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Portugal Situation Report Wednesday 17^th November 2021

Introduction

Good morning – At the weekend, in these first weeks of November, when many people are already shopping for Christmas, it is easy to forget that there is a highly contagious virus that continues to infect hundreds of people every day in Portugal and thousands in several European countries.

As my colleague Mike Evans states in his overseas report yesterday, the past week has seen a rise in infections across many parts of the world. Leading this rise is Europe where we are seeing large increases in new infections across many countries with some bringing back lock down restrictions in the hope of keeping the rates low enough to allow citizens to enjoy the Christmas celebrations.

As far as Portugal is concerned although the number of infections has increased the number of hospitalisations, those in ICU and deaths has so far not seen the dramatic rises as many other countries. Much of this is due to the high levels of vaccinations administered. It is important that all those eligible for their booster and flu jabs do so as soon as possible. The self- scheduling for those 70 and over can be made through the link here.

 

A meeting at Infarmed will be held this Friday to examine the current situation concerning Covid-19 in Portugal, as well as trends overseas. This is the first meeting since September. This an important and timely meeting to present information and analysis which will enable the Government to determine whether there is a need for measures to be introduced in the lead up to and over the festive season.

Yesterday the Prime Minister António Costa stated “will not hesitate, as we have not hesitated in the past, to take the necessary measures to protect the health and lives of the Portuguese”, when answering a question from a journalist, who questioned the prime minister about the possibility of applying new restrictions, given the increase in covid-19 cases in the country. Tuesday that “it is not foreseeable that measures will be taken again on the scale that we had in the past”, thanks to the vaccination against covid-19, but that “we cannot ignore the signs”: “The later we act, the greater the risks”, he concluded. We wait and see.

An item that drew my attention yesterday was concerning the forecasting of earthquakes. Unlike the sky, the Earth’s interior is not transparent. And that’s why a seismologist like Fernando Carrilho faces very different challenges from colleagues from other departments at the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and the Atmosphere (IPMA), who can relate the previous day’s forecasts to the clouds they see on the horizon. “There are earthquakes originating from depths of 10, 20, and 100 kms or more… and the existing technologies do not allow us to know what is happening in these places”, according to the head of the Geophysics Division at IPMA.

Clearly any pre-warning of earthquakes occurring, could allow time for public announcements to be made and potentially therefore save lives. This very interesting article and what could be done using new technology can be downloaded in English here.

We once again remind people to take care when going for a swim or venturing into the sea at this time of the year, when there are no lifeguards at beaches. A case on Monday when two women aged 83 and 56 (mother and daughter) were swept into the sea by a large wave, whilst paddling in the sea near Praia de Mira. Thankfully an off duty fire fighter, who visited the area to take photographs of sunsets saw their plight and dived into the sea and rescued them.

We remind people living in rural areas, that apart from general land cleaning around your house to protect against rural fires, now is a good time to consider other measures to limit the risk to your property. A survey undertaken of properties destroyed during the Pedrógão Grande fire in 2017 found that the most common way fires entered properties was through the roof, in about 60% of all instances.  For those living in older properties, therefore, which may have traditional tiled roofs that have been in place for many years, it makes sense to start in this area. Often vegetation, including leaves accumulate in these roofs and can catch fire either through burned leaves or embers carried by the wind that settle on roof tops. Some of burned leaves and small branches can travel considerable distances in worst case situations when the wind is high.

At the same time examine guttering. Now is a good time as blocked gutters restrict water flow in what is traditionally the wettest time of the year.

With that please have a Safe Day.

 

Covid-19 Situation 16^th November

Confirmed Cases: 1.110.155 (+ 1693 / + 0.15 %)
Number of admitted: 486 (+ 16 / + 3.40 %)
Number of ICU admitted: 80 (+ 4 / + 5.26 %)
Deaths: 18,274 (+ 9 / + 0.05 %)
Recovered: 1.053.609 (+ 1770 / + 0.17 %)
Active cases: 38,272 (-86 / -0.22%)

Trends

A small but welcome decrease in active cases after several days of increases. A growing trend is also visible in daily new cases if we recall that eight days ago, on 9 November, 1182 cases had been registered, 511 fewer than today. The number of deaths, nine, is similar to that of recent days, with the exception of Sunday, when 15 people died of the disease. The nine deaths were registered in the Centre (three), in Lisbon and Vale do Tejo (three), in the Algarve (one) and in Madeira (two). According to the DGS, the fatal victims are aged between 50 and 59 years (two), from 70 to 79 years (one) and the elderly aged 80 or over (six).

 

Health

Vaccines

Vaccines that block transmission of the new coronavirus ready by 2022

Second-generation vaccines that already allow blocking the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 should arrive within the next year.
According to Manuel Santos Rosa, immunologist and full professor at the Faculty of Medicine of Coimbra, only blocking vaccines can save time and win the battle against covid-19.
In an interview with Diário de Notícias , Manuel Santos Rosa says that these new vaccines are already at an advanced stage of development in the United States but also in Europe, namely in Germany and the United Kingdom. New vaccines based on micro-spikes that work as a kind of adhesive seal and which will already have the ability to block the transmission of the disease will also be effective in enhancing cellular immunity.

Covid-19: Public health doctors warn you can’t let your guard down

Lisbon, 16 Nov 2021 (Lusa) – The president of the Association of Public Health Doctors today considered that it was “virtually impossible” to repeat the pandemic situation experienced at the beginning of the year due to the high vaccination coverage, but warned that “it is not to let your guard down.”
Speaking to Lusa news agency about the epidemiological situation in Portugal, Ricardo Mexia stated that the increase in the number of covid-19 cases “was predictable” as a result of the winter and the resumption of a set of activities. “Fortunately this increase is mainly at the expense of the incidence, the number of new cases. Regarding mortality and severity (demand for health care and hospitalization), despite everything, they are not growing as fast as the incidence, which is also to be expected as a result of the high vaccination coverage of the population”, he said.

According to the public health doctor and epidemiologist, vaccination coverage and the “better knowledge” of the disease allow for “some confidence” in relation to what is happening.
“But it is not to let our guard down and reach a situation as we had in January and February this year, which seems virtually impossible to repeat, given the vaccination coverage we have, but which on a smaller scale may still have an important impact both on the demand for health care and on mortality”, he warned.

To stop the increase in cases, he defended several measures such as accelerating the pace of vaccination of the “most vulnerable”. On the other hand, people have to realize that the pandemic is not over: “Although we have resumed almost all of our normal activities, in fact, the situation is not resolved”. It is necessary to continue to maintain some precautions, such as avoiding large agglomerations of people, particularly in closed spaces, using the mask “as long as possible” and continuing to sanitize hands, measures that allow to “reduce the risk significantly”.

Covid-19: Portugal registers more deaths and fewer births in 2020

Last year, mortality increased more than 10% and births dropped 2.5% compared to 2019, according to data released by the National Institute of Statistics.
The birth of close to 86,500 babies last year reveals a 2.5% drop in births compared to 2019. The Algarve and the Lisbon Metropolitan Area were the regions where there were more births.
The natural balance, that is, the difference between birth and mortality, was aggravated by the pandemic.
Last year, more than 11,565 people died, most of them over 85 years of age. In the unusual year, marked by confinement and many restrictions, the number of marriages dropped by more than 40%. Divorces also declined last year, with less than 17,300.
Average life expectancy was estimated at 84 years for women and 78 years for men.

 

Incidence of pancreatic cancer is increasing and being detected in more young people

A cancer that “was rare”, is becoming “more frequent” and has registered a “30% increase” in the last decade.
The incidence of pancreatic cancer has increased and is being detected in a population younger than usual, Ricardo Rio Tinto, president of the Clube Português do Pancreas (CPP), told Lusa. Pancreatic cancer, a disease that mainly affects people aged 70 or over, has increased significantly in patients between 40 and 50 years of age and also in those in their 30s.
“Not only has the global incidence increased significantly, as there has been a shift in diagnosis to younger ages”, the president of the CPP, section of the Portuguese Society of Gastroenterology, told Lusa, on the occasion of World Pancreas Day, marked on 18 from November.
A cancer that “was rare”, is becoming “more frequent” and has registered a “30% increase” in the last decade, a period during which it went from 1,200 to 1,300 cases annually to “close to 1,800 cases, and it could be more”, according to Ricardo Rio Tinto.

Smoking and alcoholism continue to be risk factors, as does family history, but the doctor who chairs the CPP underlined that there is evidence that changes in the pattern of pancreatic cancer are related to “environmental factors”, such as exposure to “carcinogenic substances”, from fertilizers and pesticides to plastic components, although “the molecular aspects that lead to the appearance of the tumour” have not yet been determined.

 

Travel

TAP has not been offering meals on board in medium-haul economy class for over a year. Measure will have come to stay

Flying to Milan, London or Berlin on TAP no longer entitles you to a sandwich or a pastel de nata and a drink in economy class. For more than a year, the Portuguese air carrier stopped offering light meals, snacks or snacks and drinks free of charge in economy class on medium-haul trips.
The changes in TAP’s on-board service began to affect the management of the American private shareholder, David Neleeman, with on-board meal offers being more frugal and replaced by paid service, as usual in companies low cost, low cost calls.

With the pandemic, TAP put an end to complimentary snacks and drinks and now the only thing it offers on medium-course economy class is a glass of water. The rest is paid. The carrier clarifies that it is following a general trend in the industry, even practiced by the former flag companies. “TAP has adopted this practice [on board sales service (On-board Retail)] for over a year, which has become widespread in the industry, which brings not only a wider range of choices, but also a reduction in food waste,” he explained to Express the company’s official source.

The menus available on board, explains TAP, “were designed around the passengers’ most frequent preferences and requests”. There are sandwiches, mixed toast and hamburgers. TAP also clarifies that the in-flight sales service is available on European flights from Lisbon, except for Porto, Faro, Madrid, Malaga and Seville, and on connections to North Africa and Cape Verde. On these seven flights, TAP does not have any type of service on board for economy classes.