Portugal Situation Report Wednesday 3rd February 2021
Introduction
We start the day with a sad note and that is the death of Captain Sir Tom Moore, who died yesterday aged 100 
years with coronavirus. Sir Tom, who raised almost £33m for the NHS, was taken to Bedford Hospital after requiring help with his breathing on Sunday.
His daughter Hannah Ingram-Moore said he had been treated for pneumonia over the past few weeks and last week tested positive for Covid-19. The Army veteran won the nation’s hearts by walking 100 laps of his garden before his 100th birthday.
We covered Sir Tom’s walk at the time through our morning reports on Facebook. We send our condolences to his family and many friends. A real hero and legend who will be remembered as an inspiration to us all.
On a happier note we start the day with some positive news; namely the latest Covid-19 figures from yesterday. These showed the following trends: largest number of recoveries in one day since start of pandemic; daily new confirmed cases were the lowest since 11th January; number of total of people hospitalised and in ICU both decreased; deaths were still high but lowest in 8 days; active cases showed the largest daily decrease to date 
and both number of people hospitalised and in ICU decreased compared with Monday.
This could be early signs of the lockdown working, but we still need to take into account at the weekend as far as new cases are concerned. However, these are welcome signs. Now is certainly not the time to let our guard down and it is very important to ensure compliance with all the measures in place especially social distancing, hygiene and face masks.
Importantly, for those who are in Phase One of the vaccination plan who are registered with your Centro de Saúde but use a private doctor, now is the time to ensure your health records are up to date on the SMS system
Advice has been circulated to some in the foreign community to visit your private doctor obtain a letter and take it with you to the Centro de Saúde. Not unsurprisingly, some who have tried this have encountered various difficulties, because it is not an official process and also due to language communication problems in some instances.
Safe Communities approached the Director Regional Health service ARS Algarve concerning this issue in December last year to enquire about the progress that would be put in place for Phase One of the plan. Once the system had been formulated they replied last week and were able to help us explain this. The process can be downloaded here
It is important to note that this is only for those registered with the SNS, but are using private doctors instead; not those who use their Centro de Saúde as they will already have your up to date records.
Those registered with their Centro de Saúde will be contacted through SMS ahead of the vaccination. SNS reiterate not to contact your Centro de Saúde asking when you will be vaccinated – you will be informed through SMS.
Concerning fake news and misinformation on social media, we regularly read comments from ‘instant experts’ that can only have “graduated from the University of Facebook” as one of our followers put it. People are of course entitled to their opinions, but during a health crisis such comments often using dubious and unproven “so called scientific studies” could cost lives. Where we have seen these ourselves we have reported to Facebook and extreme cases other appropriate authorities.
Since fake news has the ultimate goal of manipulating public opinion, it provokes an emotional response in the reader and, therefore, it can provoke feelings of anger, distrust, anxiety and even depressive symptoms, distorting the perception of reality. Recent research points to the constant consumption of news information, especially when it comes from less credible sources, as an important explanatory factor of concern.
I have written an article on this subject which will appear in the Algarve Resident tomorrow.
Dealing with these sorts of comments places demands on our admin staff on Facebook and I am pleased therefore that Lucy Gable who has spent 25 years as a doctor in E &A has come onto the team. Thank you Lucy.
For those of you who receive our newsletter, our apologies that yesterday our issue contained an incorrect link regarding the updating of SNS records. We spotted this and the correct version was sent out within the hour.
This mornings report takes a team of four of us around 10 hours to produce and upload onto the website. We have produced around 200 editions since February 2020, providing an overview of the main news over the last day or so. By doing this it avoids numerous reports on our Facebook page throughout the day, concentrating more on topics where we need to communicate key information including those where you may need to take some form of action.
We hope you have a Safe Day.
Headlines
EU / Presidency: Costa and Von der Leyen call for European industry to be mobilized for vaccine production
The Portuguese Prime Minister and the President of the European Commission have written to European leaders to involve the industry in order to increase the capacity to produce Covid-19 vaccines and to prepare against new strains of the coronavirus.
“I wrote, with President Ursula von der Leyen, to the European Union Heads of State and Government to underline the importance of combining efforts and involving the industry to increase the production capacity and supply of vaccines in the European Union,” António Costa revealed today in his personal account on the social network Twitter.
In the same message, António Costa said that he and Ursula von der Leyen also warned European heads of state and government that it is “essential to support Commission initiatives already underway” so that Member States are “prepared in the face of possible new strains of this virus and future public health risks “.
On Tuesday, the Portuguese Prime Minister met with the executive president of the pharmaceutical multinational Astrazeneca, having received guarantees to reinforce the production capacity of vaccines against 
Covid-19 to meet the delivery schedule in the European Union.
In that meeting with Pascal Soriot, AstraZeneca’s global CEO, according to António Costa, this multinational “reiterated its commitment” to “strengthen its production capacity in Europe, in order to meet the schedule of vaccine deliveries to the European Union”.
“Every day of delay in the vaccination process is a lost day and there are lives that are put at risk,” noted the leader of the Portuguese executive.
According to the Prime Minister of Portugal, a country currently presiding over the Council of the European Union, “AstraZeneca will supply the European Union with nine million additional doses of its anti-covid vaccine, for a total of 40 million doses in the first quarter, an increase of 30% over the company’s previous proposal “.
The Prime Minister added that he continues “to work together with the European Commission, in this which is another step in the long marathon for the protection of the life and health of Europeans”.
Covid-19
On Tuesday Portugal registered 260 deaths and 5,540 new cases of Covid-19, according to the daily balance of the Directorate-General for Health (DGS).
The bulletin states that 17,572 people recovered bringing the total to, 551,956.
The total number of active cases is now 166,888, down 12,292 compared to Monday.
As for hospital admissions, the DGS epidemiological bulletin reveals that 6,775 people are in hospital, 94 less than the previous day, and 852 in intensive care, 13 less.
Health authorities have 215,536 contacts under surveillance, 4,817 fewer than yesterday.
Regarding the 260 deaths recorded in the last 24 hours, 116 occurred in Lisbon and Vale do Tejo, 55 in the Centro region, 65 in the North region, 17 in Alentejo and 7 in the Algarve region.
Confirmed cases are distributed across all age groups, with the highest number of infections between 20 and 59 years of age.
The new coronavirus has already infected at least 330,550 men and 401,081 women in Portugal, according to DGS data, according to which there are 230 cases of unknown sex, which are under investigation, since this data is not provided automatically.
Of the total fatalities, 6,789 were men and 6,228 women.
The largest number of deaths continues to be concentrated in the elderly over 80 years old, followed by the age group between 70 and 79 years old.
Of the total of 13,017 deaths, 8,763 were people over 80 years old, 2,661 aged between 70 and 79 years old and 1,103 were between 60 and 69 years old.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, Portugal has recorded 13,017 deaths and 731,861 cases of infection by the SARS-CoV-2 virus
Health
German delegation is led by the chief of the medical staff
German support for Portugal in the most acute phase of the Covid-19 pandemic promised by Chancellor Angela Merkel to Prime Minister António Costa arrives today, at 1 pm, at Figo Maduro Airport, in Lisbon. The PUBLICO newspaper reported that this delegation is led by the chief of staff of the medical branch, who, however, will return shortly afterwards to Germany. The teams consist of 26 military personnel and comprised of eight doctors and 18 nurses, most of whom specialize in Intensive Care, in addition to the logistics sector.
This was the decision after the visit made last Wednesday by a German delegation that surveyed the needs in Porto and in the area of the Regional Health Administration of Lisbon and Vale do Tejo, specifically at the Amadora-Sintra hospital, where, in principle, this action will focus on it. This is the area in which, currently, the rates of infected are greater and the one in which hospitals are under greater pressure
The German military carries a variety of materials, including 50 fans, pumps and infusion syringes. Its presence in Portugal is estimated at three weeks and may be extended if the evolution of the pandemic so warrants.
The confirmation of the arrival of the German military team was made by the German Minister of Defence, ahead of a joint statement on Monday evening, by the Ministries of National Defence and Health – shortly after Marta Temido Minister of Health, in a press conference, had stated that nothing was yet decided.
PGR investigates nine cases of vaccination of non-priority people
The Public Prosecutor’s Office has already decided to initiate inquiries in relation to some of the cases made public, first of all those relating to Social Security in Setúbal, INEM in Lisbon, INEM in Porto and facts also reported in Portimão (Support Center of Seniors), Vila Nova de Famalicão, Arcos de Valdevez, Bragança, Seixal and Montijo . This information was given to Expresso by the Attorney General’s Office.
On Thursday, the National Association for Emergency and Civil Protection denounced vaccination to non-priority professionals at the National Institute for Medical Emergency (INEM). In a statement, INEM denied asking health authorities for more doses of the vaccine than were needed to vaccinate priority workers. After the accusations of giving the vaccine to non-priority employees, INEM guarantees that in these cases only leftovers were used.
Vaccines
China arrests over 80 suspected of selling fake vaccines
China has arrested more than 80 people suspected of involvement in a scheme to sell fake vaccines against Covid-19, which has been in operation since September last year, the official press reported today.
The state-run Global Times newspaper reported that Chinese authorities also seized 3,000 doses of the fake antigen during the operation.
According to the same source, the criminal network was present in several cities and the operation was carried out jointly by the security forces of Beijing and the provinces of Jiangsu and Shandong, on the northern coast of China.
Cited by the newspaper, vaccine specialist Tao Lina said that “the ‘vaccines’, filled with saline, have no effect, but they also do not cause health problems, so it is clear that the suspects wanted money”.
Other sources cited by the Global Times argued that the chain could be involved in marketing these fake vaccines abroad.
On January 28th, Chinese pharmaceutical Sinovac, which developed one of the vaccines in the Asian country, published a statement in which it warned that some “companies and individuals” had falsified and used company authorization documents to try to act as “distributors of the CoronaVac vaccine against Covid-19 and other vaccination products in markets outside China “.
President of the Assembly of the Republic wants working group to coordinate vaccination in parliament
The President of the Assembly of the Republic yesterday suggested the setting up of a working group to monitor the vaccination process against Covid-19 in parliament, until reaching all the deputies who want to be vaccinated.
This position was conveyed by Ferro Rodrigues in a statement, in which he also referred to the process of vaccination of officials of the Assembly of the Republic “considered indispensable to guarantee the effective functioning of this sovereign body”.
“The President of the Assembly of the Republic considers it most useful to set up a working group to monitor the process that is now beginning and that will continue, on a scheduled basis, until it reaches all the deputies who want to be vaccinated, as well as the officials considered indispensable for guarantee the effective functioning of this sovereign body, reviewing the advanced proposals, on which the conference of leaders will address, in a meeting that will be convened when justified “.
In the statement, Ferro Rodrigues states that the vaccination process “started with the responses to the request of the Prime Minister [António Costa] is being developed, contemplating the observations and proposals that have been sent to the President of the Assembly of the Republic in recent days”.
According to Ferro Rodrigues, after the meeting of the leaders’ conference last Thursday, the criteria for the letter to be sent were defined – precedence of the State Protocol and members of the Permanent Commission, and with a subsequent suggestion to the parliamentary leaders of nomination based on age or health status “.
Director of the Pharmacy Service at Penafiel Hospital fired after vaccine accident
The director of the Pharmacy Service at the Centro Hospitalar do Tâmega (CHTS) has been fired following last week when there was a failure to use the refrigeration system, which damaged 130 vials of vaccines against Covid-19, which would have been used to vaccinate about 600 professionals.
At the time of the incident, the CHTS Board of Directors opened an “inquiry process” to ascertain responsibilities and evaluate submitting a criminal case.
The batch with hundreds of vaccines against Covid-19, which was to be administered to professionals at the Centro Hospitalar do Tâmega e Sousa (CHTS), in Penafiel, was damaged during the night from Monday to Tuesday of the last week, making it impossible to use it.
At the time, a source from the CHTS Board of Directors said that everything indicated that the failure was “associated with an inadequate use of the hospital’s pharmacy refrigeration system”. The vaccines in question, 130 bottles that would give 600 doses, would be used to vaccinate health professionals.
Covid-19. Five patients transferred from Beja Hospital to the Air Force reception centre
Also according to the above report, the Armed Forces provided the SNS and the Ministry of Labour, Solidarity and Social Security with a total of 12 reception centres for patients. The centres operate in military units from the three branches of the Armed Forces (Army, Air Force and Navy) in mainland Portugal and in the autonomous regions of Madeira and the Azores.
With 68 beds, the centre, provided as a back-up support structure, provides accommodation and meals for patients, being supplied and managed by personnel from the National Health Service, Social Security and Civil Protection
The reception centre at Air Base No. 11, in Beja, received on Monday afternoon five patients infected with the virus that causes the Covid-19 disease. According to a note from the General Staff of the Armed Forces (EMGFA), the patients came from the José Joaquim Fernandes Hospital in that city of Baixo Alentejo.
Patients were welcomed following a request from the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANEPC) to EMGFA.
Economy
The Minister of State, Economy and Digital Transition, Pedro Siza Vieira, made a statement on the data on the evolution of the Portuguese economy last year, after the publication of the quick estimate by INE.
The Minister pointed out that, “in the last quarter of 2020, the Portuguese economy grew 0.4% compared to the previous quarter”.
The Office of the Minister of State and Finance issued a statement in which it states that “economic activity performed better than previously expected in the second half of the year, with a 5.1% growth compared to the first half”.
Minister Siza Vieira said that “in the year as a whole, there was a very significant drop (7.6%) compared to 2019, but much less drastic than was expected by all institutions and that Government’s projections” is (8. 5%) in the State Budget for 2021.
This sharp drop was felt across the Eurozone, particularly affecting countries where the tourism sector has the greatest weight, such as Spain (11%), Italy (8.8%) and France (8.3%), and 6.8% for the single currency economies as a whole.
Pfizer expects sales of their vaccine to reach $ 15 billion by 2021
The American pharmaceutical group Pfizer said today that it expects sales of the vaccine against Covid-19 that it developed in partnership with the German BioNTech to reach about 15 billion dollars in the year of 2021.
This sum, equivalent to 12,457 million euros, may increase if the laboratory signs additional contracts.
Pfizer, which reported quarterly results today, has already sold vaccines worth $ 154 million in the fourth quarter after the product was authorized in several countries in late 2020.
The drug maker revised upwards its adjusted earnings per share estimate it made in early January, from $ 3.00 to $ 3.10 to $ 3.10 to $ 3.20.
The total turnover in 2021 is expected to reach 59.4 to 61.4 billion dollars, which will correspond to an increase between 42% and 47%.
These predictions, underlines Pfizer, are based on the hypothesis of “a continuous recovery of macroeconomic activity and health throughout 2021 as populations are vaccinated against Covid-19”.
In the fourth quarter of 2020, Pfizer’s turnover increased by 12% to $ 11.7 billion. It was driven by the increase in sales of treatments against various types of cancer (+ 23%) and by the group of vaccines in the group (+ 17%).
The laboratory, which had recorded losses of $ 333 million in the fourth quarter of 2019, spent in the same period in 2020 achieving a net profit of $ 534 million (about 433 million euros).
Throughout the year, the group’s turnover increased 2% to $ 41,900 million and net profit fell 41% to $ 9,600 million.
Other news
Almost all river basins recorded increases in the amount of water stored
Eleven hydrographic basins registered, in January, increases in the amount of water stored, registering only a decrease in Mondego compared to the previous month, according to data from the National Water Resources Information System (SNIRH).
The decline, in the Mondego basin, “is associated with flood management”, says the bulletin referring to water availability recorded on 31 January.
According to SNIRH data, of the 60 monitored reservoirs, 25 (eight more than in the previous month) had water availability greater than 80% of the total volume at the end of the month and 12 (two less than in December) recorded lower availability and 40%.
Despite the rise registered at the end of January, only the Lima, Cávado, Ave, Douro and Tejo basins have total storage values above historical average values.
All other basins, according to SNIRH data, are below historical storage values for this time of year, namely the Mira, Guadiana and Barlavento basins.
The Ribeiras do Barlavento basin had the lowest water availability at the end of January, with 21.8%.
Following the Mira (43.4%), Sado (52.8%), Arade (55.8%), West (59.5%), Lima (64.6%), and Mondego (57.3%), among those with the lowest amount of water.
According to SNIRH data, at the end of January, the basin with the highest level of storage was that of the Douro (82.9%), followed by that of Cávado (75.4%), Guadiana (67.9%) and Mondego (67.2%).
Speaking to Sul Informação, the official said that, for now, “there is still the capacity to expand” hospital capacity, without having to resort to CHUA Arena.
Casa alone, DGS confirmed 30 infected people, 26 users and 4 employees. The municipality registers 52 active cases.
This fixed post, with access by foot (walk-thru) will operate daily, from Monday to Sunday from 8:30 am to 5:30 pm. According to a statement from the Group, the tests may be carried out by RT-PCR (swab) or Antigen (IgG and IgM antibodies through blood analysis), with the results available between 24H to 48H and about 2H after testing (within opening hours).
for all students who attend school groups in the municipality of Loulé, constituting a psychological counselling service for young people and guardians.
According to the municipality, in a statement, the structure, included in the Municipal Civil Protection Emergency Plan, is part of the Municipal Operational Command Post, and works under the coordination of the Health Delegate at the José Mariano Gago Municipal Library.
It is also planned that “a bus with an animator” will circulate through the main streets of Loulé to allow people to “see it from their windows”.
“We had a retired senior camping client in the Algarve, and that has completely changed. We are in an age range of around 40-45 years, with many ‘digital nomads’, working remotely, with many people who have decided to leave Europe’s big urban centers and spend their confinement in the middle of nature, possibly in the most sure that it exists, that it is Portugal and the Algarve”, revealed to Lusa Joaquim Lourenço, leader of the Association of Alentejo and Algarve Camping Sites (APCAA).
The official, who was speaking at the usual press conference promoted by the District Civil Protection Commission of Faro, clarified that this increase, caused by family transmissions, is in line with the whole country.
In a statement issued this Friday, the municipality informs that it has also determined the ban on the use of garden benches, playgrounds and public equipment for sports.
“ABC is 50% CHUA and 50% from the University of Algarve, two respected public entities and knowing that there was a damage, in which he interfered in that damage, he just has to resolve the matter and quickly” said Lusa Paulo Neves, executive member of the CHUA board of directors.
The Covid Performance Index, compiled by the Lowy Institute of Australia, evaluated how 98 countries and territories have handled their own Covid-19 outbreaks based on the availability of data across six indicators: confirmed cases, confirmed deaths, confirmed cases per million people, confirmed deaths per million people, confirmed cases as a proportion of tests and tests per a thousand people.
Even before the first coronavirus case was recorded in the country, the government did a risk assessment starting in early January, soon after China started reporting cases in December. Visitors’ temperature was checked along the border, and any suspected cases were singled out and isolated.People were also advised not to be in contact with anyone having respiratory symptoms and to maintain personal hygiene.Despite its best preventive efforts, Vietnam recorded its first case in Ho Chi Minh City on the 23rd January. Two Chinese people were then quarantined in a hospital. By the 1st February the government had stopped all flights to and from China. Over the next week or so any national returning from China had to go into a 14 day quarantine. If there were multiple cases, the government had no hesitation to lockdown a town or city, which happened on a number of occasions. In March they stopped issuing visas to tourists which meant no one could get into the country unless they were residents.
underlying conditions. The final case of community transmission at the time was recorded on September 3rd, marking the end of the second wave of Covid-19. However, in late November a Vietnam Airlines flight attendant in HCMC contracted the ‘new’ coronavirus from a colleague returning from Romania after breaching quarantine protocols. His infection was confirmed on November 29th, but by then he had infected three others, breaking the country’s streak of nearly three months without community transmission. The man now faces possible charges of “spreading dangerous infectious diseases in humans” which carries a jail term of up to 12 years.. Since December Vietnam has recorded just 251 new cases and since the start of the Pandemic just 35 people have died as a result of the virus in a country of 98 million, the last person died back in September 2020.
So why has Vietnam been so successful in beating the virus? In a report by the United Nations Development Program and the Mekong Development Research Institute, some 89 percent of respondents said they supported the government’s target of saving lives even if it means the economy might take longer to recover. Globally, only 67 percent of people agreed the government should prioritize lives over the economy. The country’s coronavirus success has been attributed to its early and proactive response, extensive, transparent public communication and rigorous, aggressive testing, contact tracing and quarantine measures.
Worldwide, the 7-day average of reported cases has dropped by 19%. While there is normally a lag in how the number of deaths correlates with the number of cases, the 7-day average of deaths has actually increased by 6% worldwide.
In Italy, where the original virus devastated the country, making it one of the most infected in Europe at the time, the virus has, from a peak in November with over 35,000 cases per day on average, reduced to a 7-day moving average of 12,181. A reduction of over 200%. With regards to the number of deaths, the 7-day moving average has reduced from 716 back in November to the current rate of 476 deaths per day.
Hanson believes robotic solutions to the pandemic are not limited to healthcare but could assist customers in industries such as retail and airlines too. “Sophia and Hanson robots are unique by being so human-like,” he added. “That can be so useful during these times where people are terribly lonely and socially isolated. ”Hanson said he aims to sell “thousands” of robots in 2021, both large and small, without providing a specific number.
A year ago, on 23rd January 2020, the world saw its first coronavirus lockdown come into force in Wuhan, the Chinese city where the pandemic is believed to have started. At the time, the wider world was shocked by the harsh restrictions and rigid enforcement. From late January until June, the city was effectively sealed off from the rest of the country. So how did China tackle the outbreak?
As is the case for many of these countries, the Irish restrictions are 
the country over 25 million cases would be reported. Just one day after their new President, Joe Biden was sworn in, a number of things have happened which will be of interest to many outside of the country.
Meanwhile across the world, the reported number of cases is now close to 98 million with total deaths reported at 2,085,519 (at time of writing). Many countries are now seeing a second surge of infections. In Japan where they had the virus under control after their first lockdown, they have seen infections rise threefold since the start of November 2020. Since Christmas, the number of active cases jumped, which has forced the government to implement a second lockdown which is starting to have an effect. Since the 7th January, all drinking and dining establishments are asked to close by 8 pm, with alcoholic beverages served only between 11am and 7 pm. The government provides a subsidy of 60,000 yen, or roughly 580 dollars, per day for each establishment that complies with the request.Takeout and delivery can continue unrestricted. Establishments that don’t follow the request and have no reasonable explanation for doing so can be publicly named.
moving average of 806 cases per day. For a country with approximately half the population of Portugal it is worth comparing their total reported cases of 191,505 and deaths at 1,872. Compared to Portugal with 581,605 cases and 9,465 deaths. Denmark has also one of the highest testing regimes in the world, having carried out over 12.2 million tests on its citizens, which equates to each person being tested more than twice! Their death rate is also one of the lowest at 323 deaths per 1 million population. Again compared with Portugal at 930. One of the reasons behind their lower death toll could be to do with the fact that Denmark has a much younger average age of population than Portugal.
Testing in Canada is not at the same levels of many European countries. A comparison is with Portugal who have tested 633,761 people per million while Canada has tested 438,038 per million, so the actual numbers of cases could be much higher than reported. With such a large landmass it is not surprising that 84% of all the known cases are in just three provinces. Quebec, Ontario and Alberta. In Ontario, with hospital intensive care units in some parts of the province reaching capacity due to Covid-19, a new hospital will open in Vaughan, Ontario, next month to help relieve pressure on other facilities in the Greater Toronto Area. The Cortellucci Vaughan Hospital, due to open in early February, will be a “dedicated resource to support the province’s Covid-19 response,” taking in critical patients from other hospitals.the province is also adding 500 additional surge capacity hospital beds in Toronto, Durham Region, Kingston, and Ottawa.
The country has one of the highest rates of deaths per 1 million people in the world at 1,762. Only the tiny principality of San Marino in Italy has a higher death rate. In comparison to Portugal, they have recorded 679,711 cases and 20,472 deaths since the start of the pandemic, whilst Portugal’s numbers are 556,903 cases and 9,028 deaths. The number of tests carried out are of a very similar number. There has been some good news in the last few days. Generally, the increase in infections has slowed down, and both hospital admissions and deaths continue to decrease. However, around noon on Sunday, news broke that an outbreak of the UK strain had been detected in the commune of Houthulst, West Flanders, with 128 persons infected, 63 of them in a nursing home.
Across the world the number of deaths continues to rise. Since the start of October 2020 the total number of deaths due to Covid-19 have doubled across the world. To combat this rise many countries in the world have put their citizens in lockdown. In Europe most of the EU countries are in Lockdown until at least the end of January. For some, like Germany and Denmark, this has been extended to February. Many European countries have restricted travel by non EU and other foreign nationals into their territories. While Hungary has even banned EU citizens from entering the country.
In the meantime, the country with the highest number of cases in the continent is having to deal with over 500 deaths each day since the start of the New Year. They are also having to deal with a new strain of the virus which is similar to the UK mutant strain, with both being able to infect more easily than the original virus. As a member of the Covax group of countries, a WHO initiative which allows smaller third world countries to procure the virus as part of a larger order, they expect to have enough vaccines in the first 6 months of this year to vaccinate just 3% of their population. The irony of this situation is that one vaccine is actually being bottled and shipped from South Africa to Europe, so they are helping to provide vaccines to Europe but wont have access to them themselves.
In the UAE, with a population of under 10 million, their vaccine programme didn’t start until the first week of January and already they have vaccinated over 1.8 million citizens. Since the start of the pandemic they have reported 253,261 cases, with deaths at a relatively low figure of 745. However, in the last week they have seen cases increase by an average of 3000 per day, mirroring countries in Europe who are now feeling the effects of a relaxation of measures over the Christmas and New Year period. Whilst the predominantly Arab population would not celebrate Christmas in the same way, they were in a place where many people from Europe went as a holiday destination.
In South America, the vaccine programmes are very sporadic with the biggest country, Brazil, not even started a vaccine programme while their infections continue to increase and deaths continue to rise. To date, since the beginning of December, Brazil has seen an average of 50,000 new cases of Covid-19 every day. Since the start of the pandemic 209,350 people have lost their lives to the virus in Brazil. The Health Ministry has stated that they hope to start the programme of vaccination from the 20th January. However, there is doubt about the effectiveness of the Chinese vaccine they have bought, as it now seems to be only 50% effective in late-stage trials in Brazil, significantly lower than earlier results showed.
All French ski resorts were prevented from opening their cable cars and ski lifts at the start of the season, driving away the large portion of their visitors who come for downhill skiing. The French government had discussed the possibility of reopening the ski lifts in January. However last week it said that with virus cases still high, that would be premature. A decision is now due on January 20th, leaving little time before the season ends.
That statement is not entirely true. The Chic Swiss resort of Wengen is reeling from having the world famous Lauberhorn downhill ski race cancelled. A British tourist has been blamed for a spike in coronavirus cases that led officials to cancel this famous ski race. The resort of Wengen, where the race is held, had recorded only 10 cases of the virus by mid-December.
a move to drastically reduce coronavirus infections. The new measures come into effect from January 18th. Private gatherings are limited to five people. Where teleworking is not possible, masks must be worn at the workplace even if social distance is respected. Kiosks and petrol station shops are subject to a curfew of 7pm and will have to close on Sundays. Passengers on Swiss public transport have been obliged to
In Latin America, officials are struggling to contain a new surge in infections while millions are waiting on the vaccine to be rolled out. Health authorities are under fierce pressure to speed up the 
Despite the large death toll, many people still believe what the Brazilian President says “that the virus is not an issue”. While many countries imposed new restrictions to limit the spread of the virus in mid-December, the administration of Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro gave its blessing for holiday fun in the sun. Tourism Minister Gilson Machado told radio station Jovem Pan that gatherings of up to 300 people were perfectly acceptable. The decision to impose restrictions is the prerogative of local governments; some that did so saw their rules ignored. A prominent YouTuber organized a party near a river beach for hundreds of people in Alagoas state, in the country’s northeast region. Days later, local media reported that 47 people, among unmasked guests and staff, contracted Covid-19. At least two were admitted to intensive-care units.
There is little chance of this happening at the moment. In the meantime across the world lockdowns are becoming the “norm” as the number of cases of Covid-19 rise.
Obviously the way of life we knew before the pandemic is very different to what we all do now but in some countries what used to be the norm is now completely changed. One country, our nearest neighbour, Spain has seen a massive change in its cultural identity with regards to their habit of eating out in restaurants.With cases of Covid-19 now over 2 million, the country has gone through a number of lockdowns both nationally and regionally. The pandemic has changed the very fabric of the culture in Spain. The Spanish like to do everything late – they stay out late, shop late and eat late. Its a fact that most restaurants don’t even open in the evenings until 8 pm, and if you do turn up then, you’ll most likely be the only customers there. The majority of Spaniards won’t eat dinner until at least 9 pm or 10 pm.
curfews and changing rules. Currently, there are a range of different curfews in place across the country; from 10 pm in Andalusia and in 
On the other side of the world is a city which has largely escaped the effects of Covid-19 and the pandemic – Perth Australia, a city the size of Philadelphia where the coronavirus pandemic has never really existed. For nine months, Perth has thrived behind its so-called “Pandemic Wall.” With its borders mostly closed even to other Australian states, it has now gone 250 days, as of this writing, without a community-based Covid-19 infection.
The reason the state of Western Australia has been spared is that most of those 869 infections were identified in hotel quarantine. Anyone who flies into WA from overseas gets a police escort straight to quarantine, cannot leave their hotel room for the next two weeks, and aren’t let out until they test negative for Covid-19. This makes it nearly impossible for the virus to spread into the community. Anyone who brings it into WA is immediately isolated and treated. The strict rules don’t end there. For the past nine months, only Australian residents have been let into the country, and they have not been allowed to leave Australia unless it’s an emergency situation. These rules seem unlikely to change until Australia is well into its coronavirus vaccination programme, which is not scheduled to begin until March.
The coronavirus pandemic knows no borders. All of us have been affected by this global emergency but not everyone has been impacted in the same way. For the many people living in poverty, the Covid-19 crisis is just another crisis to contend with. Whilst we all feel the effects of lockdowns both physically and mentally, the poor in the world to a great extent have to try and carry on with their usual lives which, to us more well off people, is nothing like normal. In many parts of the world there are refugees in camps with little to protect themselves. Women who are forced to carry the burden of unpaid care work. Families who live with inadequate clean water and sanitation. Children who were struggling to access a quality education even before the closure of schools around the globe.
There is always something you can do to help others. And by helping others you will also help yourself. Research shows that 
If you’re strapped for cash, there are ways to donate without spending money. With more people out of work, demand for food banks is expected to rise. At the same time, panic-buying and hoarding have reduced supplies. Supporting your local food pantry will help close the gap. While the best way to support food banks is through financial assistance so they can purchase what they need, you can also help by donating non-perishables like peanut butter, canned goods, pasta, rice, and beans.
The USA again hit the headlines with the number of cases reaching over 21 million and deaths have reached over 362,000. The State which currently is the epicentre of the pandemic and having the worst outbreak is California. One area which has been especially badly hit is LA County. Since the start of the pandemic this area has reported 827,498 cases of Covid-19. In addition they have lost 10,850 people to the virus. To put this into perspective against other countries they have a population of 10,490,000 which is almost the same as Portugal. The area is 4,084 square miles or 10,577 square kilometers. By comparison, Portugal is 92,912 square kilometers so the big difference is how condensed their citizens are compared to Portugal.
Meanwhile elsewhere in Europe all the headlines are focussed on the UK and the new variant strain of Covid-19. The UK has posted over 50,000 new cases each day since the start of the year. The new variant is suspected to be up to 70% more contagious although it is not expected to be any more of a danger to people’s overall health. This has caused the UK to start a further lockdown starting this week across the whole of England. Scotland and Wales are already in lockdown and Northern Ireland has been in a lockdown since before Christmas, part of a 6 week measure to curb a surge in Covid-19 infections. All secondary and primary schools will close and children will revert to online e-learning.
Personal health information, including vaccination records with personal identifiers, is typically difficult for the U.S. government to access and to manage due to federal and state privacy rules or laws. This is made even more challenging by the lack of a single national identification system in the United States other than Social Security numbers. The United States has a 
In Bangkok, the city’s nightlife shut down following a ban on bars, nightclubs and restaurant alcohol sales, among a raft of restrictions aimed at curbing 
The UK has also had a big increase in cases over the holidays, recording over 50,000 new cases on four consecutive days since the 29th December. Deaths from a high of 964 on the 30th December have dropped significantly of late, although hospitals are coming under extreme pressure for empty beds. This is in part one of the reasons why the UK government is expected to significantly increase the level of lockdown in the coming days to try and bring the number of infections from the new mutant variant down.
The French government, facing the threat of a new wave of Covid-19 infections, lengthened an 
Usually we are used to seeing the Sydney Harbour bridge lit up with a mega display of pyrotechnics, watched by thousands of people celebrating. This New Years Eve we saw the fireworks but, like millions of others, their citizens had to make do with watching it on the television. Only in Auckland, New Zealand were crowds allowed to mingle on the streets to see in the New Year.
Meanwhile news coming out of Russia shows that their death toll for Covid-19 in 2020 could be more than three times higher than the figures they have released to the WHO. According to a recent report from the Russian statistics agency Rosstat it shows that the number of deaths from all causes from January to November had risen by 229,700, compared to the same period last year.
However, more good news released this week is that the Covax Facility, a WHO initiative to help the smaller less well off nations, are due to get 2 billion doses of the vaccines in the first half of 2021. I have written before about this organisation and there continues to be concerns as to whether there will be enough vaccine to give these poorer nations a decent supply to help stop the spread of the virus. Some of the wealthier countries like France and Canada have said they will help provide surplus vaccines but no time scale has been set yet. We will all have to wait and see how things progress on this front. I believe our headline is more apt than ever before as we enter a New Year with the virus still playing a major part in our lives.
Azores, said yesterday to TSF radio, that the region is able to accept between 10 and 15 Covid-19 patients on the ward and three to five patients in the ICU from hospitals on the mainland.
complex but compared to other parts of the country the Azores is doing well and currently is the region with the better situation.
The Azores Seismo-volcanic Surveillance and Information Centre (CIVISA) said that the event occurred at 11:47 am and the epicentre was about 67 km to WNW (west-northwest) of Capelo, on the island of Faial.
A new set of restrictive measures that may have positive effects on the decrease in the number of people infected by the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes Covid-19 disease and a deceleration of the risk index of effective transmission of the disease will be implemented ( Rt).
Pandemic prevention and containment measures should be maintained and strengthened, whenever possible, by citizens and public, private and social sector organizations.
Social Centre for the Elderly, in the parish of Raminho.
On Wednesday, Miguel Albuquerque said Madeira “ought to give an example” and that 3 intensive care beds had been made available for Covid-19 patients from the mainland. He said the hospital has a cutting-edge intensive care unit and is capable of providing quality medical treatment. Júlio Nóbrega, the clinical director of Hospital Dr. Nélio Mendonça, said that Madeirans had to express solidarity with their fellow countrymen and women. He appealed for unity in order to overcome the Covid-19 pandemic. He also reminded that since Madeira does not have a burns unit, patients had to be airlifted to the mainland, where the Portuguese National Health Service would provide medical treatment. As such, he said there was a need for reciprocity between the mainland and Madeira. He added that there are 45 respirators, 7 of which were being used on Thursday.
29th January – 09h00 to 09h30
– A ban on the sale or consumption of alcoholic drinks at the entrance of commercial establishments.
Several teams scoured the hiking trails that start in Curral das Freiras and in Achada do Teixeira, to increase the chances of locating her more quickly. It was occasionally possible to contact her by phone, which enabled the PSP to pinpoint her exact location. As a result, rescuers located her at 22h00, next to Vereda Lombo dos Portais. She was outside the trail and in a steep area.
Yesterday, Covid-19 vaccination started on fire service personnel who had
– Rua da Levada dos Barreiros (between Rua Dr. Pita and Rua Estados
On Sunday, there were 93 new Covid-19 cases (from 2 passengers
The Madeira vaccination plan was announced on the 22nd of December, the first vaccine
arrived from Italy, 1 passenger who had arrived from Spain,
On Wednesday, 1,573 antigen rapid tests were carried out on teaching
Bad weather in Madeira in the last few days caused 96 reports of
On Sunday, there were 99 new Covid-19 cases (from 2
The following passengers arriving in the Autonomous Region of Madeira are exempt
The regional government and health authorities have not ruled the
João Caires (nurse in the Covid-19 unit), Ana Silva (Operational Assistant
Government had set up specific areas where people could have
The municipality of Silves, in conjunction with the Delegate of Health and other entities, reported having created conditions for rapid testing of a large number of people, if necessary, allowing to mitigate the Covid-19 disease in the municipality.