Azores Situation Report Wednesday 19th May 2021
From our colleague in the Azores
Voucher Scheme
The Government of the Azores has approved a resolution that resumes the “Voucher Destino Açores Seguro” initiative, with the attribution of a financial incentive to promote the conduct of screening tests to SARS-CoV-2 prior to shipment to the region.
The decision was taken by the Government Council (PSD / CDS-PP / PPM coalition), which met by videoconference, on May 10th and 12th, and whose decisions were announced this Monday.
The financial incentive attributed to those who take the test in advance is then “usable, exclusively, in the purchase of goods or services, in any of the establishments of the network of members”.
The “Destination Insurance Azores Voucher” is set at 35 euros for all non-resident passengers, over the age of 12, who board at airports located on the mainland and in the Autonomous Region of Madeira, as well as for other trips originating abroad and arriving at airports on the islands of Santa Maria, São Miguel, Terceira, Pico and Faial, with a ‘voucher’ being issued for each passenger.
In October, the former President promoted this initiative for anyone who came to the archipelago with a negative test, also worth 35 euros, to spend on goods and services in the region.
However, the measure was suspended the following month, when it became mandatory to submit a negative test done within 72 hours prior to the trip.
The new Regional Government of the PSD / CDS-PP / PPM coalition decided to resume the initiative to capture “national and international tourist flows to the region” and to promote “the promotion of inter-island tourism”.
The Government of the Azores says that passengers a pre-arrival test “will have the test paid for by the region on arrival, awaiting in isolation the result of the test, which will arrive in a period of up to 24 hours”, repeating then at 6th and 12th day of the stay.
Those who “test positive on arrival will have to comply with mandatory confinement, for a period of 10 days”, while their “traveling companions referred to as close contacts of high risk will have to comply with prophylactic isolation for a period of 14 days”.
If the accommodation chosen by the passengers does not have conditions for the isolation to be fulfilled, or “if the situation decreed extends beyond the period initially contracted by the passengers, the Autonomous Region of the Azores assumes the costs of accommodation and meals in a hotel designated for the purpose”.
The Regional Government Council held last week also approved a resolution that updates the APOIAR.PT Azores Program – Operational Costs 2020, “according to the recent approval of the measure and the ongoing negotiations with the European Commission”, the statement said.
This program aims to “mitigate the impacts on billing caused by the pandemic” and “to strengthen instruments designed to support companies with their operating costs”, aiming to contribute to “economic confidence”, “maintenance of productive capacity and employment” in this transitional period before the economic recovery “.
Death.
Sadly, there has been another death in the region. According to a press release from the health authority, “there was a death of a 38 year-old man, born in the parish of Ponta Garça, municipality of Vila Franca do Campo, who was hospitalized at the ICU of the Hospital do Divino Espírito Santo, in Ponta Delgada, after worsening his health condition, determining his death due to bacterial over-infection “.
With this further death, the region registers 32 deaths.
Saturday 15th May .
27 new positive cases of Covid-19 were diagnosed in the Azores, all in São Miguel, in the context of community transmission, resulting from 1,829 analyzes carried out in reference laboratories in the Region, and one in a non-conventional private laboratory.
Thus, 20 cases were diagnosed in the municipality of Ribeira Grande, all in Rabo de Peixe, one in the municipality of Ponta Delgada, in the parish of São Pedro, two in the municipality of Vila Franca (one in São Pedro and another in Ribeira Seca), three in the municipality of Nordeste (two in Lomba da Fazenda and one in Vila do Nordeste) and one in the municipality of Povoação, parish of Ribeira Quente.
In the same period, 16 patients recovered
Sunday 16th May.
12 new positive cases of Covid-19 were diagnosed in the Azores, in the context of community transmission and all in São Miguel, resulting from 1,736 analyzes carried out in the reference laboratories in the Region.
Thus, nine cases were diagnosed in the municipality of Ribeira Grande (two in Conceição and seven in Rabo de Peixe), two in the municipality of Ponta Delgada (one in Santa Clara and one in Ajuda da Bretanha), and one in the municipality of Nordeste, in Lomba da Fazenda.
In the same period, 21 patients recovered, all in São Miguel.
Monday 17th May.
Eight new positive cases of Covid-19 have been diagnosed all on the island of São Miguel, in the context of community transmission, following 692 tests carried out in the laboratories of reference in the Region.
There are five new cases in the municipality of Ribeira Grande, all in Rabo de Peixe. In the municipality of Ponta Delgada, there is a new case in São Roque, and in the municipality of Vila Franca do Campo, there are two new cases in Água de Alto.
In the same period, there was a recovery in Lajes, on the island of Flores.
Tuesday 18th May.
34 new positive cases of Covid-19 were diagnosed in the Azores, all on the island of São Miguel, in the context of community transmission, following 2,098 tests carried out in the laboratories of reference in the Region, and one in a private laboratory.
There are 31 new cases in the municipality of Ribeira Grande (29 in Rabo de Peixe, one in Ribeira Seca and one in Conceição). In the municipality of Ponta Delgada there is a new case in São Roque, and in the municipality of Vila Franca do Campo a new case was diagnosed in São Pedro.
In the same period, there were a total of 22 recoveries
There are currently five patients in hospital, all in the Divino Espírito Santo Hospital in Ponta Delgada, none in intensive care.
The Region currently has 246 positive active cases: 240 on the island of São Miguel, four on the island of Terceira and two on the island of Flores. There are two active transmission chains in the archipelago, one on the island of Flores and one on the island of Terceira and, to the present, 201 have been extinguished.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, 5,237 positive cases of covid-19 have been diagnosed in the Azores and 4,833 people recovered from the disease. There were 32 deaths, 79 people who left the archipelago and 47 cases with history of previous cure. Up to now, 477,354 tests have been carried out in the archipelago for SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes the Covid-19 disease.
From December 31st, 2020 until May 13th, 91,979 doses of Covid-19 vaccine were administered in the Azores, corresponding to 60,703 people aged 15 or over, who received the first dose and 31,276 people who received the second dose, under the Regional Vaccination Plan.