Azores Situation Report Wednesday 20th October 2021

From our colleague in the Azores  

Covid -19 

Since the last Situation Report a week ago on the 13th September there have been 117 new cases of Covid-19 registered, 19 more than the previous week, and 94 recoveries, 10 more than last week.

As of the 19thOctober, there are seven patients hospitalised, all at the Divino Espírito Santo Hospital in Ponta Delgada, none of whom is in intensive care unit.

Current situation:

The archipelago currently registers 173 positive active cases: 144 on the island of São Miguel, 17 on the island of Faial, six on the island of Santa Maria, four on the island of Terceira and two on the island of Pico.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, 9,285 positive cases of COVID-19 have been diagnosed in the Azores, of which 8,884 recovered from the disease, 44 people died, 95 left the archipelago and 89 showed proof of cure of previous infection.

From December 31st, 2020 to October 11th, 173,743 people in the Azores have been vaccinated with the first dose (73.4 per cent) and 192,750 with complete vaccination (81,4 per cent), under the Regional Vaccination Plan.

The official Covid 19 page can be found here.

https://covid19.azores.gov.pt/

Care Home Outbreak 

The Regional Health Authority reported last week that there have been 16 positive cases of covid-19 since the 12th of October at ‘Lar Luís Soares de Sousa’, in Ponta Delgada.

With the onset of symptoms on the 11th, the contingency plan of the home was activated and people who showed symptoms, as well as close contacts, were tested.

From the subsequent testing, 16 positive cases were found, five concerning home professionals and 11 concerning users.

Visits have been suspended since the 11th and the contingency plan for this residential structure for the elderly was activated. The situation is being monitored by the Ponta Delgada Health Delegation.

Flood Management 

The second phase of the Region’s Flood Risk Management Plan, which will run from 2022 to 2027, indicates that in the last six years, eleven river basins at risk, have been identified, that is, six more compared to the previous cycle, in addition to two coastal areas also at risk, one of them São Roque, on the outskirts of the city of Ponta Delgada.

The revelation was made by the Regional Secretary for the Environment and Climate Change, Alonso Miguel, who specified that, in the case of hydrographic basins with additional risk, the Areia and Cinzeiro grottoes in São Miguel were involved; the Ribeira da Casa da Ribeira and the Ribeira de São Bento in Terceira; the Ribeira Seca in São Jorge and the Ribeira do Dilúvio in Pico.

Regarding risky coastal areas, the document points out, in addition to São Roque, São Roque do Pico.
In the first phase of the Region’s Flood Risk Management Plan, there were five river basins at risk: two in São Miguel (Ribeira Grande and Ribeira do Velado, in Povoação), two in Terceira and one in Flores.

Based on the occurrences registered in the last six years, a plan is defined with concrete measures for intervention in the water lines with the greatest history of damage, with a view to minimizing the risk of flooding in these places.

“Basically, this plan makes it possible to identify the basins that present the greatest risk of flooding in the region, and this also makes it possible to define a set of intervention measures in these river basins. In other words, it is the way we must make a diagnosis of which are the most urgent situations in terms of intervention”, he stressed.

With the effects of climate change, it is expected that there will be an increase in the intensity and frequency of floods in the Azores. Alonso Miguel considers that the answer to this problem involves the application of “very strict” measures and instruments for spatial planning, this “because a large part of these situations is avoided, naturally, with adequate spatial planning”.

It should be remembered that a flood warning system will be implemented in the archipelago in river basins at risk with the objective of providing, in advance, information that can be used to protect populations and minimize the risks of flooding and extreme natural phenomena.

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