Portugal Situation Report Wednesday 7th July 2021
Introduction
Good morning – With the increasing number of new cases, and the Minister of Health forecasting this could double to around 4,000 a day and over 800 in hospital in around 15 days, it is essential to take all steps to avoid situations which could result in the accelerated spread of the disease. It is of concern, therefore, that on 4th July the GNR had to intervene and put an end to an illegal party, with more than 300 people, taking place on a property in the municipality of Alcochete, district of Setúbal, for violating measures in force to contain the pandemic of Covid-19.
Such irresponsible and thoughtless action will certainly result in a spread of the disease, with those who had no association with the party becoming affected. One hopes that those responsible will be held to account. Often advanced notice of these parties circulate through social media, and it is pleasing to note that some who have seen these have alerted the PSP/GNR, so that early action can be taken. In this case some 20 or so GNR had to put themselves at risk dealing with this illegal gathering.
This problem is reflected in the fact that at present the higher increases in new cases are among the younger age groups, the under 27s yet to be vaccinated.
Regarding vaccinations, the Prime Minister admitted this Tuesday that vaccination conditions in the next two weeks will become “more uncomfortable”, due to the acceleration effort needed to face the fourth wave of the Covid-19 that affects the country and warned that the fight has not ended. There are already long queues at some vaccination centres, due to the acceleration of the vaccinations process down to 27 years, those self-scheduling and those attending the “Casa Aberta” Open House scheme without an appointment.
Regarding the vaccination of those who have registered on the DGS portal without a utente number we are, as we stated earlier, in liaison with government and are expecting news very shortly.
The good news last night was that Portugal expects to receive about 1.8 million vaccines against Covid-19 by the end of this month, the vast majority from Pfizer, according to the `task force’, adding that it maintains a reserve for the second doses.
Turning to the weather, the maximum temperatures will gradually rise from today, forecast to reach 40 degrees on Saturday in the Alentejo region, according to the IPMA. Speaking to Lusa news agency, meteorologist Patrícia Marques explained that temperatures are going to rise a lot, but a heat wave is not expected, as temperatures drop on Monday. For a “heat wave” temperatures have to exceed 5 days above average. She added, however, that temperatures in parts of the Alentejo could exceed this, and that the temperatures will be higher in Évora, Beja, Santarém and Castelo Branco. “This is normal for this time of the year” she said and went on to warn people concerning the fire risk.
The fire risk must be taken seriously, regardless whether it is technically a heat wave or not. For the days that these temperatures and associated dry conditions are experienced, we will need to be particularly our guard. We will continue to monitor and post preventive and self-protection measures accordingly.
For those living in these high risk rural areas, it is important that people have a plan of action of what to do should a fire break out and threaten your home. Remember fire crews may not be able to reach you quickly if you live is an inaccessible area, and the first fire response maybe through helicopter/aircraft. Knowing what to do until the emergency services arrive could help save your life and that of others. More about developing an action plan can be downloaded from our website here.
Practice it, ensure the whole family are aware, and do not leave key decisions to the last minute. Fires can burn intensely, spread and change direction quickly, at which point it is too late to develop a plan!
Lastly, we are happy to promote very good causes. One of these is Madrugada Association, a not-for-profit association that provides “Hospice at Home” or end of life care and support in the comfort of a 
patient’s home in the Algarve. From hands-on nursing and personal care to provision and delivery of medical/hospital equipment, Madrugada’s end of life services and support are free of charge. Madrugada exists thanks to a wonderful team of dedicated volunteers, members, and network of supporters. They are in need of extra pairs of hands for their retail outlets in Lagos, Lagoa and Luz. Also, if any readers are planning any house refurbishments or deep ‘Spring Cleans’, they are always happy to collect saleable items for their charity shops, from Sagres to Albufeira.
For more information about their services or how you can support Madrugada, please email operations@madrugada-portugal.com or call +351 282-761 375. ‘Because you care, we can!’
With that, please have a Safe day
Headlines
Costa admits “inconvenient conditions” for vaccination in the coming weeks.
Acceleration in the pace of vaccination causes inconvenience in queues across the country.
The Prime Minister admitted this Tuesday that vaccination conditions in the next two weeks will be “more uncomfortable”, due to the acceleration effort needed to face the fourth wave of the Covid-19 that affects the country, and warned that the fight has not ended.
“The country is still facing this difficult pandemic, we are even facing a fourth wave of this pandemic. And we cannot distract ourselves, we cannot relax, this requires us to really speed up the vaccination process. A great effort will be made in the next few two weeks, with conditions that will be more uncomfortable for those who are vaccinated, but which will reinforce the safety of everyone and particularly of those who will see the second dose of vaccination more quickly reached”, said António Costa.
The Prime Minister pointed out that the effort to speed up the vaccination process against Covid-19 does not allow for “any distraction” as to the social behaviour of the population, imposing the maintenance of hygiene rules and physical distancing.
“This is a fight that hasn’t ended, it’s a fight that has to continue and we have to fight it,” he said.
On Monday, Vice Admiral Gouveia e Melo, who co-ordinates the task force responsible for vaccination against Covid-19, said that the possibility of long lines at the vaccination centres was expected due to the increased pace of the process, but acknowledged that it is a problem and will have to be resolved.
Covid-19: Portugal expects to receive 1.8 million vaccines by the end of the month.
Lisbon, 06 Jul 2021 (Lusa) – Portugal expects to receive about 1.8 million vaccines against Covid-19 by the end of this month, the vast majority from Pfizer, announced today the `task force’, adding that it maintains a reserve for the second doses.
“By the end of July, it is estimated to receive about 1.8 million vaccines”, being 1.1 million doses from Pfizer, 300 thousand from Moderna, 250 thousand from AstraZeneca and 150 thousand from Janssen, he told the Lusa agency the structure that coordinates the logistics of the vaccination plan.
At the moment, “available vaccines are enough to guarantee 850,000 doses in the present and next week”, as part of the ongoing vaccination effort in mainland Portugal, assured the same source, ensuring that the `task force’ “maintains a reservation for the administration of the second doses”.
On Monday, more than 141,500 doses were administered in mainland Portugal, which, according to the `task force´ led by Vice Admiral Gouveia e Melo, constituted the daily vaccination record since the campaign started on December 27th, 2020 .
The co-ordinator of the ‘task force’ told Lusa on Saturday that Portugal will accelerate the pace of vaccination, due to the rapid spread of the Delta variant of the SARS COV-2 coronavirus, considered more transmissible and which is already predominant in the country.
Data from the Ministry of Health indicate that, by the end of Sunday, more than 9.1 million vaccines had been administered, around 5.7 million referring to first doses and 3.4 million that allowed users to complete their vaccination.
Covid-19
DGS Covid-19 Report
The following report was published yesterday
Confirmed Cases: 892.741 (+ 2170 / + 0.24 %)
Number of admitted: 613 (0 / 0.00 %)
Number of ICU admitted: 133 (-3 /-2.21 %)
Deaths: 17.118 (+ 1 / + 0.01 %)
Recovered: 837.135 (+ 2510 / + 0.30 %)
Active cases: 38,488 (- 341/ – 0.88%)
Safe Communities comparisons/trends show that deaths are well below last week’s daily average (4); new daily cases are back to over two thousand, but less than recoveries; of the new cases, 53% (802) were in Lisbon and Vale do Tejo – approximate average of last week. In hospital the same as Monday – highest total since 29th March 2021; in ICU a decrease but still second highest total since 28th March 2021. Active cases showed a decrease after 15 days of consecutive increases, but second highest total since 13th March. In the Algarve the new cases were much lower than for several days (145) (6.4% compared to 13.6% of total on Monday)
Health
Covid-19: More than 141,500 vaccines administered on Monday, new record broken.
Lisbon, 06 Jul 2021 (Lusa) – More than 141,500 doses of vaccines against Covid-19 were administered on Monday in mainland Portugal, the `task force’ that co-ordinates the vaccination plan was reported to Lusa yesterday.
According to the ‘task force’ for the Vaccination Plan against Covid-19, on Monday the daily record of vaccines administered in mainland Portugal was reached.
The co-ordinator of the ‘task force’ told Lusa on Saturday that Portugal will accelerate the pace of vaccination due to the rapid spread of the Delta variant of the SARS COV-2 coronavirus, predicting that it will be possible to vaccinate around 850,000 users per week.
Vice Admiral Gouveia e Melo explained that the maximum amount of existing vaccine stocks will be used to increase the pace of vaccination.
Since the beginning of the vaccination plan against Covid-19, on December 27th, 2020, Portugal has received more than 9.5 million vaccines, with 8.3 million already distributed by vaccination posts in mainland Portugal and by the two regions autonomous.
Covid-19: Intensive Care Occupancy Reaches 55% Critical Limit of 245 Beds.
Mainland Portugal currently has about 55% of intensive care beds intended for Covid-19 patients occupied, whereas about a month ago this occupancy rate was around 20%.
According to today’s situation report by the General Directorate of Health, 136 people are hospitalized in intensive care units (ICU), 84 more than on June 2nd, when a total of 52 patients needed this type of clinical care.
These 136 people who are in the ICU represent 55% of the critical value of 245 beds occupied foreseen in the “red lines” established by various specialists who defined various indicators to monitor the evolution of the pandemic in Portugal.
“Adopting an occupancy rate of 85%, the total number of critically ill Covid-19 patients (admitted to intensive care) in mainland Portugal should remain below 245”, says the document, which points to a regional distribution of 85 beds in the North, 56 in Centro, 84 in Lisbon and Vale do Tejo, 10 in Alentejo and 10 in Algarve.
The “red lines” also point out that the integrated management of the National Health Service’s capacity presupposes a network response, which means, in intensive care medicine, that regional needs can be met with the response of other regions with greater capacity.
An analysis of the weekly reports of the pandemic risk analysis also shows that, since 3rd April and for ten consecutive weeks, admissions to ICUs showed a decreasing trend, which was reversed in early June, when a “increasing trend” in the number of beds occupied.
On June 9th, 72 people were admitted to the ICU with Covid-19 (29% of the 245 bed threshold), a number that has been increasing since then: 88 patients (36%) on June 16th, 106 patients (43%) in June 23, 113 patients (46%) on June 30 and 136 patients (55%) today.
Study reveals a 40% drop in emergencies and 25% in surgeries in a year of pandemic.
Lisbon, 07 Jul 2021 (Lusa) – A 46% reduction in face-to-face medical consultations at health centres, 40% in hospital emergencies and 25% in surgeries is the result of the first year of the pandemic in healthcare, according to one study released today.
The study “The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the provision of healthcare in Portugal”, promoted by the Saúde em Dia Movement, was carried out by the consultancy MOAI, with data from the National Health Service (SNS) Transparency Portal, collected between June 25th and July 5th, 2021.
In order to analyse the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on healthcare provision in Portugal, the available data for the first year of the pandemic (March 2020 to February 2021) was compared with the immediately preceding period (March 2019 to February 2020).
In primary health care, there were fewer 9,362,365 face-to-face medical consultations (46%) and 83,630 fewer home consultations (43%), while non-face-to-face consultations grew by 130%, 11,965,498 more, in the first year of the pandemic compared. with the previous homologous period.
The increase in remote medical contacts may be related to the work of health centres in monitoring cases of Covid-19 with patients who stay at home, without serious illness.
Face-to-face nursing contacts decreased by 20% (less than four million), while non-face-to-face nursing contacts increased by 71%.
In total, there were 13.4 million fewer medical and nursing contacts in person at health centres, reveals the study by the Saúde em Dia Movement, constituted by the Medical Association (OM), the Portuguese Association of Hospital Administrators (APAH) and the Roche, which is presented today at OM in Lisbon.
Lambda. There is a new variant of Covid-19 that concerns scientists (with at least two cases in Portugal).
It was first identified in Peru, where its spread has grown exponentially. But in the meantime, it has already been detected in 29 countries, including Portugal. More contagious, a recent study, still in pre-publication, suggests it may also be more resistant to vaccines.
First identified in Peru in August 2020, there is a variant that is worrying and intriguing scientists because of the unusual nature of its mutations. In June, Lambda was already considered by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a “variant of interest” and although in some of them it is still not very prevalent, it has been identified in at least 29 countries. In Portugal, the Dr. Ricardo Jorge National Health Institute detected two cases.
It is in South America that the community transmission rate is of greatest concern. In August 2020, in Peru, the prevalence of this variant (formerly known as C.37) was 9%, but the percentage was rapidly escalating. In the last three months it was confirmed in more than 80% of the samples collected in the country.
Moreover, the fact that in South America genetic sequencing is not carried out exhaustively makes it difficult to know the true extent of the outbreaks.
Also detected in the United Kingdom, where there are still few cases, this began to be investigated in June by Public Health England, which recently stressed that there is no evidence that it causes more serious disease or is more resistant to vaccines, despite being extremely contagious.
But there is another investigation, with more disturbing conclusions. The University of Chile in Santiago studied the effect of Lambda on viral infectivity using blood samples from local health professionals who received two doses of China’s CoronaVac vaccine.
The research, still in pre-publication, but published in an article last week, suggests that this variant is more infectious than Gamma (Brazilian) and Alpha (English) and with a greater capacity to escape the antibodies produced by vaccination.
Covid-19: Government estimates 4,000 Daily Infected in Next Two Weeks.
Newsroom, 05 Jul 2021 (Lusa) – The Government estimates that the number of new cases of people infected with Covid-19 could reach about 4,000 daily in the coming weeks, doubling the trend of almost 2,000 infected, warned the Minister of Health today.
“[…] We have estimates that go up to mid-July and that put us already with a number of new cases in excess of 4,000 and with a number of admissions in excess of 800 and the use of intensive care in excess of 150”, stressed Marta Temido this evening, in an interview with TVI.
According to Marta Temido, the scenario designed by the Government, for the next 15 days, will be “guaranteed if nothing is reversed”.
“At this rate of growth, in 15 days, we will double the number of cases, that is, instead of having the 2,000 we had today, we will have about 4,000, with regional variations, but we will tend to double the number of cases nationwide”, she reinforced.
Today, Portugal has surpassed 600 hospitalizations with the entry of 46 more people, in a day with five deaths attributed to Covid-19 and 1,493 new cases of infection by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, according to the General Directorate of Health (DGS).
Travel
Covid-19: Flights to Madeira with more seats available than before the pandemic.
Funchal, Madeira, 06 Jul 2021 (Lusa) – Tourism in Madeira registers growth rates and data show that, in July and August this year, there are “more seats available” on flights to the region than before the pandemic.
“We’ve been growing since February and Madeira arrives in July and August with more seats available [on planes] than in 2019, the year before the pandemic”, declared Eduardo Jesus in the plenary of the Legislative Assembly of Madeira.
Madeira’s Tourism Secretary was in parliament to defend a legislative proposal by the Regional Government (PSD/CDS-PP) that aims to adapt to the region the national statute that establishes the regime for access and exercise of the activity of travel and tourism agencies and that it transposed a European directive.
The government official pointed out that “in 2020, hotel occupancy reached 31%, far from normal”, but he considered the data “extraordinary”, taking into account the current context of the pandemic and comparing it with data relating to the continental territory (34% ) to the Azores (19%).
The official pointed out that in July there is an availability of “3.5 times over 2019 and August is 2.2 times”.
Eduardo Jesus also stressed that SATA and EasyJet are “making the biggest operation” ever for Madeira.
The government official commented on Germany’s decision to remove Portugal from the list of bans for travellers, released on Monday, stressing that “the announcement is for half a dose”, because “Madeira is far ahead of the national territory” and “he is right in wanting to have positive discrimination”.
The regional secretary revealed that the region carried out “139 steps with 15 countries to restore connections” and ensure the integration of Madeira in the corridors. “Only with Germany we are not satisfied”, he informed.
Region Reports
Madeira Situation Report Wednesday 7th July 2021 by our Special Correspondent, Daniel Fernandes
Covid-19 update
There were 37 new Covid-19 cases, 34 recoveries and no deaths from Covid-19 in Madeira since the previous Madeira Situation Report.
On Saturday, there were 6 new Covid-19 cases (all cases of local transmission) and 4 recoveries. Once again, there were no patients in hospital.
On Sunday, there were 12 new Covid-19 cases (from 1 passenger who had arrived from Brazil, 1 passenger who had arrived from South Africa, 2 passengers who had arrived from the Lisbon and Tagus Valley Region and 8 cases of local transmission) and 10 recoveries. There were no patients in hospital.
On Monday, there were 9 new Covid-19 cases (from 1 passenger who had arrived from the Czech Republic, 1 passenger who had arrived from the UK, 3 passengers who had arrived from the Lisbon and Tagus Valley Region, 2 passengers who had arrived from Central Portugal and 2 cases of local transmission) and 14 recoveries. There were no patients in hospital.
And on Tuesday, there were 10 new Covid-19 cases (from 1 passenger who had arrived from the United Arab Emirates, 1 passenger who had arrived from Northern Portugal and 8 cases of local transmission) and 6 recoveries. There were no patients in hospital for a second consecutive day.
There were 79 active cases on Tuesday, of which 24 had been imported while the other 55 cases had been a result of local transmission. As of Tuesday, there had been 9,705 cases, 9,553 recoveries and 73 deaths.
On Tuesday, there were 21 patients in isolation in a dedicated hotel, 58 patients in isolation in their own accommodation and no patients in hospital.
On the same day, there were 17 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 26,973 travellers under monitoring by the health authorities. Monitoring is being carried out through the ‘MadeiraSafe’ app. There were also 432 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, 250,671 samples had been collected until Tuesday (at 15h30). By Tuesday, 504,799 samples from RT-PCR tests had been processed and 73,142 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 485 calls from Friday to Tuesday. Overall, it had received 55,349 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 21 calls from Friday to Tuesday. Overall, it has received 3,714 calls.
https://funchalnoticias.net/2021/07/04/6-novos-casos-de-covid-19-55-suspeitos-4-recuperados/
https://funchalnoticias.net/2021/07/04/12-novos-casos-de-covid-19-10-recuperados-24-suspeitos/
https://funchalnoticias.net/2021/07/05/9-novos-casos-de-covid-19-14-recuperados-37-suspeitos/
https://funchalnoticias.net/2021/07/06/10-novos-casos-de-covid-19-6-recuperados-17-suspeitos/
Inoculation of 2nd dose of AstraZeneca vaccines brought forward
The Regional Health and Civil Protection Secretariat have brought forward the inoculation of the 2nd dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine. People who had been scheduled to be inoculated with the 2nd dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine on July 15th and 16th are instead asked to be inoculated on July 7th and 9th respectively, at Centro de Vacinação do Funchal (Funchal Vaccination Centre) which is located at Madeira Tecnopólo.
Covid-19 vaccination update
As of July 4th, 232,172 Covid-19 vaccine doses (131,130 1st doses & 101,042 2nd doses) had been administered in the Autonomous Region of Madeira. This means that 52% of the population has been inoculated with the 1st vaccine dose while 40% of the population have been fully vaccinated.
A total of 22,210 vaccine doses (9,927 1st doses & 12,283 2nd doses) were administered in the week leading up to July 4th.
A highlight is that the Municipality of Porto Moniz has reached the milestone of having 70% of its residents vaccinated with at least 1 vaccine dose. The Municipality of Porto Santo had been the first municipality in the Region to have reached this figure.
The priority for this week is to continue the vaccination campaign, particularly in the municipalities of Câmara de Lobos and Santa Cruz.
A shipment of 35,100 Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine doses arrived in Funchal in the early hours of Saturday. It will allow the regional Covid-19 vaccination campaign to continue.
https://funchalnoticias.net/2021/07/04/mais-35-100-vacinas-da-pfizer-chegaram-ao-funchal/
Delta variant
Pedro Ramos, Madeira’s Health and Civil Protection Secretary, said the Delta variant of Covid-19 has been present in 20% of all samples sent by the Autonomous Region of Madeira for genome sequencing at Instituto Ricardo Jorge. Once again, he appealed for the population to get vaccinated and to the tested at pharmacies every fortnight. Nevertheless, he said the Region is becoming more and more protected thanks to the work carried out by the regional authorities. According to him, this has ensured there are few Covid-19 cases, deconfinement has taken place and people are living almost normally. He reminded that this fight isn’t over yet.
Tourism in Madeira
Tourism levels in Madeira are increasing and the latest data suggests that there are more seats available on flights to Madeira in July and August than there were before the pandemic. Eduardo Jesus, the Madeira Tourism Secretary, said that SATA and easyJet are carrying out their biggest operation ever to Madeira. He also said that although hotel occupation levels in 2020 reached 31% of their capacity, which was far below the usual levels, this was still an extraordinary figure if the pandemic is taken into account and if a comparison is made with the data in the Portuguese mainland (34%) and in the Azores archipelago (19%). Although he was pleased with Germany’s decision to remove strict restrictions for travellers arriving from Portugal, he wished Germany had positively discriminated the Region because it is “way ahead” of the rest of the country. He informed that he had made contact 139 times with 15 countries in order to ensure the return of flights to Madeira and the inclusion of the Region in air corridors.
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:
CÂMARA DE LOBOS – July 7th – 09h00 to 12h00
– Caminho da Levada dos Barreiros (numbers 38 to 58)
– Caminho da Nazaré (numbers 12 to 39)
– Rua do Cabrestante (numbers 24 to 404)
– Rua do Curaçau (number 40)
– Estrada do Cabrestante (numbers 3 to 8)
FUNCHAL – July 8th – 09h00 to 12h00
– Rua Velha da Ajuda (number 124)
– Rua do Vale do Amparo (numbers 3 to 14)
– Travessa do Pinheiro das Voltas
– Travessa do Tanque (number 121)
– 1ª Vereda do Pinheiro das Voltas (numbers 16 to 23)
July 9th – 00h00 to 05h00
– Estrada Comandante Camacho de Freitas (number 82)
– Rua da Encosta do Pico dos Barcelos – Galeria and Bar
– Urbanização do Pico dos Barcelos
SANTANA – July 9th – 13h30 to 16h30
– Lamaceiros
– Lombo do Curral
– Pico António Fernandes
– Pico do Eixo
– Queimadas e Fontes
– Serrado
– Rua do Pico António Fernandes (number 49)
– Travessa e Beco da Feiteira do Nuno (numbers 5 and 11)
– Vereda do Cabeço das Fontes (numbers 2 and 6)
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.
Algarve Situation Report Wednesday 7th July 2021
João Fernandes says that despite being good news, the German decision does not have immediate effect.
The removal of Portugal from the German list that prevented the entry of travellers into the country without quarantine is “good news”, but tour operators will take time to recover the activity, considered today the President of Turismo do Algarve.
“Nevertheless, this is good news, it allows non-essential flights to be carried out from Germany and is exempt from quarantine for those who have completed vaccination, have immunity certificate, or who undergo a PCR or antigen test on their return” , said the President of the Algarve Tourism Region, João Fernandes, to Lusa agency.
In reaction to the decision announced on Monday by Germany to remove Portugal from the list of countries with a ban on entry into the country due to the high prevalence of the Delta strain of the Covid-19 virus, João Fernandes recalled that, before the imposition of these limitations on travel, there were “311 flights planned for July from Germany”, but warned that these numbers will not be reset immediately.
“It would correspond to more than 56,000 airplane seats. A large part of these operations were cancelled, tour operators and airlines were, with the announcement of the 25th, demobilizing their operations, and, therefore, it will be necessary to resume all this dynamic”, he argued.
João Fernandes stressed that the image of Portugal, after the announcement that imposed the restrictions, “has suffered a major setback” and now it is necessary to “see how it is possible to capture this demand again”, in the face of “great distrust from the consumers themselves in relation to decisions that are changed at every moment and that often leave travellers at their destination having to anticipate their return”.
“And this whole process, contrary to what would be expected with the digital certificate, is unfortunately hampering what would be an opening expected by everyone” in the regional tourism sector, he lamented.
João Fernandes said he hopes that “there will be a stabilization of the rules based on the [digital] certificate that was agreed by the Member States of the European Union” and that its use is already more normalized after the main summer months and in the months of greater demand from the German market to the Algarve.
MotoGP/Portugal: FIM President “very happy” with return to Algarve.
The President of the International Motorcycling Federation (FIM), the Portuguese Jorge Viegas, was “very happy” with the return of the MotoGP World Championship to Portugal, after a second race in the Algarve was announced today.
Speaking to Lusa agency, Jorge Viegas said that he is “very happy that MotoGP is once again visiting Portugal, demonstrating the confidence of the FIM and Dorna in the national organizational capacity”.
“In addition to being the penultimate in the World Cup, which could be decisive for the attribution of the titles, I am convinced that we will have the stands full to applaud Miguel Oliveira and all the other protagonists”, stressed Jorge Viegas.
The Portuguese who manage the destinations of world motorcycling also highlighted the fact that Portugal has, with this race, “12 races of the various FIM World Championships in Portugal, the next being the Resistance – 12 Hours of Estoril”.
Portugal will host a second MotoGP World Championship event from November 5th to 7th, after the Australian GP was cancelled, due to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Thus, the Portuguese race integrates, for the second time this year, and third in the last two, the calendar of the world championship in motorcycling speed.
This time it will be the penultimate round, before the end of the season, scheduled for Valencia (Spain) a week later.
In 2020, Miguel Oliveira (KTM) won the GP of Portugal, which took place for the first time at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve. In 2021, in the race held on April 18th, victory was for Frenchman Fábio Quartararo (Yamaha), while Miguel Oliveira was 16th, after a fall suffered in the opening laps.
Azores Situation Report Wednesday 7th July 2021 – From our colleague in the Azores
Àgua de Pau Mass Testing.
Last Monday was the first day of massive testing in the parish of Água de Pau, in São Miguel, the turnout was good, despite the light rain that was falling, with several people responding to the call for “civic duty”.
At 3:15 pm, a quarter of an hour before the scheduled time, the line for the João Bosco Mota Amaral Community Centre was running up Rua da Ribeira, approaching the square where the Ermida de São Tiago is located.
People responded to the call for voluntary testing in the parish that is needing more attention currently.
The 59 cases of Covid-19 registered in that locality, of about 3,100 inhabitants (according to the 2011 Census), largely contribute to the total of 99 active positive cases in the municipality of Lagoa, on the island of São Miguel.
Not even the light rain that was falling, kept away those who voluntarily responded to the challenge of the Regional Directorate of Health, which worked in partnership with the Health Unit of Ilha de São Miguel (USISM), the Municipality of Lagoa, the Água de Pau Parish Council and the Ordem dos Enfermeiros to set up the operation which, between Monday and Wednesday, hopes to test about 2,500 people over 6 years old.
“There is an outbreak in Água de Pau and that is why we are here, to try to get more positives”, the chairman of the Board of Directors of USISM, Pedro Santos said, noting that the ideal would be that no more cases would be detected.
But the main objective of the operation is “to break transmission chains, to avoid further contagion”.
It was just after 3:30 pm when people start to be called into the enclosure. “Good afternoon, have you had ‘Covid’ for less than three months?” the operational assistants are asking, to assess whether or not that person can take the test.
Those who had the disease caused by the new coronavirus recently may still be positive, so they are excused. Exempted are also all those who have already had the complete vaccination process, with a dose of two doses, or a single dose in the case of the Janssen vaccine.
The tests used are, as is usual in these operations, antigen tests, or rapid tests, so that everyone will leave that space knowing, after a wait that varies between 15 and 30 minutes, if the result was positive or negative.
Half an hour after the start of the operation and still no one had tested positive.
Domestic Violence.
The Covid-19 pandemic “increased the severity” of cases of domestic violence in the Azores, a region with a high incidence rate of these situations that may be related to “very pronounced remnants of a patriarchal society”, according to specialists.
Advanced data from 2019 indicate that the Ponta Delgada office (Island of São Miguel) of the Portuguese Association for Victim Support (APAV) recorded a total of 1,011 visits to 285 victims of 1,048 crimes.
Maria José Raposo, coordinator of UMAR – Alternative Women’s Union Response/Azores warns that the pandemic has led to cases with “more severe circumstances”, for example of women “over 60 years old, who throughout their lives have had serious behaviours of violence in their marriage and there comes a time when, physically and psychologically, they can no longer withstand such violence”.
For the official, the high incidence of cases of domestic violence in the Azores can be ‘justified’ by standards of a “patriarchal society” instilled and “transmitted by the mother or the father”.
This causes victims to “minimize all signs of marital violence” by submitting themselves to aggressive behaviour, he described.
“We still have very strong remnants of a patriarchal society, in which men still prevail in relationships. If this is instilled in the girls, they leave for that relationship already in inequality. Therefore, they will be subjected to emotional, physical, psychological subjugation, economic and financial”.
Parallel to marital violence, the UMAR victim support technique also reveals the “very frequent” existence of cases of violence by children against parents, specifically “on the mothers” and which “have a lot to do with alcohol and other substances”.
Pointing to a “slight decrease in the number of support cases from 2019 to 2020”, the manager of the APAV victim support office in Ponta Delgada, Raquel Rebelo pointed out that “the cases were more severe”.
This year there are still no total numbers, but APAV indicates “an increase” of situations, whose “complexity of action remained”.
The island of São Miguel, where the APAV victim support office is located in Ponta Delgada, has close to 80% of cases of violence.
More than 80% of the victims were female, while the rest were male.
The complaints arise “via telephone contact, through the victim and the community, namely neighbours, acquaintances, friends, relatives, and even co-workers”, according to data from APAV.
Regarding age groups, the most frequent victims are between 25 and 54 years old. In most cases, the aggressors are spouses or ex-spouses.
In 2020, the year that covers the Covid-19 pandemic, APAV “supported 250 victims of crime”.
“There is an increasing trend in the level of processes and the severity continues to be compared to 2020”, highlights Raquel Rebelo.
At issue are situations that have “already been occurring”, but which have intensified with the confinement and more permanent coexistence between victims and aggressors, leading to an action that implied “more articulation with other entities”, namely in terms of health, housing and with PSP.
According to the official, “the prolonged coexistence came to accentuate escalations of violence”.
Maria José Raposo added that UMAR has carried out, per year, “between 60 to 70 actions for training in gender equality”.
In the Azores there is an integrated support network for women victims of violence that brings together various institutions with answers in these areas and telephone lines that work daily.
Covid-19
3rd July 2021
29 new positive cases of Covid-19 were diagnosed in the Azores, all in São Miguel, resulting from 2,516 tests carried out in reference laboratories in the Region and two in an unconventional laboratory.
One of them refers to a traveller, resident, with a positive test on the 6th day, all the others are in the context of community transmission. Thus, in the municipality of Ribeira Grande there were nine new cases (three in Rabo de Peixe, three in Ribeira Seca, two in Ribeirinha and one in Maia). In the municipality of Ponta Delgada there were eight new cases (four in Covoada, two in Arrifes, one in São Pedro and one in Sete Cidades). In the municipality of Lagoa there are 12 new cases (six in Rosário, four in Água de Pau, one in Santa Cruz and one in Cabouco).
22 recoveries were recorded and as of today, four patients are admitted to the Divino Espírito Santo Hospital, in Ponta Delgada, one of them in the ICU.
4th July 2021
50 new positive cases of Covid-19 were diagnosed in the Azores, all in São Miguel, resulting from 2,601 tests carried out in reference laboratories in the Region.
Two of these new cases refer to travellers, one non-resident, with a positive analysis on the 6th day and the other resulting from screening on the 6th day of an inter-island traveller, between São Miguel and Terceira. All others are in the context of community transmission.
Thus, in the municipality of Ribeira Grande there were 20 new cases (nine in Rabo de Peixe, four in Ribeira Seca, two in Matriz, one in Pico da Pedra, one in Ribeirinha, one in Conceição, one in Santa Bárbara and one in Maia). In the municipality of Ponta Delgada there were 20 new cases (11 in Arrifes, three in Sete Cidades and one in each of the parishes of São José, Relva, Fajã de Baixo, São Pedro, São Sebastião and Fajã de Cima). In the municipality of Lagoa there were nine new cases (eight in Água de Pau and one in Santa Cruz). In the municipality of Vila Franca do Campo there was a new case in Ribeira Seca.
A recovery was registered, in Velas, São Jorge island.
5th July 2021
30 new positive cases of Covid-19 were diagnosed in the Azores, one on the island of Pico, three on the island of Terceira and 26 on the island of São Miguel, following 1,015 tests carried out in the reference laboratories of the Region.
On the island of Pico, a new case was diagnosed in Madalena, leading to a new transmission chain on the island. On the island of Terceira, two cases were diagnosed in the municipality of Angra do Heroísmo (one in Santa Luzia and one in Sé) and one in the municipality of Praia da Vitoria in the parish of Cabo da Praia. The diagnosed cases concern one traveller, non-resident, who tested positive upon arrival and two travellers, residents, who tested positive on the 6th day, following inter-island travel between São Miguel and Terceira.
On the island of São Miguel, there was a new case concerning traveller, resident, who tested positive upon arrival, after a travel from outside the archipelago. The rest of the cases are in the context of community transmission. Thus, the municipality of Ribeira Grande registered 10 new cases (four in Rabo de Peixe, two in Conceição one in Pico da Pedra, one in Matriz one in Ribeirinha and one in Ribeira Seca). There were six new cases in the municipality of Ponta Delgada (three in Arrifes, two in Covoada and one in São Pedro). There were seven new cases in the municipality of Lagoa (five in Água de Pau, one in Rosario and one in Ribeira Chã). In the municipality of Vila Franca do Campo there were three new cases in the parish of Água de Alto.
33 recoveries have been registered.
6th July 2021
11 new positive cases of Covid-19 were diagnosed in the Azores, one on the island of Faial, one on the island of Pico, one on the island of Flores, two on the island of São Jorge and six on the island of São Miguel, following 5,954 tests carried out in the reference laboratories of the Region — in the period from June 25th to July 1st, there were some technical constraints which made it difficult to compute the results of all screening tests for SARS-CoV-2. The total number of analyses processed in the archipelago is now updated.
On the island of Pico, a new case was diagnosed in São Mateus, municipality of Madalena, resulting from screening test on arrival to a non-resident traveller. On the island of Flores there was a positive case in Fajã Grande, municipality of Lajes, resulting from screening test on arrival to a non-resident traveller. On the island of São Jorge, there were also two positive cases in Velas, concerning two non-resident travelers who tested positive on the 6th day. On the island of Faial there is a new case in Angústias, municipality of Horta, of a resident who tested positive on the 6th day.
On the island of São Miguel, there were six new cases resulting from community transmission. Thus, the municipality of Ribeira Grande had five new cases (four in Matriz and one in Ribeira Seca), and in the municipality of Ponta Delgada there was a new case in Sete Cidades.
18 recoveries were registered. One of the cases previously reported for Santa Maria, with a history of interisland air connection, for which the SARS-CoV-2 screening test produced a positive result, provided documentation showing a previous infection and recovery, and is not considered an active case in the Region.
Seven patients are in hospital, all in the Divino Espírito Santo Hospital in Ponta Delgada, none in intensive care.
There was a death during yesterday of a patient who was in hospital at the Divino Espírito Santo Hospital in Ponta Delgada, a 51 years old man, residing in Calhetas, Ribeira Grande. The man concerned died as a result of organ or system failure related to chronic disease. In the present case, the death certificate does not indicate a direct cause of the death complications arising from SARS-CoV-2 infection, even though the patient was also infected.
The archipelago currently has 300 active positive cases: 285 on the island of São Miguel, five on the island of Terceira, three on the island of Pico, two on the island of Graciosa, two on the island of São Jorge, two on the island of Faial and one on the island of Flores. A primary local transmission chain has been extinguished in Faial and there are now two active transmission chains in the archipelago, one on the island of Faial and one on the island of Pico. To date, 204 have been extinguished on all islands. There are 2,133 people under active surveillance today.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, 6,499 positive cases of Covid-19 have been diagnosed in the Azores and 6,025 people recovered from the disease. There were 34 deaths, 83 people who left the archipelago and 57 cases with history of previous cure. To date, 585,049 tests have been carried out for SARS-CoV-2, which causes Covid-19 disease.
Since last December 31st, 2020 and until June 30th, 224,012 doses of Covid-19 vaccines have been administered in the Azores, with 124,738 people who received the first dose (51.4 % of the population) and 99,274 people with complete vaccination (40.9 %), under the Regional Vaccination Plan.