Azores Situation Report Wednesday 21st December 2022
From our colleague in the Azores
Covid-19
In the seven days from Friday 9th December until Thursday the 15th of December there were 87 new positive cases of Covid-19 registered in the Azores, and a total of 1,539 tests performed. 53 people have recovered, no new deaths have been recorded in the last week with the total still at 120. There are 116 active cases, 34 more than the previous week.
There are 4 patients in the region’s hospitals as of 16th of December with Covid, all of which are in hospital because of Covid. There are no patients in the ICU.
121766 people in the region have had Covid, that’s over 50% of the population.
Western and Central Azores groups under yellow warning due to rain and sea unrest
The Portuguese Institute of the Sea and the Atmosphere (IPMA) has placed the islands of the Western and Central group of the Azores under yellow warning due to “sometimes heavy” rain and maritime agitation, between this Tuesday and Thursday this week.
Foreigner dies on Porto Formoso beach
Last Saturday, two foreign women were dragged into the sea, and one was unable to save herself. A sixty-year-old woman was taken lifeless from sea
“What I can say is that people were walking along the seashore – two ladies and the son of one of them – and the two ladies in their sixties were dragged by the sea”, the port captain explained. “The south coast was the one with the most unfavourable conditions and we advised against their proximity, however, even on the north coast the winter sea is very strong, and the ladies were inadvertently swept away, when they least expected it, to the sea”.
It was the son of one of the ladies who went to ask for help at a commercial establishment located on Praia dos Moinhos, and it was the owner and employee of the establishment who provided first aid to the victim and called 112, revealed commander Rafael Silva.
Following this alert, the Maritime Police and the firefighters from Ribeira Grande went to the scene to continue the assistance that was being provided.
But the victim, when she reached the shore, was already in cardiac arrest, and the resuscitation manoeuvres carried out without success continued when the firefighters arrived at the beach, and throughout the journey to the hospital in Ponta Delgada, and “the death would be declared in the hospital”, explained the harbour master.
Azores break record for cruise ship calls
With the arrival of the cruise ship ‘Arcadia’ owed by P&O at the port of Ponta Delgada, São Miguel, The Azores broke the record for the most ships visiting in one year. Over 200 dockings have been recorded so far.