Algarve Situation Report Wednesday 26 February 2025
by Mike Evans
Good Day to you all. I start this report with some information which could affect many of our followers and subscribers as members of the foreign community in Portugal. This week the government announced a shake up of the health service with the announcement that People with inactive registration at health centres because they have not attended for five years will be reactivated in April, but emigrants and foreigners without appointments during that period will lose their family doctor in Portugal. Now while many foreign residents have private health insurance there are many who do not because they cannot afford it or have lived here for many years and have used the National Health Service since arriving into the country.
This change is the result of the publication, in December and January, of legislation that will come into force in April and that defines the rules for organising and managing the National User Registry (RNU) and registration in primary health care.
In recent years, users of the National Health System (SNS) who had not used the system for five or more years had their primary care registration deactivated, being classified as “non-users”. In addition to inactive primary care registration, these users also lost their family doctor. In January, the publication of another dispatch (40/2025), which also comes into force in April, determined that the update of the primary healthcare lists would take into account the new registration types.
This diploma defined that foreign residents and non-resident nationals and foreigners, registered with a family doctor but without a record of medical consultation in primary health care in the last five years, become “eligible for reformulation of the family doctor assignment”, that is, they lose the current one. So the advice we can offer anyone who is concerned about this new law is to get an appointment with your doctor in order to stay under his or her tutelage.
Now a look at some of the other issues and stories from around the region in the past week.
Truck Overturned Cutting Off the A22 in Portimão
On Monday morning, a truck carrying water bottles overturned on the A22 in Portimão, causing one minor injury. The road was closed in the Portimão-Lagos direction.
The accident happened shortly after half past eight in the morning, at kilometer 20 of the A22, close to the exit for Alvor. The driver, aged around 60, suffered minor injuries and was treated at the scene and taken to Portimão hospital, reported Correio da Manhã.
During the work to clear this section of the motorway, traffic was interrupted. The heavy vehicle involved in the accident was removed with the help of a crane truck and left the site at around 1pm. Firefighters from Portimão, INEM, GNR and members of the Via do Infante concessionaire were at the scene.
Man Dies After Being Run Over by Train in Faro
A 70-year-old man died last Sunday afternoon in Faro after being hit by a train while crossing the Pontes de Marchil level crossing.
According to Jornal de Notícias , the circumstances of the incident are unknown at this time, and the line has now been cleared and train circulation has resumed .
The Faro Firefighters, the National Emergency Service (INEM), the GNR and the company Infraestruturas de Portugal were on site. This operation involved seven vehicles and 16 personnel.
Man Arrested in Faro for Drug Trafficking
The Faro PSP District Command informs that it arrested a 58-year-old suspect for drug trafficking, through its Faro Criminal Investigation Squad.
Aware of the social disruption caused by the crime of drug trafficking in the areas where it occurs, this Command and its various subunits have undertaken a permanent effort to combat it, both in the scope of investigation and in the development of preventive police interventions in areas where there is information about its potential occurrence.
Last week, and as a result of yet another preventive police intervention, carried out by the Faro Criminal Investigation Squad, in the same city, a suspect was detected with movements typical of the practice of this crime , having been promptly approached by the police officers involved.
After this approach, it was found that he was in possession of approximately 136 individual doses of heroin, which he immediately assumed were intended for sale to consumers, and was therefore arrested.
The PSP expects the suspect to be presented in court for the first judicial interrogation and application of the coercive measures considered appropriate.
Carnival Week Across the Region Here is Where to Watch!
Its Carnival Week Across the Region Here is a breakdown of all the carnival activities happening across the region.
Portimão once again celebrates Carnival with a series of initiatives ranging from dances to matinées and parades to allegorical processions, promising to entertain everyone, as this is a festival with a profoundly popular nature.
This year, under the theme “ Sustainability ”, the Portimão Carnival is inspired by the adoption of responsible consumption, which allows human needs to be satisfied both in the present and in the future, which sets the tone for the party and in which 13 floats and nine carnival groups will participate, with lots of music and fun.
On February 28th, between 10:00 and 11:30, the grand opening parade of the carnival program will take place, with the participation of children from the municipality’s schools and Bomboémia – Percussion Group of the University of Minho, with the gathering scheduled for Praça da República and passing through Rua Direita towards Largo 1º de Maio. On March 4th, at 3pm, the Float Parade will take place in the Portimão Riverside Area, featuring 13 vehicles decorated with themes alluding to sustainability and featuring the participation of nine groups. The highlight will be on Shrove Tuesday, on the banks of the Arade River, with a parade marked by lots of music, colour and entertainment, which promises to be a party centred on the spontaneity of local associations, which will bring life and energy to the traditions of Shrove Tuesday.
To add more rhythm to the party, Portimão will host the fourth edition of Percussion Days from February 28th to March 2nd, whose diverse programme, which includes several live performances in emblematic public spaces in the city,
On March 2nd and 4th, the parish of Ferreiras will host another edition of the Trapalhão Carnival. This year, the event will take place under the theme “Futuristic Carnival”.
The parade will take place on Avenida 12 de Julho between 2pm and 5pm and will feature floats, themed costumes and performances inspired by the future. The initiative involves local associations, sports clubs and guest artists .
Scheduled activities include traveling presentations, live music and a competition to award the best floats and groups on foot.
In addition to the presence of a samba school, entertainment is guaranteed with Ban’Dalila, Circo Dallas, Satori Association, Al-Fanfarre, Futebol Clube de Ferreiras, Nuclegarve, Amigos de Ferreiras, Amigos da Guia, Amigos de Albufeira and, of course, everyone who wants to join the party.
For Jorge Carmo, president of the Ferreiras Parish Council, “Carnaval Trapalhão is an event that involves the community and promotes local traditions, once again placing Ferreiras as a destination worth visiting at this time of year.” The event, with free entry, is organized by the Parish Council of Ferreiras, with the support of Albufeira City Council and local businesses.
The municipality of Albufeira celebrates Carnival in style. For several days there will be children’s parades, dances , costume competitions and floats in all the parishes of the municipality.
OnFebruary 25th, the school parade “Sport for All!” will take place, starting at 3:30 pm, on Avenida dos Descobrimentos. On Friday, the 28th, the Guia Children’s Parade will take place under the motto “The best sport is here”, between 10:00 and 11:00, next to the local Sports Centre. On March 1st, from 2:30 pm, Carnaval Trapalhão returns to downtown Albufeira to welcome the revelers who dress up every year to celebrate the most fun time of the year.
This is followed by the Carnival Ball at EMA, on the 1st, 3rd and 4th of March, starting at 8pm, except for the 4th which starts at 2pm.
This year, the Paderne Carnival features nine floats that celebrate the history and culture of the local people, which are joined by groups of revelers who parade through the streets of the parish on March 1st, from 7:00 pm, and on Shrove Tuesday, the 4th, from 3:00 pm.
Faro is about to host the traditional Carnival parade of the city’s schools and institutions, which will take place on February 27th (Thursday). The event, which promises to liven up the city’s main streets, will be attended by hundreds of children, with a gathering at Jardim Manuel Bivar at 10:00 am. The participants will walk through the city centre towards Praça da Pontinha, passing through Rua de Santo António.
Without a set theme, children will be free to let their imaginations run wild and choose their favourite costumes. 2,292 young party-goers are expected to take part, attending the following educational institutions in the municipality: EB1 S. Luís; EB1 Bom João; EB1/JI Carmo; EB1 Alto Rode; Ria Formosa Primary School ; EB1 Vale Carneiros; Aboim Ascensão Refuge; Arco-Íris Association; Casa de Santa Isabel; Santa Casa da Misericórdia Children’s Centre; O Relógio Nursery, Kindergarten and 1st Cycle; Nossa Senhora de Fátima Children’s Wellbeing Centre – CASCD Faro; Faro Hospital Children’s Centre and Cooppofa Children’s Centre.
The Loulé Carnival will play with a serious theme. The problems of water shortages in the Algarve region are the inspiration for the 2025 parade, which will take place on March 2, 3 and 4, on Avenida José da Costa Mealha.
“Carnival is not boring…” is the motto of yet another edition of the oldest Carnival in the country, which brings to the streets 15 floats, around 600 entertainers, samba schools , animation groups, big heads, giants, political and social satire and, above all, lots of fun.
The local authority is once again betting on the projection of Carnival as a “tool to raise public awareness of a topic of interest, alerting and promoting responsible and conscious behaviour”. The parade will take place over the three days between 3pm and 6pm. Tickets cost two euros and all proceeds will be distributed to social causes and to participating groups representing local communities.
The local authority states that the organization is organizing an entertainment program parallel to the parade for the Carnival days, which, in addition to a series of sporting activities, will also include the traditional Gala Ball, on the evening of Monday, March 3, at the Loulé Party Room.
NATIONAL ROAD SAFETY AUTHORITY WARN AGAINST A NEW SCAM WHICH ASKS YOU TO PAY A €120 FINE
The National Road Safety Authority (ANSR) has issued a warning about a new email fraud attempt that is circulating, associated with the payment of a €120 fine.
The ANSR say that it does not send fine notifications via email and asks the public to be aware of possible fraudulent schemes.
According to ANSR, recipients of these email messages are informed that they have been fined €120 euros for a traffic violation and are requested to make payment via a link included in the email. However, this is a ‘phishing’ scheme, used to steal users’ personal details and banking details. The emails associated with this fraud look very official and state that the fine must be paid by the end of February. The sender of the email message uses a false identity and includes a link that redirects victims to a fraudulent website, where they are asked to enter banking information.
The ANSR stresses that it never sends fine notifications by email and that all official communications are made by physical mail. Therefore, it warns drivers not to click on any links included in these emails and not to make any payments through the resulting pages.
Anyone who receives one of these fraudulent messages should report it to the police.
You can always check the credibility of an email sender before opening any suspicious message, for instance they often have a strange email address, made up of random combinations of letters and numbers, often associated with foreign website domains. Many of these fraudulent emails contain grammatical and spelling errors, which may indicate that it is not an official communication.
To avoid falling victim to ‘phishing’ schemes, such as this fraud involving the payment of fines, experts recommend not providing personal or banking details on unverified pages and always be suspicious of messages that call for urgent action, such as immediate payment of an amount.
Until the next time Stay Safe..