Azores Situation Report Wednesday 21st July 2021
From our colleague in the Azores
Missing Youth
The PSP of Ponta Delgada, together with the Ponta Delgada Firefighters Volunteers, were carrying out an operation to search for a missing young man from the parish of Relva.
The young man has been missing for about a week and the case was reported to the Public Ministry, so that the procedures to be followed in the investigation can be started.
The last information communicated to the police was that the young man had been seen in Rocha da Relva, a narrow path cut into the cliff which descends to the sea.
The PSP, with the support of the Fire Department, was there looking for the young man. A drone was even used by a team from the Special Police Unit, but the missing person could not be located.
According to the information transmitted by the police, the disappeared young man did not use a mobile phone, having been without contact with any friend or family member for eight days.
Victim Support
The Government is studying the expansion of victim support offices in the Departments of Investigation and Criminal Action to Madeira and the Azores, said the secretary of State for Equality, in a review of the measures implemented for two years.
Two years after the approval of measures to strengthen responses to prevent and combat domestic violence, the Secretary of State for Citizenship and Equality highlighted the intervention model of victim support offices (GAV) in the Departments of Investigation and Criminal Action (DIAP), which is now being evaluated, and which started with offices in Braga, Aveiro, Coimbra, Lisbon West, Lisbon North and Faro, but should be expanded.
Covid-19 update
17th July 2021
43 new Covid-19 positive cases were diagnosed in the Azores, 29 in São Miguel, 12 in Terceira and two in Faial, resulting from 2,175 tests carried out in reference laboratories in the Region.
In São Miguel, three of the new cases correspond to travellers, two non-residents (one with screening on the 6th day and one with screening for symptoms) and one resident with a positive analysis in the screening on arrival. The remaining cases stem from community transmission. Thus, in the municipality of Lagoa there were 16 new cases, in the municipality of Ponta Delgada six new cases were registered, in the municipality of Ribeira Grande there were five new cases and in the municipality of Vila Franca do Campo there were two new cases.
In Terceira, the new cases now diagnosed correspond to two travellers, non-residents, with screening for symptoms and another case, resulting from screening for a resident, originated a new chain of primary local transmission in Praia da Vitória. The remaining nine are part of the previously identified chains. Thus, in the municipality of Angra do Heroísmo there were two new cases and in the municipality of Praia da Vitória 10 new cases were registered.
In Faial there were two new cases, one resulting from screening a non-resident traveler, with a positive result on the 6th day and the other resulting from a positive analysis in the screening of residents, which is now part of the active chain on this island.
38 recoveries were recorded.
18th July 2021
38 new Covid-19 positive cases were diagnosed in the Azores, 25 in São Miguel, eight in Terceira, three in São Jorge, one in Graciosa and one in Flores, resulting from 1,891 tests carried out in the reference laboratories of the Region and two in non-agreed laboratories.
In São Miguel, eight of the new cases correspond to non-resident travellers – one in the 6th day screening, four with positive screening for symptoms and three with positive screening before the start of the inter-island trip. The remaining cases stem from community transmission.
Thus, in the municipality of Lagoa there were eight new cases, in the municipality of Ponta Delgada 15 new cases were registered, in the municipality of Ribeira Grande there were two new cases.
In Terceira, a resident traveller tested positive on the 6th day, the rest are from one of the active chains on the island. Thus, in the municipality of Angra do Heroísmo there were three new cases and in the municipality of Praia da Vitória five new cases were registered.
In São Jorge, three new cases were registered, of three travellers, two non-residents and one resident, all with a positive analysis in the 6th day screening.
In Flores there was a new case, of a traveller, non-resident, with positive screening, after other members of the group tested positive.
Graciosa also registered a new case, of a traveller, resident, with a positive analysis on the 6th day.
30 recoveries were recorded.
19th July 2021
35 new positive cases of Covid-19 were diagnosed in the Azores, 24 in São Miguel, 10 in Terceira and one in Pico, resulting from 913 tests carried out in reference laboratories in the Region and two in pharmacies and non-conventional laboratories.
In São Miguel, one of the cases corresponds to a traveller, a resident, with positive screening on arrival. The remaining cases stem from community transmission. Thus, in the municipality of Lagoa there were six new cases, in the municipality of Ponta Delgada 11 new cases were registered, in the municipality of Ribeira Grande there were five new cases, in the municipality of Vila Franca do Campo there was a new case, and in the municipality of Nordeste there was also diagnosed a new case.
On Terceira, two of the new cases correspond to two non-resident travellers, one with positive screening on arrival and the other on the 6th day. Two positive cases gave rise to two new strands of primary local transmission. One case remains to be assessed and five new cases are part of active chains. Thus, in the municipality of Angra do Heroísmo there were three new cases and in the municipality of Praia da Vitória seven new cases were registered.
In Pico, there was a new case, of a non-resident traveller, with a positive screening on the 6th day.
Three recoveries were recorded, two in Terceira (one in the Sé and the other in Santa Bárbara, in the municipality of Angra do Heroísmo) and one in Flores, parish of Fajã Grande, in the municipality of Lajes.
20th July 2021
26 new Covid-19 positive cases were diagnosed in the Azores, 11 in São Miguel, 11 in Terceira, two in Faial and two in Pico, resulting from 2,223 tests carried out in reference laboratories in the Region and two in pharmacies and non-agreed laboratories.
In São Miguel, one of the cases corresponds to a traveller, non-resident, with positive screening, after another traveller from the same group had tested positive. The remaining cases stem from community transmission. Thus, in the municipality of Lagoa there were three new cases, in the municipality of Ponta Delgada six new cases were registered, in the municipality of Ribeira Grande there was a new case, and in the municipality of Vila Franca do Campo there was also a new case.
In Terceira, 10 of the new cases are linked to previous primary local transmission chains and one case is yet to be assessed. Thus, in the municipality of Angra do Heroísmo there were four new cases and in the municipality of Praia da Vitória seven new cases were registered.
In Pico, there were two, new cases, of two travellers, non-residents, with positive screening on the 6th day. In Faial there were also two new cases of two travellers, non-residents, with screening for the 6th positive day.
87 recoveries were recorded.
As of today, 12 patients are hospitalized, 11 in the Hospital do Divino Espírito Santo, in Ponta Delgada (with three in the ICU) and one in the Hospital de Santo Espírito da Ilha Terceira.
The archipelago currently has 412 active positive cases, 310 in São Miguel, 60 in Terceira, 17 in Pico, 10 in São Jorge, seven in Flores, seven in Faial and one in Graciosa. Two local primary transmission chains on Terceira have been extinguished, and 11 chains of primary local transmission are now active in the archipelago, six on Terceira, two on Pico, one on São Jorge, one on Faial and one on São Miguel/Flores. So far 207 have died on all the islands. There are currently 742 people under active surveillance.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, 7,042 positive cases of Covid-19 have been diagnosed in the Azores, with 6,452 people having recovered from the disease. 34 died, 84 left the archipelago and 60 presented proof of previous cure. To date, 616,6003 tests have been carried out to screen for the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes Covid-19 disease.
From December 31st, 2020 to July 8th, 250,705 doses of vaccines against Covid-19 were administered in the Azores, with 129,190 people with at least one dose (53.21% of the population) and 121,515 people with full vaccination (50.05%), under the Regional Vaccination Plan.