Madeira Situation Report Wednesday 19th May 2021
By our special correspondent Daniel Fernandes
Covid-19 update
There were 73 new Covid-19 cases, 65 recoveries and no deaths from Covid-19 in Madeira since the previous Madeira Situation Report.
On Saturday, there were 39 new Covid-19 cases (from 1 passenger who had arrived from the Lisbon and Tagus Valley Region and 38 cases of local transmission) and 21 recoveries. The number of patients in hospital remained the same as on Friday the same (5, including 1 in intensive care).
On Sunday, there were 8 new Covid-19 cases (from 1 passenger who had arrived from Belgium, 1 passenger who had arrived from the Lisbon and Tagus Valley Region and 6 cases of local transmission) and 6 recoveries. The number of patients in hospital remained the same as on Friday and on Saturday (5, 1 of whom in intensive care).
On Monday, there were 9 new Covid-19 cases (from 1 passenger who had arrived from the Lisbon and Tagus Valley Region and 8 cases of local transmission) and 21 recoveries. The number of patients in hospital increased to 6, 1 of whom was intensive care.
And on Tuesday, there were 17 new Covid-19 cases (all cases of local transmission) and 17 recoveries. The number of patients in hospital decreased to 4, 1 of whom was in intensive care.
There were 240 active cases on Tuesday, of which 18 had been imported while the other 222 cases had been a result of local transmission. As of Tuesday, there had been 9,280 cases, 8,969 recoveries and 71 deaths.
On Tuesday, there were 9 patients in isolation in a dedicated hotel, 227 patients in isolation in their own accommodation and 4 patients in Covid-19 units, 1 of whom in intensive care.
On the same day, there were 126 suspected cases under epidemiological investigation and analysis, which were all linked to patients who tested positive for Covid-19, to calls made to the SRS24 helpline, to referrals by SESARAM (Madeira Regional Health Service) and to airport screening.
There were 12,866 travellers under monitoring by the health authorities. Monitoring is being carried out through the ‘MadeiraSafe’ app. There were also 783 people, who had contact with positive cases, being monitored by the health authorities of several Madeira municipalities and of Porto Santo.
As for Covid-19 testing on passengers who had arrived at Funchal and Porto Santo airports, 202,081 samples had been collected until Tuesday (at 15h30). By Tuesday, 411,859 samples from RT-PCR tests had been processed and 54,933 antigen rapid tests had been carried out in the Autonomous Region of Madeira.
The SRS 24 helpline (Regional Health Service – 800 24 24 20) received 552 calls from Friday to Tuesday. Overall, it has received 49,312 calls.
The Covid-19 mental health helpline (Linha de Acompanhamento Psicológico da Direção Regional de Saúde – 291 212 399 – available every day from 09h00 to 21h00), which was set up to provide emotional and mental support to anyone in Madeira received 22 calls from Friday to Tuesday. Overall, it has received 3,530 calls.
https://funchalnoticias.net/2021/05/15/madeira-com-39-novos-casos-de-covid-19-nas-ultimas-24-horas/
https://funchalnoticias.net/2021/05/16/8-novos-casos-de-covid-19-6-recuperados-233-suspeitos/
https://funchalnoticias.net/2021/05/17/9-novos-casos-de-covid-19-21-recuperados-85-suspeitos/
Vaccination update
Vaccination was temporarily suspended on Monday after 2 out of 5 boxes containing Pfizer Covid-19 vaccines were found to have some damage. These 2 boxes had come into contact with water and were found to have “signs of external humidity”. The Pharmacy of Hospital Dr. Nélio Mendonça immediately contacted Pfizer and was instructed not to use the vaccines. Technicians from the pharmacy and from Pfizer’s global quality team investigated the situation. Pfizer will have final say on whether doses can be used. Although vaccination was restarted in Funchal and in Machico, it was postponed until Sunday in Ribeira Brava.
Pedro Ramos revealed that the Region will receive 7,000 AstraZeneca vaccine doses that will be part of the 17,650 doses that will be used for vaccination on June 1st.
As of May 16th, 122,216 Covid-19 vaccine doses had been administered in the Autonomous Region of Madeira since the start of the vaccination campaign on December 31st. A total of 88,101 people (34.7% of the population) have received the 1st dose while 31,115 people (13.4% of the population) are fully vaccinated.
A total of 18,028 vaccine doses (11,597 1st doses & 6,431 2nd doses) were administered in the previous week.
The plan for this week is to continue to inoculate throughout the Region, with a specific focus on the administration of 2nd to residents in the municipalities and who belong to priority groups.
The following website provides a real-time update on the number of inoculations:
https://web.sesaram.pt/COVID19_INFO
All of the Region’s municipalities are listed on the map. To enable readers to understand the information provided, a translation of some key words and sentences has been provided:
Vacinas Administradas – Vaccines administered
1ª Dose – 1st Dose
2ª Dose – 2nd Dose
Objetivo – Goal/Aim
Vacinar 175 mil pessoas com as duas doses de vacina – To inoculate 175,000 people with 2 doses of the vaccine
Só assim alcançaremos a PROTEÇÃO DE GRUPO – That’s the only way for us to reach HERD IMMUNITY
https://funchalnoticias.net/2021/05/18/gr-diz-que-ja-foram-administradas-mais-de-122-mil-vacinas/
Czech solo sailor rescued off the coast of Porto Santo
A 64 year-old male Czech sailor was rescued off the coast of Porto Santo after being found onboard a liferaft belonging to Rogui II, a Czech sailing boat that had been headed from Europe to the Caribbean.
On Monday at around 17h30, the Lisbon Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC Lisboa) received a satellite signal that had been transmitted by an EPIRB (emergency position-indicating radio beacon), which issues an emergency signal upon coming into contact with water, at a location 150 nautical miles (277 Km) north-west of Porto Santo. The Lisbon MRCC immediately directed a tanker and a fishing vessel that were in the area and deployed a Portuguese Air Force C-295 aircraft to provide visual confirmation of this signal. At around 21h00 the Portuguese Air Force aircraft confirmed it and spotted a liferaft that had 1 person onboard.
LNG Port-Harcourt II, a Bermuda-registered tanker, was the first vessel to arrive at scene and rescued the Czech sailor at 01h45 (Tuesday). Afterwards, he was transferred at 04h00 to NRP Mondego, a Portuguese Navy Tejo Class patrol vessel, which was expected to have arrived in Funchal on Tuesday afternoon. The sailor was unharmed and medical treatment was not required.
Free entry to Madeira Military Museum until May 20th
To celebrate International Museum Day, which took place yesterday, there will be free entry until May 20th to the Madeira Military Museum (Museu Militar da Madeira), located at São Lourenço Palace (Palácio de São Lourenço). According to the Portuguese Army, pandemic-related safety measures will be in place. An App that is available on Android and IOS will be available to all visitors and will provide them with a more dynamic and comfortable experience while exploring the different thematic galleries. The Museum use social media to provide updates on new developments and projects.
https://www.facebook.com/museumilitardamadeira
Water supply disruptions
There will be water supply disruptions in the Municipality of Câmara de Lobos, due to scheduled work on the water supply network to prevent water leaks. The disruptions will affect the following places:
– May 19th (09h00 to 13h00 – TODAY) — Parish (Freguesia) of Câmara de Lobos (Espírito Santo & Torre)
– May 19th (22h00 – TONIGHT) to May 20th (02h00) — Parish (Freguesia) of Estreito de Câmara de Lobos (Achada, Igreja, Pico e Salões, Ribeira da Caixa, Ribeira Fernanda & Vargem)
– May 19th (22h00 – TONIGHT) to May 20th (02h00) — Parish (Freguesia) of Câmara de Lobos (Bela Vista, Quinta do Leme & Ribeira da Caixa)
– May 21st (09h00 to 13h00) — Parish (Freguesia) of Estreito de Câmara de Lobos (Igreja, Pico e Salões, Quinta de Santo António, Quinta do Leme & Ribeira da Caixa)
– May 21st (09h00 to 13h00) — Parish (Freguesia) of Câmara de Lobos (Quinta do Leme)
https://funchalnoticias.net/2021/05/16/arm-avisa-para-cortes-de-agua-em-camara-de-lobos-2/
Power cut
Empresa de Electricidade da Madeira (Madeira power supplier) announced there will be power cuts due to planned work on the electricity supply network. These works cannot be postponed and will take place in the following days and places:
FUNCHAL – May 20th – 22h00 to 00h00 & May 21st – 00h00 to 06h00
– Rua de João Tavira (number 4)
– Rua da Queimada de Cima (numbers 4, 10, 12 and 14)
May 21st – 09h00 to 11h30
– Rua da Quinta do Leme (numbers 56 to 115)
– Rampa da Quinta do Leme (number 10)
– Beco João Rebelo (numbers 4 to 29)
CAMPANÁRIO – May 21st – 09h00 to 11h00
– Estrada Comandante Camacho de Freitas (numbers 444 to 517)
May 21st – 11h30 to 12h00
– Terreiros (partial)
– Cova do Conde (partial)
– Portela
– Eira das Moças
RIBEIRA BRAVA – May 21st – 09h00 to 12h00
– Eira do Mourão
MACHICO – May 21st – 09h30 to 09h45
– Pastel
However, power could be restored during the time frame mentioned above. So, for safety purposes, it should be assumed that there will be power at any time during this period of time.
If necessary, customers can contact the free Customer Support Service (Serviço de Apoio ao Cliente): 800 221 187.