” since the beginning of the pandemic.

The first three people in the parish sick with Covid-19 have already “recovered and are cured”.

The União de Freguesias adds that “infected people will be in confinement and isolation, making their home recovery”. The man will stay in his house in Tunis, while the woman will move to another room in Silves, both remaining in confinement and isolation.

Thursday 21st May 2020

Covid-19 Algarve

The Algarve continues to have 356 cases of Covid-19, a number that has been maintained since last Saturday. In Alentejo there are 3 more infected, with the total rising to 248, according to today’s epidemiological bulletin, May 20, from the Directorate-General for Health (DGS).

In the Algarve and Alentejo, the number of deaths has not changed, remaining at 15 and one, respectively.

With regard to new infections, since Saturday the Algarve has not registered any new cases. In Alentejo, the number rises again, more slightly: there are 3 more cases today, making a total of 248 infected.

Covid.19: Tests for employees of day care centers and kindergartens in the municipality of Silves without positive cases

The Municipality of Silves, informed that the employees of the day care centers and kindergartens of the county were tested at COVID-19, and the results were negative.

In the operation, nine institutions were screened, for a total of 113 employees. 7 institutions have been in operation since the beginning of this week, with the reception of 32 children. Two institutions, however, remain closed due to the lack of children, the City’s note reads.

https://www.algarveprimeiro.com/d/covid19testes-aos-funcionarios-das-creches-e-jardins-de-infancia-do-concelho-de-silves-sem-casos-positivos/32272-1

COVID-19 tests carried out in school groups in Lagos

The City Councilor for Education – Sara Coelho, from the Lacobrigense autarchy, was today monitoring the resumption of classroom activities, “trying to ensure that they are carried out with all the appropriate conditions of safety and tranquility, preventing possible outbreaks of contagion when returning to schools. “, says a statement from the Municipality, through the testing of COVID-19 in both school groups in Lagos.

The initiative, promoted by the municipality in conjunction with the directions of the groupings (Gil Eanes Group of Schools and Júlio Dantas Group of Schools), was developed on the ground by ABC – Algarve Biomedical Center, an entity that carried out the tests for teachers and staff non-teaching.

https://www.algarveprimeiro.com/d/realizados-testes-de-covid-19-nos-agrupamentos-escolares-de-lagos/32277-1

Wednesday 20th May 2020

DGS figures

The Directorate-General for Health announced this Tuesday the existence of 1,247 deaths in Portugal, 16 more than yesterday.

So far in the Algarve there are 356 infected – the same number in the last three days and 15 deaths. The municipal breakdown shown since Friday 15^th shows 13 deaths however a difference of two compared to DGS central figures. We are trying to reconcile the figure with the regional health authority.

Mayor of Portimão visits school and kindergarten

Isilda Gomes, Mayor of Portimão, accompanied this Monday, May 18th, the return of the face-to-face classes at the Escola Secundária Poeta António Aleixo and visited the Major David Neto Kindergarten.

In this school, the mayor found the adaptations made in 11 classrooms, designed to welcome 11th and 12th year students.

During the visit, Isilda Gomes was accompanied by the councillor for Education Teresa Mendes and the municipal coordinator of Civil Protection Richard Marques, who moments earlier had presided over the beginning of awareness raising actions for the reopening of kindergartens in the municipality, which should take place on the 1st of June.

The initiative took place at the Major David Neto Kindergarten, in Portimão, where a multidisciplinary team, composed of elements from the local public health, civil protection and social security unit, advised technicians on the best procedures for the facilities and for children in this area during the de-confinement phase. (Source Sulinformacao)

https://www.sulinformacao.pt/2020/05/isilda-gomes-acompanhou-reabertura-de-escola-secundaria-e-visitou-jardim-de-infancia/

Albufeira Municipality shares good practices on World Environment Day on Facebook

The commemoration of World Environment Day (19^th May) aims to alert populations and governments to the need to recognize the importance of the environment, a better quality of life and to promote sustainable development practices with a view to the well-being of Humanity and generations future.

In this context, the Albufeira municipality shared online, good environmental practices. Those interested should send their works, in the form of exhibitions / models, films, plays, songs, crafts, biological gardens, composting, recycling, among others, as long as they address themes related to the environment. Proposals should be sent to the email: educacao.ambiental@cm-albufeira.pt, accompanied by the following elements: Title of good practice | brief description, maximum of 5 photographs (if applicable), name of the author (s), name of the establishment, municipality.

https://www.algarveprimeiro.com/d/municipio-de-albufeira-partilha-no-facebook-boas-praticas-no-dia-mundial-do-ambiente/32239-1

Municipality of Silves – Re-opening of Library

In a note sent to the media, the stated that, the municipality will proceed to the 2nd phase of gradual reopening of municipal services, closed during the state emergency, with the resumption of activity at the Municipal Library of Silves starting today, May 20.

In the same note, the council also stated that the 3rd phase of gradual reopening of services will take place on June 1 with the Castle of Silves and the Municipal Museum of Archeology opening their doors to the public.

The municipality also notes that the remaining municipal facilities of a sporting, cultural, recreational and recreational nature will remain closed, and the deadlines for the performance of procedural or procedural acts within the scope of administrative procedures will remain suspended.

According to the same source, “with this gradual reopening of services, specific measures have been applied in order to guarantee the safe functioning of a series of areas, designed taking into account the safeguarding and protection of the health of municipal workers, and respective families, and of all citizens”.

https://www.algarveprimeiro.com/d/servicos-municipais-de-silves-reabrem-gradualmente-ate-junho-/32251-1

Tuesday 19th May 2020

Covid-19 Situation

The Regional Health Delegate confirmed this morning at a press conference that in the last two days there are no new cases in the Algarve.

The Regional Health Delegate added that as the bathing season approaches the closure of beaches may occur, “If the health authorities” using its discretion, sees that there are new cases on a certain beach or if people eventually fail to respect the safety rules. However we believe that people are also the best regulators of the current rules by the DGS”.

About the epidemiological balance of Covid.19 in the region, the President of ARS Algarve stated that of the 20 infected health professionals only 2 are positive having been recovering for about 1 month. “These are cases that escape the rule and take time to recover from the situation that has been the subject of study”.

The President of ARS Algarve warned that the disease will not disappear so soon “The WHO – World Health Organization itself has already stated that every year we will have waves of Covid.19 such as the flu so we will have to know how to live with the disease”.

104 day care centres in the Algarve tested.

The Algarve Biomedical Center (ABC) tested a total of 1906 employees from day care centers in the Algarve, Baixo Alentejo and Alentejo Litoral that reopen today, May 18th. The results are all negative.

The action has been carried out since May 4, with tests in 104 day care centers in the Algarve and 26 in the Baixo Alentejo and Alentejo Litoral, and is now testing those that reopen only on June 1.

The testing is part of the diagnostic test program for the new Coronavirus in day care centers, promoted by the Ministry of Labour, Solidarity and Social Security, with laboratories from scientific and academic institutions duly certified by INSA.

DECIR Algarve 2020

The program for the Algarve Faro District was presented by the Commander CDOS FARO Vaz Pinto on 18^th May at their Headquarters in Loule

Risk perception and permanent monitoring, 24 hours a day, remain the basis for an ability to anticipate operational measures where and when needed, using a device that account this year, in the period of greatest commitment, with 833 operational, 206 land organized into 166 operational units, complemented by 7 aerial means, whose coverage radius covers the Algarve.

In 2019 dispatch of means, after the location of the fire, in 49 seconds, the arrival of the 1st means to the theatre of Operations in 12 minutes, the resolution of events in 36 minutes, of which 96.6% in the initial attack phase and, mainly with zero accidents.

The pre-positioning of initial attack means, in the areas of greatest fire hazard rural areas.

The mobilization of heavy machinery, based on a battery of 11 JCBs, coming from Municipalities and ICNF

Each Firefighter, who in the Algarve is part of DECIR, voluntarily receives a payment of participation in the amount of € 74.00, for 24 hours of service, exempt from taxation, which corresponds to a 9% increase over the previous year.

AVAILABILITY, COMMITMENT, DETERMINATION and COHESION are the commitments assumed by all women and men who, selflessly, are part of DECIR Algarve.

Faro re-opening of services

The Câmara de Faro started yesterday the reopening of services that have remained closed since the state of emergency was decreed, but access will only be possible by measuring body temperature, it was announced.

In a statement, the municipality said that people who want to access the services of the municipality “will have their body temperature measured, being denied access to the facilities if the registration exceeds 37.5 degrees centigrade.

At the same time, like other equipment and public spaces, the use of a mask becomes mandatory, with telephone or electronic contact with municipal services being privileged whenever possible.

If the contact “must necessarily be in person, it will only be made with prior appointment and in spaces that should have a physical barrier (acrylic or glass), in order to guarantee the distance and protection of those involved”, continues the note.

The circulation of people (workers, customers, suppliers or visitors) and the number of users or visitors at the reception or service area will also be limited within the premises, in order to maintain a minimum distance of two meters between them.

Work areas will also be reorganized to ensure the same minimum distance between workers, says the municipality, adding that, at this stage, teleworking will also be maintained for several workers.

PSP agents assaulted in Vila Real de Santo António

Elements of the PSP in Vila Real de Santo António suffered aggression by a man and woman of Portuguese nationality, when they occupied a commercial establishment to spend the night in the city.

The agents were alerted by the owner of the establishment to the case, this Saturday at 23:30.

“They started by trying to prevent the PSP patrol members from leaving the establishment and then attacked them,” said PSP Faro District Command.

The 32-year-old man and the 40-year-old woman were arrested by the PSP and later released, but will be notified to appear before the court.

Maritime Police rescues man trapped in fishing net in Alvor estuary

Victim was trapped by his feet in a net.

Agents of Portimão Local Maritime Police Command rescued a 52-year-old man on Saturday night May 16 who was trapped in a net in the middle of Alvor estuary in danger of drowning.

Railway circulation re-established on a stretch of the Southern Line

The “Infrastructures of Portugal” (IP) informed that the rail traffic on a stretch of the Southern Line in São Marcos da Serra in the interior of the Algarve which had been suspended since 9:00 am has been restored at 13:50 today.

Monday 18th May

Covid.19: Algarve without new cases since yesterday

The Directorate-General for Health announced this Sunday the existence of 1,218 deaths in Portugal 15 more than yesterday. In the Algarve there were no new cases since Saturday. The breakdown on the number of confirmed cases and deaths by municipality are as follows

Albufeira has 74, (2 deaths)

Loulé – 63, (5 deaths)

Faro – 63

Portimão – 40, (1 death)

Tavira – 30

Silves – 24

Vila Real de Stº António – 13, (2 deaths)

Olhão – 12

Lagoa – 9, (2 deaths)

Lagos – 3

Castro Marim – 3

Monchique – 3

São Brás de Alportel – 2, (1 death)

Guidelines on the reopening of churches

The Bishop of the Algarve, D. Manuel Neto Quintas, sent to the priests and deacons guidelines on the reopening of the Algarve churches to public worship.

In the letter, D. Manuel Quintas presented some practical indications for the beginning of the Eucharists, leaving open the possibility of being completed in each parish, “taking into account the local reality”.

“We cannot condescend or facilitate, with regard to strict compliance with the rules of hygiene, detachment and other forms of protection, prescribed by health authorities and presented by the Portuguese Episcopal Conference (CEP)”, stated the Bishop.

Manuel Quintas warns that the present situation “although” more relieved “with regard to the daily number of people infected with COVID-19, continues to demand everyone’s commitment and responsible participation in fighting the contagion”.

In addition to the various indications on the definition of mass schedules, he recommends that one choose “to celebrate, especially in cities, in churches with the capacity to receive the greatest number of faithful”. He added one can “verify the opportunity, if necessary, to promote the Celebration of the Word in the absence of the Priest, with the distribution of the Eucharist, in other places (chapels, parish halls), guided by Permanent Deacons or laypeople mandated for this parish service”.

Faro School produces visors for its teachers.

After assisting health professionals and security forces, a school in Faro decided to produce visors to distribute to secondary school teachers, whose face-to-face classes will resume on Monday, to minimize the spread of covid-19.

Almost two months ago, Escola Pinheiro e Rosa, in Faro, established a partnership with several ‘makers’ – the name by which manufacturers and users of three-dimensional printers (3D) are known – for the design of protective visors.

Altogether, more than 3,000 copies have already been produced and delivered to essential professionals, a process that, in a final phase, focused on ensuring the production of units for the safety of teachers in the 11th and 12th years of the municipality of Faro, about returning to school.

Sunday 17th of May

Covid-19: Algarve has one more death and one more case, Alentejo also increases

The number of Covid-19 cases in the Algarve is now 356, one more than yesterday having also risen to 241 in Alentejo (1 more) according to today’s epidemiological bulletin May 16 from the General Health Directorate (DGS). There is l one more death in the Algarve bringing the total to 15.

Regional Tourism Algarve

The Algarve Tourism Region (RTA) today released a guide with recommendations aimed at tour operators, to strengthen the security and confidence of the Algarve destination in the face of the covid-19 pandemic.

The “manual of good practices – Algarve Clean & Safe”, includes a set of recommendations “with specific tips by industry” – accommodation, restaurants and the like, marinas and recreational ports, beach concessions, golf, water parks, companies tourist entertainment, campsites and motorhomes, rent-a-car, travel agencies and events.

Among the recommendations are cleaning and hygiene procedures, training of employees and information to be made available to tourists and visitors, in accordance with the guidelines of the Directorate-General for Health (DGS) and international guidelines.

According to RTA, it is a manual “pioneer among national tourist destinations of special relevance, at a time when the Government announced the reopening of the beaches for June 6 and where the gradual resumption of the influx of tourists to the Algarve is expected”.

Municipality of Silves distributes personal protective equipment in day care centres and kindergartens in the municipality

In order to guarantee the safety conditions for the reopening of day care centres and kindergartens in the municipality, the Municipality of Silves yesterday distributed to these institutions, various types of personal protective equipment (PPE), namely disposable aprons, surgical masks, reusable hospital tissue masks and pairs of gloves.

With this initiative, the autarchy refers in a note sent to the media, which aims to guarantee “the autonomy of the functioning of these institutions and the protection of all mobilized employees and all their users”.

The Municipality recalls that in this context, “it has distributed and will continue to distribute in the community the provision of personal protective equipment to the public entities of the State present in the municipality”, namely the GNR, Prison of Silves and the School Groups, as well as to Parish Councils, Humanitarian Associations of Voluntary Firemen of Silves and São Bartolomeu de Messines, Red Cross, Private Institutions of Social Solidarity and Religious Entities.

The municipality is also distributing surgical masks to people and families in need or in vulnerable situations. The Municipality of Silves also guarantees personal protective equipment to all its workers and all residents who go to public services, by prior appointment, considering that the use of masks is only mandatory in closed rooms.

Castro Marim Chamber ensures free and “safe” transportation for high school students

Following the government’s confinement withdraw directive in which the 11th and 12th grade students return to classroom lessons on Monday May 18th Castro Marim municipality guarantees free transportation to students from the municipality who attend Vila Real de St. António Secondary School.

If students do not need school transport, the Municipality of Castro Marim asks parents and those in charge of education to inform the Social Action Office of the Municipality through number 281 510 742.

Street food markets in Loulé and Quarteira reopen

Street food markets in Loulé, on Saturday 16^th May and Quarteira on Wednesday 20^th restart their activity after a ceasing their activities as a result of the contingency measures for the spread of COVID-19 and increased health security measures.