Portugal Situation Report Wednesday 25th August 2021

 

Introduction

Over the last few weeks we have been seeing an increase in rural fires as was expected, given the very high temperatures, the low humidity and of course high and often variable wind directions.

The fact that they have not been worse is due primarily to the quick response by the emergency services, often made possible by the pre-positioning of fire-fighting resources. Civil Protection has undertaken this mostly on a daily basis, taking into account the detailed fire risks including the FWI rural fire hazard, which determines areas where fires are like to start and spread more easily. The time saved in responding within minutes, is essentially avoiding fires spreading quickly, upon which they become far more difficult to control.

The second considerable aid in fire-fighting, is using ariel monitoring with high tech imaging equipment as well as drones, which provide photographs from above, which are then relayed to the analysts and decision makers on the ground. Using these tools the growth, intensity and direction of fires can be forecast with greater accuracy than before. This allows commanders to call upon additional resources whenever required, well in advance, or indeed releasing those not needed. This is important because some resources need to come from other districts and may take some time to arrive.

As we said before fire-fighting is a collective and team effort involving different specialist unit’s involved, so good communication is essential.

It is not only tactical communication on the ground or through air to ground means where we have seen improvement, but also communication to the public from the ANEPC. Safe Communities Portugal has met with the ANEPC in Lisbon on several occasions and proposed specific information that should be provided in the event of fires, and we are now seeing some of this coming to fruition. For instance in the last few fires, maps have been published showing the extent of burned areas, together with ariel photos showing the progression of fires.

Another issue we have raised concerns government briefings. Some of the briefings are now more focused providing the sort of information from official sources that the public need to know. In one fire recently, in addition to the number of human evacuations, the number of animals saved was also given. This is progress which we are very pleased to see, and makes it easier for organisations, like ourselves, in reporting these incidents. However, a balance needs to be kept between the operational priorities of commanders and the time needed to provide briefing material to the media. We feel more resources are required to them to help with this important element of their work especially in major incidents.

During major catastrophes, including fires, there is also a thirst for information. The basis of public information is the ANEPC dashboard, which is extremely limited. There is a need to enhance the mapping quality, together with basic information. At present it provides only the number of resources deployed – my reaction to this is “so what”. Reporting updates of the number of operatives, supporting vehicles and aircraft every few minutes on its own is not of great help. For this reason, although we monitor closely, the fact that these statistics are available directly from ANEPC or Fogos.pt, we do not report this, except when a fire has developed to a stage where it has a potential to become a major fire incident, or close to property for example.

Fogos.pt is linked to the ANEPC and is updated upon 2 minutes of information being provided on the ANEPC dashboard. However, we have found that occasionally this has been delayed and we have published information well ahead of them. Secondly on comparing mapping, whereas the GPS reference is correct in comparison with the ANEPC website, the location shown on the map has been occasionally different. On two occasions recently it had to be changed during the course of the fire.

Fogos.pt is a very good tool, as it has better mapping and other data which ANEPC does not have, but needs to be refined in this respect. It is widely used in Portugal with a Facebook following of nearly 100,000, far more in its App format as well as its website. These are matters we will further discuss with the ANEPC at our next meeting.

At Safe Communities our remit is major incidents, and we use multiples of official and reliable sources in which to keep the public informed as best we can. In my work in the past I am used to the production of SITREPS, properly structured so that a comprehensive record of fires can be kept. This has worked well, as we have historic records of various fires showing progression through reports and photographs.  The use of language is important, I do not mean English or Portuguese, but terminology.  I read one headline recently stating “Fire now becoming important” – what does that mean? Important to whom? Who is judging/deciding that?  What criteria has been used to make that judgement?

Lastly of course there would not be a need for all this work, if there were no fires.

It is important that everyone understands risk, knows what this means, and how this can change daily as it has today. This is why we ask people to share the risk and warning charts so that everyone is aware. The difference between a Rural Fire Situation of Alert and ANEPC Notification both issued within hours yesterday, can be considerable in terms of the measures to adopt, so everyone needs to understand the differences.

With that message please have a Safe Day

 

Covid-19 DGS Tuesday 24^th August
Confirmed Cases: 1.022.807 (+ 2261 / + 0.22 %)
Number of admitted: 716 (-17 /-2.32 %)
Number of ICU admitted: 148 (-3 /-1.99 %)
Deaths: 17.658 (+ 13 / + 0.07 %)
Recovered: 960.969 (+ 3610 / + 0.38 %)
Active: 44,180 (-1362 / -2.9%).
Over three thousand recoveries

The deaths occurred in the Lisbon and Vale do Tejo region (3), in the North region (5), in the Centre region (2) in the Algarve (3).
Regarding the ages of the victims, nine were over 80 years old, one between 70 and 79, two between 60 and 69 and one between 50 and 59 years old.

Health

Covid-19: Delta variant responsible for 100% of infections in all regions of the country

“The Delta variant (B.1.617.2) has a relative frequency of 100% in the week of 9-15 August in all regions, according to data collected to date”, states the INSA report on diversity genetics of the virus that causes covid-19.

According to the institute’s data, of the total analysed sequences of this variant, 66 had an additional mutation in the `spike’ protein, a sub-lineage known as Delta Plus that has “maintained a relative frequency below 1%” in recent weeks.
According to the INSA, the prevalence of Beta and Gamma variants, originating in South Africa and Brazil, respectively, remains low and without a growing trend.

With regard to the Alpha variant, associated with the United Kingdom and which was once predominant in Portugal, it was not detected in Portugal in the week of August 9th to 15th, after having been responsible for almost half of the cases of infections by the new coronavirus in the week between May 31st and June 6th. As part of this continuous monitoring of the genetic diversity of SARS-CoV-2, approximately 565 sequences have been analysed weekly since the beginning of June, from samples collected at random in laboratories distributed throughout the 18 districts of mainland Portugal and the autonomous regions of the Azores and Madeira, covering an average of 121 municipalities per week.

In June, the institute announced a strengthening of surveillance of the variants of the virus that causes covid-19 in circulation in Portugal, through its continuous monitoring.

Covid-19: Marvão Home with 47 infected users and employees

Marvão, Portalegre, Aug 24, 2021 (Lusa) – An outbreak of covid-19 in a home in Santo António das Areias, in the municipality of Marvão (Portalegre), has already infected 47 people, including users and employees, the president of the institution told the Lusa agency today. According to the president of the association of the Home of the People of Santo António das Areias, Cristina Novo, “all users” of the residential structure for the elderly and 10 of the 27 employees are infected.

The official also explained that the outbreak was detected on Saturday, following the visit of a patient to the hospital in Portalegre, having tested positive for covid-19 carried out in that hospital unit.

“We have three inpatients [hospital] and the rest are stable and isolated at home. We have been carrying out tests”, he added.

The Chamber of Marvão has also announced that until Friday it will carry out free testing actions with the population, upon prior registration. This testing action covers all age groups, taking place at the Municipal Pavilion of Santo António das Areias, every day of the week, between 18:00 and 20:00.

Enforcement

Covid-19: Gathering of 200 people interrupted by police in Figueira da Foz

Figueira da Foz, Coimbra, Aug 24, 2021 (Lusa) – A gathering of about 200 people, in Figueira da Foz, was interrupted this morning by elements of the Maritime Police and the PSP, for violating the imposed safety rules for fighting covid-19.

According to a press release from the National Maritime Authority, “the elements of the local Command of the Maritime Police of Figueira da Foz, in collaboration with the PSP, interrupted a gathering of about 200 people who were in the Praça do Forte, in Figueira da Foz”.

The note states that, “during a joint patrol action, at 5:00 am, several groups of people gathered were detected, totalling about 200 people.” Those people were “consuming alcoholic beverages, and the elements of the local Command of the Maritime Police of Figueira da Foz and the PSP gave instructions for people to leave the place”.

This action, explains the press release, “resulted in the survey of three notices for consumption of alcoholic beverages on public roads and three notices for lack of mask use.”

Vaccinations

With almost half of young people between 12 and 15 years old vaccinated and in the final stretch of the “race”, Gouveia e Melo speaks of “Portuguese miracle”

During a visit on Tuesday morning to the vaccination centre in São João da Madeira, the coordinator of the Task Force for vaccination against covid-19 assured that there are already 80% of people inoculated with the first dose and 72% to 73% of people inoculated with two doses of the vaccine. But for Portugal to achieve group immunity, the official points to percentages of 85% for first and second doses.

It is now the final phase of the “race” – the emergency plan to vaccinate around 9 million people in the shortest possible time. The country surpasses the stage in which adolescents aged between 12 and 15 are being vaccinated. From a universe of 380 thousand, almost 50% received the first dose last weekend, announces the coordinator – and “in a period of vacation”.

In the final stretch of the mission he undertook to direct, Gouveia e Melo describes the feeling that assails him. “We are all fulfilling our goal,” he summed up. “For the first time, we reacted as a very strong community. We did it! We have to be proud of ourselves”, he announces, moved, describing the Portuguese people as “fantastic” and “mature”.
“While other countries have 20% to 30% denial barriers, we have not found that barrier. I am a happy man because I participated in this, with my little effort. But the real reactants are the gentlemen who are here beside me, who managed to perform a miracle. It is a Portuguese miracle, in a good way,” he declared.

Other News

Motorhome parking and parking law goes into effect on Wednesday

Lisbon, Aug 24, 2021 (Lusa) – The new law on the parking and parking regime for motorhomes, which establishes that outside protected areas, overnight stays are allowed “for a maximum period of 48 hours in the same municipality”, enters into force on Wednesday.

Law 66/2021, which modifies the regime for parking, overnight and car-parking for motorhomes, changing the Highway Code and the Traffic Signaling Regulation, was published today in Diário da República, coming into force one day after its publication.
The decree was promulgated by Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa on August 6, after being approved in the Assembly of the Republic on July 22 with the PCP and PEV votes against, the abstention of BE, PAN, IL and Chega, and the votes in favor of the remaining parliamentary benches.

In a final global vote, the deputies made viable the replacement text presented by the parliamentary committee on Economy, Innovation, Public Works and Housing regarding the parking and parking regime for motorhomes included in the Highway Code, namely articles 48 and 50 . According to the law, in relation to article 50-A, “the overnight stay and parking of motorhomes or similar are prohibited in areas of the Natura 2000 Network, protected areas and areas covered by the Coastal Planning Plans, except in the places expressly authorized for this purpose”.

“In the rest of the territory and in the absence of municipal regulation for the activity, motorhomes approved by the IMT – Institute of Mobility and Transport are allowed to stay overnight for a maximum period of 48 hours in the same municipality, except in places expressly authorized for this purpose, for which there is no limit on overnight stays”, reads the text published today.