The Algarve Situation Report Wednesday 21st December 2022

by Mike Evans

Good day to all our followers in the Algarve on this last report before the Christmas Holidays. For many the talking point has been the weather and the large amount of rain that has fallen in the past couple of weeks. The reservoirs are filling up and are now at 72% of what is required nationally but according to the APA, the water situation in the Algarve region is currently the most worrying in terms of availabilities, in particular Barlavento, where Bravura and Odelouca stand out, with very low levels of recovery, in particular Bravura which recorded additional storage of just 0.3 hm3 since the beginning of the hydrological year, on October 1st.

 Across the region the temperatures are due to remain in the late teens for the rest of the month with nights staying quite mild so a good opportunity to visit all the various Christmas festivities that are happening across the region.

In the region this past week we can report the following arrests occurred.

25,000 euros and cocaine seized in house searches

The Public Security Police (PSP) seized on Friday, December 16, 25 thousand euros and 60 individual doses of cocaine during two house searches in the municipality of Faro , announced the security force.

Through the Criminal Investigation Squadron of the Faro Police Division, the seizure took place during the execution of two house search warrants at the residences of three suspects of various crimes such as aggravated homicide.

Several weighing and packaging materials for the narcotic product were also seized, which were found inside the suspects’ residences, one of them possessing several firearms, and a tactical team from the Special Operations Group of the Special Police Unit of the PSP.

This was a joint operation between the PSP, the Judiciary Police and the National Republican Guard, with the three suspects being accused and detained for presentation to the Judiciary Authority.

Man arrested while trying to steal a car

The Territorial Command of Faro , through the Territorial Post of Almancil, this Tuesday detained a 38-year-old man red-handed for stealing a vehicle, in Almancil, in the municipality of Loulé.

As part of a complaint for the theft of a vehicle, the GNR military carried out investigations that culminated in the identification of the individual and the location of the stolen vehicle, which was next to the suspect’s dwelling.

Following the action, the man was arrested for theft of the vehicle, and a vehicle was seized; a mobile phone; a computer and a wallet with personal documents.

The detainee, with a criminal record for offences of the same nature, was made a defendant and the facts were communicated to the Judicial Court of Loulé.

Algarve singer Claudisabel dies in Car Crash

The Algarve singer Claudisabel died in the early hours of this Monday, December 19, in a car accident that occurred on the A2, near Alcácer do Sal.

The death of Cláudia Isabel Leiria Madeira was confirmed through the official Facebook page of the artist from Loulé , who had participated on Sunday, December 18, in the SIC television program, “Domingão”, in Castanheira de Pêra.

The accident between two light vehicles took place around 01:55, at kilometre 85 of that road, still resulting in a slight injury.

The artist’s car overturned after the collision, with rescue operations having to carry out extrication and advanced rescue work.

At the accident site, 12 vehicles and 24 operators were present, including the Alcácer do Sal, Brisa and National Republican Guard firefighters.

The singer’s death was declared on the spot by the doctor of the Medical Emergency and Resuscitation Vehicle of the Hospital do Litoral Alentejano, in Santiago do Cacém, with the body later being transported to the morgue of this hospital unit.

The Portuguese popular music singer was 40 years old, with a career that began in 1995 and which accumulated some hits such as “Não Vou Voltar a Chorar”, “Super Apaixonada”, “Está Tudo Acabado”, “Condenada” and “Sabe Semper a Little”.

In 2002 she participated in the reality show “Big Brother Famosos”, on TVI. Our condolences go to all her family and friends.

Man’s body found floating  off Vilamoura Marina

The authorities recovered this Friday the body of a man off the coast of the Vilamoura marina (Loulé), but do not know the causes and circumstances of death, announced the National Maritime Authority ( AMN ).

The body was seen “floating off the marina” in the Algarve coastal town by a member of the public, who alerted the authorities at 11:21 am, and elements from the Faro Maritime Police Local Command and the Faro Maritime Station were called to help. Quarteira lifeguards , explained AMN in a statement.

The same source clarified that the Quarteira Lifeguard Station team rescued the body ashore, where it was possible to verify that it was a male person “with several abrasions in the abdominal area and a deep puncture in the chest area”, revealed the same source. The Health Delegate went to the place where the death was declared, and the Public Ministry and the Judiciary Police took over the investigation and carried out “due diligence” to be able to clarify the case, the Maritime Authority also said. The body was taken to the Institute of Legal Medicine in Faro.

Operation Palangre: Five suspects arrested for aggravated homicide

The Judiciary Police (PJ) suspects that the murder of a man, on December 2, in the municipality of Faro , by five suspects arrested this Friday, was a “settling of accounts” related to “trafficking and consumption narcotics”.

“It could be an unresolved issue” or “a reckoning” related to “drug trafficking and consumption”, said the director of the Southern Directorate of the PJ, Fernando Girão, in a clarification session to the press that took place this afternoon in Faro.

The head of that security force in the Algarve said that the fatal victim, aged 35, belonged to the well-known motorcycle group Hells Angels, the same not being the case of the five suspects arrested.The PJ detained four men and one woman, aged between 35 and 48, suspected of “qualified homicide”, with a firearm, of a man, in the municipality of Faro, revealed this morning that security force.

According to a statement, “the crime took place on the night of December 2, 2022, in a remote location in the Algarve mountains, to which the victim was taken, under duress, by the suspects”.

Fernando Girão explained that the victim was “forcefully transported” to the place where he was found lifeless, by people, on December 4, two days after he was killed in a “very violent” way with “two shots , one on the head and the other on the neck.

“As soon as the judicial authority requests it,the five suspects will be brought before a judge,” said the regional director of the PJ, adding that the legal deadline for this to happen, at most, is 48 hours after the arrest.

In the operation called “Palangre”, the PJ’s Southern Directorate arrested the four men and one woman in compliance with arrest warrants issued by the Faro Department of Investigation and Penal Action, for “strong indications of the crime of aggravated homicide”. , which took place in the municipality of Faro.

That security force reports in the communiqué released at the end of today’s morning that, as a result of the investigation carried out, which had the collaboration of the commands of the National Republican Guard (GNR) and the Public Security Police (PSP) of Faro, Five house searches were carried out this morning, “six firearms were seized, relevant evidence elements and the aforementioned arrests were carried out”.

Following the investigation, it was found that the victim, a 35-year-old man, “was fatally shot by the suspects, individuals with a history of particularly violent crime”.

The PJ indicates that “the crime was motivated by disputes regarding drug trafficking and consumption, having been consummated using a firearm”.

The victim was subject to the coercive measure of obligation to stay in the house under electronic surveillance, having been absent from the residence about two weeks before being murdered, and has been sought by the authorities since that date.

And Finally can I take this opportunity to wish all our Algarve followers a very Happy Christmas and Stay Safe.

Algarve Situation Report Wednesday 14th December 2022

by Mike Evans

A very good day to you all with the news that the rains seem to have ceased for the moment and as we get closer to Christmas it seems that Santa has been giving the public workers at Albufeira Council an early present of an extra day off when it is their birthday! More on this story below.

Continuing the season of giving gifts, the Government has also decided to allow all public workers the days of the 23rd and the 30th December as holidays.The Government has decided to grant time off on the 23rd and 30th of December to workers who carry out public functions in the State, according to an order already signed by the Prime Minister, António Costa.

“One-off tolerance is granted to workers who perform public functions in the services of the direct administration of the State, whether central or decentralised, and in public institutes on the next 23 and 30 December 2022”, refers to the dispatch.

In this dispatch, the prime minister justifies the point tolerance by the fact that it is “traditional for many people to travel outside their places of residence during the Christmas and New Year period with a view to holding family reunions”.

António Costa then refers to “the practice that has been followed over the years” and “the existing tradition in the sense of granting time off, at this time, in non-essential public services”.

In relation to these two days of time off, in the diploma it is noted that “except services and bodies that, for reasons of public interest, must remain in operation during that period, in terms to be defined by the competent member of the Government ”.

“Without prejudice to the continuity and quality of the service to be provided, the top managers of the services and bodies referred to in the previous number must promote the equivalent waiver of the duty of attendance of the respective workers, on a day to be set in due course”, it adds.

Here are some more stories that you may have missed in the past two weeks.

Albufeira Council gives Workers the Day off for their Birthdays

The 7th of December was marked by the Collective Signature of a Public Employer Entity between the municipality of Albufeira and four civil service workers’ unions, which provides for the dismissal from work on the birthday.

The action took place in the Main Hall of the Town Hall and was attended by the mayor , José Carlos Rolo, and councillors Ricardo Clemente and Cláudia Guedelha, representing the public employer, and representatives of three unions: STAL, STFPSSRA and SINTAP.

The respective agreements, which will come into force on the first working day following their publication in the Diário da República, aim to regulate the functions performed by workers and the employer. This time, the agreements highlight overtime work, the annual limit on the duration of overtime work, the vacation period , dismissals and justified absences, the municipal holiday and time off during Carnival, and the inclusion of workers’ birthday dismissal.

José Carlos Rolo stated that “the municipality’s concern for workers is constant, so the attribution of the birthday waiver benefit present in this agreement was a unanimous decision”.

Cláudia Guedelha, councillor of the City Council and responsible for Human Resources, referred that “the unions, as well as human resources, are an internal concern”, further emphasise that “it is a priority for the municipality to attend to all employers and make sure that there is well-being in the workplace”.

The unions present took the opportunity to thank and recognize the municipality for its effort and commitment during the process of agreements. Carlos Cabral, from SINTAP, congratulated the municipality for the “effort to value workers’ rights”, while Teresa Garcês, from STFPSSRA, said she hoped for “continuity of dialogue’ ‘ between all parties. Bruno Luz, from STAL, thanked for the “cooperation”, explaining that getting the day off on a birthday without loss of pay “was one of the biggest demands and for a long time”, for which “we can well say that it was a victory of the workers”.

Over 230 Occurrences due to the heavy rains in the Algarve

The bad weather that has hit the south of the country since Sunday, December 4th, has caused over 230 incidents to be registered by the Algarve Regional Emergency and Civil Protection Command.

The eastern Algarve was the most affected area, namely the municipality of Faro with 92 occurrences, followed by Tavira with 17, Loulé 14, Albufeira 13, Vila Real de Santo António 11, São Brás de Alportel and Olhão 10, Alcoutim 8, Castro Marim 4, Lagoa, Monchique and Silves 2 and Lagos and Portimão 1.

All of these occurrences recorded due to precipitation and wind had the intervention of a total of 410 operators, supported by 168 fire engines, Municipal Civil Protection Services, City Councils, Parish Councils and municipal companies.

Wednesday night was marked by heavy rain that fell in the eastern Algarve, with records of flooding in Monte Gordo, Hortas, Vila Real de Santo António and Castro Marim, which suffered with showers of 45 litres per m2 in just one hour.

In the municipality of Vila Real de Santo António, the municipality, the Municipal Civil Protection Service, the firefighters of Vila Real de Santo António, security forces, members of the Parish Councils and the company Ecoambiente were present throughout the night and into the early morning. the heavy rainfall situation and responded to various emergency situations and occurrences.

To minimise damages and losses, the municipality has permanently placed teams abroad to monitor all occurrences.

All districts on the mainland are under yellow warning due to the forecast of sometimes heavy rain, which may be accompanied by thunder and strong gusts of wind. A  vehicle that was dragged by the current last weekend on the river beach of Ribeira de Cadavais, in Alcoutim , was removed from the Guadiana river on Wednesday, November 7, announced the National Maritime Authority.

The car was removed by a team of divers from the Vila Real de Santo António Firefighters, a team from the Volunteer Firefighters, Civil Protection and Alcoutim City Council.

According to the National Maritime Authority, the vehicle was in a part of the river that constituted a danger to navigation, having been removed to land after buoyancy and towing work by elements of the Vila Real de Santo António Lifeguard Station. Due to the steep slope of the site, it was necessary to use a backhoe machine from the Civil Protection and Alcoutim City Council.

There were also elements of the Local Command of the Maritime Police of Vila Real de Santo António.

The owner of the vehicle was notified to present a plan to remove the vehicle from the site and the operation was coordinated by the Port Captain and Local Commander of the Maritime Police of Vila Real de Santo António.

Maritime Police seize 280 kilos of drugs on the Vicentine coast

Elements of the Lagos Maritime Police Local Command seized on Monday, December 5th, eight bundles of narcotics with a total of around 280 kilos of hashish, announced the National Maritime Authority.

The apprehension took place during a patrolling action south of the Vicentine coast, when several suspicious packages were detected on the sand of a beach.

The security forces immediately went to the location and confirmed that they were bales, which were promptly seized.The seized drug was later handed over to the Judiciary Police and the Lagos Maritime Police Local Command took care of the incident.

Two arrested for vehicle theft in São Bartolomeu de Messines

A man and a woman were arrested this Wednesday, November 30, for theft of a vehicle in São Bartolomeu de Messines , in the municipality of Silves , announced the National Republican Guard.

After a report of theft inside a vehicle, the military went to the scene, noting that the 40-year-old man and the 37-year-old woman were trying to steal a car.

It was also possible to establish that the suspects had already stolen a vehicle in the Salir area, in the municipality of Loulé, which was abandoned in São Bartolomeu de Messines.

GNR seizes 809 bottles of nitrous oxide on the A22

The National Republican Guard (GNR) seized on Friday, December 2nd, on motorway 22 ( A22 ), near Tavira , 809 bottles of nitrous oxide inside a heavy vehicle from Spain, and identified two men.

In a statement, the Faro Territorial Command of the GNR specified that the seizure of the product, with an estimated value of 55 thousand euros, resulted from a surveillance operation at the land border next to the International Bridge in Castro Marim, together with the Guardia Civil de Spain.

The investigation was initiated based on information from the Police and Customs Cooperation Center of Castro Marim (Portugal) and Ayamonte (Spain) and the exchange of information with the Spanish police authorities, advanced the guard.

GNR arrests two suspects for drug trafficking in Alcantarilha

The National Republican Guard (GNR) arrested on Wednesday, December 7th, in Alcantarilha , in the municipality of Silves , two men suspected of drug trafficking and seized 495 individual doses of drugs.

In a statement, the Faro Territorial Command of the GNR indicated that the two men, aged 30 and 36, were the occupants of a vehicle approached by the military because they suspected their involvement in a drug trafficking situation.

Following the operation, the military seized 430 doses of heroin, 65 of ‘crack’, the vehicle, telecommunications equipment and 200 euros, said the security force.The detainees will be present at the Silves court to be heard in the first judicial interrogation and application of any coercive measures.

And finally the biggest nativity scene in the country is back and was inaugurated on Wednesday, November 30, at the António Aleixo Cultural Centre, in Vila Real de Santo António , announced the municipality.

This year, the initiative once again breaks records with the use of 5700 pieces, some of them made from scratch by the authors, placed over 240 square metres. For something a little bit different to the usual nativity scenes, Lagoa has the statues returning on the 16th and 17th December.In this year’s edition, 16 masters of the art of immobility, divided into 14 artistic paintings, will embody characters based on different themes, such as the living nativity scene, mythology, the great personalities of history and religion, in a journey that will extend through Rua Coronel Figueiredo, Rua 25 de Abril and Largo 5 de Outubro.

In this edition, two events will be highlighted: the celebration of the centenary of the birth of José Saramago (1922-2022) and the 25th anniversary of the death of Mother Teresa of Calcutta, which will be marked with two living statues.

As usually happens, the living statues will be subject to two votes: one by visitors and another by a jury, where visitors will be able to vote for their favourite statue.

At the end of the event there will be a prize for the best statue, chosen by the public, and another prize for the best statue, chosen by the jury.

This event, a pioneer in the south of Portugal, already has eight editions in the city of Lagoa, aims to “disseminate and dignify artistic creation in this unique performing art, and simultaneously animate the centre of Lagoa and boost local commerce in the middle of the Christmas season”, he says. the municipality in a statement.

On Friday, December 16th, you can visit the Living Statues between 3 pm and 6 pm. On Saturday, December 17th, you can visit the Living Statues between 10am and 1pm.

 

The Algarve Situation Report Wednesday 30th November 2022

by Mike Evans

Good day to you all and welcome to another Algarve Report highlighting the events and incidents which have been happening on the safety and security front across the region over the past week or so. In the past week a large report from APAV, the organisation that deals in Domestic Violence, and with whom Safe Communities have organised seminars recently shows that over 20% of the cases reported to them have happened in the Algarve. The full story is further down in this report.

Protest planned for A22 over Toll Costs

For 11 years there has been a lot of publicity and bad feeling from the local population with regards to the tolls which are charged on the A22, over a promise from Antonio Costa, before his government came into power, promising to abolish the tolls. To highlight the anniversary, the group called User Commission have scheduled a slow march towards the end of tolls on the A22 (Via do Infante) is scheduled for December 8, the date on which 11 years of the existence of these fees are marked.

This slow march of vehicles will take place on Estrada Nacional 125 from Largo da República da Luz de Tavira to Tavira City Hall, starting at 15:00.

“It has been 11 years of authentic setback for the Algarve, in which mobility in the region has regressed for more than 20 years and economic, social and territorial inequalities have worsened”, says the Via do Infante User Commission, in a statement.

The commission explains that “the tolls on Via do Infante forced the diversion of traffic to the EN125, still not fully reclassified between Olhão and Vila Real de Santo António and which has contributed to the increase in road accidents in the region”, accusing the PS and the PSD of being “mainly responsible for discrimination against the populations of the Algarve”.

“It is regrettable that the State Budget for 2023 does not, once again, include the elimination of tolls on Via do Infante. The main responsibility goes to the PS, but also to the PSD. These two parties even ended up making proposals to end tolls in the Algarve put forward by other political forces unfeasible. And António Costa still does not keep the word given to the Algarve in 2015 – ending tolls if he were the government. To this day, that promise has been nothing more than empty and unfulfilled words”, he adds.

The commission argues that the Government should suspend tolls in the Algarve while the EN 125 is not fully reclassified.

PSP arrests suspect of stealing 32 thousand euros from residence

The PSP in Faro announced on Saturday, November 26, the arrest of a man suspected of having stolen, last July, 32 thousand euros from the interior of a residence in the city of Lagos .

The arrest of the suspect, aged 26, took place as part of an investigation initiated by the Portimão Criminal Investigation Squadron of that police, into a theft inside a residence that took place in that Algarve city, said the PSP in a statement.

Access to the interior of the residence will have been done “using climbing”, with 32 thousand euros having been stolen, specified the police. The PSP said that, following the investigation, “strong evidence of the criminal practice in question was collected, as well as that the suspect was monitoring other residences, with their owners catering entrepreneurs”.

In view of the data collected, the Public Prosecutor’s Office issued an arrest warrant outside of flagrante delicto.

According to the PSP, as part of the process, another man, aged 28, suspected of being involved in the theft, was also accused.The detainee was heard in the first judicial interrogation, having been applied as coercive measures, the obligation of periodic presentations to the authorities and the prohibition of being absent abroad, concludes the note.

Court orders preventive detention for suspect in multiple thefts

The Faro Court decreed the preventive detention of a man, detained on Tuesday by the PSP , suspected of being the author of several thefts in the city, announced that police.

The arrest of the 37-year-old man culminated an investigation initiated two months ago by elements of the PSP Criminal Investigation Squadron, following several thefts in the Algarve capital, according to a statement from the security force.

Also according to the PSP, the investigation made it possible to link the detainee with the authorship of at least seven crimes of theft in garages and one theft in an establishment, which occurred since the beginning of August. the police also said that the suspect was detained in possession of allegedly stolen objects that will be returned to their legitimate owners.

The detainee was heard in the first judicial interrogation, having been awaiting trial in preventive detention, the most serious coercive measure, added the PSP.

Algarve with almost 20% of victims of domestic violence – APAV

The Portuguese Association for Victim Support (APAV) in 2021 supported “about 28 women and girls” per day, victims of crimes such as domestic violence, defamation and persecution. About 80% of the 9,275 victims are of Portuguese nationality, with Lisbon (22%), Faro (17.5%) and Porto (13.7%) living districts standing out.

On the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, the association released its Statistics Report on Domestic Violence and Female Victims, which records 19,846 crimes of domestic violence last year.

Considering that “the crime of Domestic Violence must cover all acts that are crimes and committed in this scope”, APAV counts them both in the strict and in the broad sense.

According to the report, APAV assisted 9,275 victims of domestic violence that year (82.3% female and 15.5% male), around 45% of whom were between 26 and 55 years old.

In the case of the former, 618 were children and young people, 51.3% of whom were between 11 and 17 years old, with threat/coercion being the most reported crime.

This is also the crime most mentioned by the “5,072 adult women” who resorted to APAV (29.2% between 36 and 45 years old), while the 904 elderly women (26% between 70/74 years old) complained mainly of injuries and defamation.

The aggressors are mostly male (67%) and “in 55% of the cases the relationship between the victim and the aggressor was intimate (22.1% between spouses, 12.1% partners, 10.3% ex-partners, 4.3% ex-boyfriends, 4.4% ex-spouses and 2.1% between boyfriends)”.

Statistics show a prevalence of continued victimisation (58%), and in 28% of cases the victim sought support from APAV between two and six years after the start of the aggressions.

In 63.1% of the cases, the place where the crime was committed was the common residence between the victim and the author and in 46.5% a complaint was filed with the competent authorities, most of them with the PSP (47.4%).

Most complaints are made by telephone (61.9%), with face-to-face assistance accounting for 18.3%, according to the association, which notes that in 51.3% of cases contact was made by the victim and in around 49% for a third party.

APAV recorded last year 5,816 crimes of threat/coercion, 5,299 of physical abuse, 4,971 of insults/defamation, 1,105 of persecution, 528 of psychological abuse, 194 of a sexual nature and 57 of kidnapping. There are also 941 other crimes of domestic violence in the strict sense. With regard to crimes of domestic violence in the broadest sense, which represent 4.71% of the total, the association accounted for 286 cases of violation of the home or disturbance of private life, 264 of invasion of private life/illicit recordings or photographs, 194 of violation correspondence/telecommunications, 42 sexual crimes and 36 cases of serious offenses to physical integrity, among others.

CHUA wins the “More Value in Health” scholarship

The Algarve University Hospital Centre, the Alto Minho Local Health Unit, Santa Maria Maior Hospital and the Tâmega e Sousa Hospital Center are the winners of the 2nd edition of the Mais Valor em Saúde Grants.

The winners, who will receive 50,000 euros each, presented projects to integrate a dementia consultation using telemedicine (Alto Minho), increase the valences and manufacturing capacity of support products such as prostheses and orthoses using scanner and 3D printing (Algarve ), empowering users subject to anticoagulant therapy for self-monitoring (Santa Maria Maior) and an intelligent platform to signal patients for home hospitalisation (Tâmega e Sousa).

The “More Value in Health” grants aim to support the implementation of projects in the National Health Service hospitals that aim to introduce the necessary changes for a better allocation of resources. In the case of the projects chosen this year, all focus on the digital transition of health.

“Today we cannot provide health care without digital components to meet people’s needs, also betting on the efficiency of the system”, said Maria de Belém Roseira, president of the jury, which this year analysed 14 competing projects.

The official also recalled the results of the last census , which point to “a very special demography, with a very ageing population and a great burden of chronic diseases”, underlining.

“We need to find expeditious ways to provide care to the ageing population, with the maximum possible comfort, reducing the bureaucratic burden and the difficulty of accessing services. Digital technologies help us a lot, whether in the management part, which is hidden, or in the part of taking care of people”, he stressed. With the use of new technologies, he highlighted, “the movement of people is reduced and patient safety is increased”.

“It’s a way to save resources, improving the quality of people’s follow-up, both in terms of comfort and safety and the quality of the diagnoses and follow-ups carried out. In addition, by avoiding unnecessary trips we are also safeguarding the environment and allowing families to better organise their lives”, he said.

The Mais Valor em Saúde Programa – Vidas que Valem is a partnership between the Portuguese Association of Hospital Administrators (APAH), the consultants Exigo and IASIST and Gilead Sciences, which Altice joins as a technological partner, and aims to help cement the culture of Health Management based on Value (Value Based Healthcare), through the analysis of the current problems of the SNS, training of stakeholders in decision-making, rigour in the evaluation of results and transparency in their dissemination.

The purpose is to develop strategies to improve clinical results, patient satisfaction and the allocation of financial resources in the SNS.

The project that obtained the highest evaluation in this year’s edition was presented by the Local Health Unit of Alto Minho and the main objective is to create, in the context of dementia, a Hospital Memory Team (EHM) in this unit, which establishes a care network at the hospital level and at the level of primary health care (CSP), which operates according to protocols and is based on an Individual Care Plan (PIC) for each patient.

The second was presented by the Centro Hospitalar Universitário do Algarve (CHUA) and aims to increase the capabilities and manufacturing capacity of support products of the Support Products Center of CHUA, aiming at the production of custom-made prostheses and orthoses, using scanner and 3D printing.

The team also intends to increase the access of CHUA users to these products, reduce waiting times, increase the useful life of products, with the printing of replacement components, promote the reuse of thermoplastic to promote the circular economy and increase the autonomy and functionality of users.

The third chosen was the project by Hospital Santa Maria Maior, EPE, which intends to invest in the training of users subject to anticoagulant therapy for self-monitoring

The last winner is the project presented by Centro Hospitalar do Tâmega e Sousa, EPE, which is aimed at home hospitalisation. The team intends to develop an intelligent patient signalling platform for this type of hospitalisation, with the aim of doubling the capacity, from 10 to 20 patients.

Olhao Municipal Police promote collection of toys

The Municipal Police of Olhão is promoting a campaign to collect toys for the most needy children in the municipality until December 19, announced the City Council.

With the aim of “bringing some of the magic of Christmas to some of the most needy children in the municipality”, donations can be delivered to the Municipal Police facilities, on Avenida da República, from Monday to Saturday, from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm .

The result of the collection will later be given to the children of the Kindergarten “As Luzinhas”, of the Obra de Nossa Senhora das Candeias, and of the Social Welfare Center Nossa Senhora De Fátima.

PSP detains man for the crimes of domestic violence and theft

The Faro District Command of the PSP arrested, on November 23, an individual to serve an effective prison sentence of four years and nine months, for the crimes of domestic violence and theft.

The agents located the individual in Largo do Carmo, in Faro, immediately proceeding to comply with the arrest warrant for him to be taken to a prison, issued by the Judicial Court of the District of Faro.

The crimes committed relate to occurrences in 2015 and 2017, and there are still records of “other criminal occurrences related to the detainee”, says the PSP in a statement.

And finally some good news from the Ria Formosa

The population of seahorses in a protected area in the Ria Formosa has registered, in the last year, “an appreciable increase”, revealed this week specialists involved in the ‘Seahorse’ project, which released a group of over 150 of these fish bred in captivity.

“You are seeing more seahorses, particularly here in the sanctuary zone (protected area). We are optimistic because the population is increasing and, since last year, we have been seeing more. There is an appreciable increase”, said Rui Santos, researcher at the Center for Marine Sciences ( CCMAR ) at the University of Algarve, without specifying concrete numbers.

The Ria Formosa seahorse protection area was created in 2020, with a view to reversing the downward trend in populations that has taken place over the last two decades, putting the species on the verge of extinction in the Ria. The monitoring of seahorses in the protected area, an area of ​​the Ria Formosa located between Faro and Olhão , started just over a year ago, when the first action was taken to repopulate the species.

At the time, a group of 60 seahorses was released, which during this period showed “impeccable behaviour”, finding “protection and an adequate habitat”, added another CCMAR researcher, Jorge Palma.

“We managed to find some animals for a few months, before they dispersed, and in good physical condition, that is, they were eating perfectly, after being given natural food in captivity. We saw that they stayed here, where they benefit from this protected area”, he pointed out. Monitoring is carried out every two months, making it possible to identify all released fish. “The profile of the head varies from animal to animal and we use our own ‘software’ that makes the correspondence between the photographs taken in one month and in the subsequent months”, explained the researcher.

In the second repopulation action, carried out this week, CCMAR technicians released a group of around 150 seahorses into the protected area, three dozen of which were newborns, with “the same genetic heritage” as fish caught in the estuary and taken to Ramalhete Maritime Station for reproduction.

“A few more than the 120 that were expected, because, meanwhile, we saw the male with juveniles inside the bag and released them inside the drum during transport. He was in late pregnancy, so to speak. They were born now, they are perfectly viable”, explained Jorge Palma.

The technicians had to wait a few minutes, not only to acclimatise the seahorses to the ambient temperature, but also for the current to pass, preventing them from being dragged to another less favourable area. Seahorses “Hippocampus hippocampus” (short-snouted seahorse) were released, the least abundant in the estuary, “where normally one animal appears for ten, at best”, of the species “Hippocampus guttulatus” (seahorse of long snout).

“We released a less abundant species that, here within the protected area, will have greater reproductive potential next year. Let’s hope that happens and that the descendants spread to other habitats”, said Jorge Palma.

Another component of the ‘Seahorse’ project involves the restoration of seagrass meadows, which, according to Rui Santos, are being affected by the proliferation of the seaweed “caulerpa prolifera”, an invasive species from the Mediterranean, and its impact on food is being evaluated of seahorses.

“One thing we already know is that the diversity of food, from different organisms, is greater in seagrasses than in ‘caulerpa’, but we still have a lot to analyse to understand” the effects of the invasive algae on the species’ diet, mentioned the CCMAR researcher and professor at UAlg.

The ‘Seahorse’ project, developed by CCMAR with funding from the Belmiro de Azevedo Foundation, has the collaboration of the Institute for the Conservation of Nature and Forests (ICNF) and the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA)/ARH do Algarve.

 

 

The Algarve Situation Report 23 November 2022

 

by Mike Evans

Good day to you all, since the last report we have seen a dramatic change in the weather here in the Algarve with cooler days and rain. However, despite the rain a recent report from the IMPA shows that the Algarve continues to experience meteorological drought, but with a decrease in intensity, now being in the moderate drought class.

We can only hope that the usual rains we experience over the next few months will help fill up the reservoirs.

Now a look at some of the other stories that have been happening in the region.

Rail Plan with two high-speed alternatives in the Algarve

The National Railway Plan, which was launched on Thursday, November 17th, for public discussion, is studying two high-speed alternatives for the Algarve region that intend to compete with the plane and the car.

The plan is looking at the possibility of modernising the existing line to reduce the journey by about 30 minutes or the construction of a new axis that includes Évora, Beja or Faro, with the journey time between Lisbon and Faro becoming less than two hours.

With regard to freight transport, new international corridors are planned through the Algarve and Trás-os-Montes, in addition to a pilot corridor for longer trains (1,500 metres) between Sines and the border. This plan foresees the high-speed line serving the 10 largest cities in the country, as well as several connections to Spain.

“At the end of all this, we would have high-speed service serving the 10 largest cities in the country”, said the coordinator of the working group responsible for the National Railway Plan (PFN), Frederico Francisco, presented at the National Civil Engineering Laboratory (LNEC), in Lisbon.

The PFN also foresees “several connections to Spain, from all over the territory”, pointed out the official, thus competing with the plane and the car.

Largest nativity scene in the country celebrates 20 years

The largest nativity scene in the country is back at the António Aleixo Cultural Centre, in Vila Real de Santo António, between December 1st and January 8th, announced the municipality.

In the year it celebrates its 20th anniversary, this nativity scene grows again, now occupying an area of ​​240 square metres and more than five thousand pieces. This year’s edition continues to break records, with the presence of 5700 pieces that occupy the entire exhibition area of ​​the António Aleixo Cultural Centre, many of them made from scratch and others that reach a value of several hundred euros.

The construction of the nativity scene took more than 40 days and 2500 hours of work, since several months ago, using more than 20 tons of sand, four tons of stone dust, 3000 kilos of cork and hundreds of props.

About one hundred pieces are animated and motorised, in addition to the lakes and lighting that are considered the secret of the event, which are on top of a base with kilometres of cables that guarantee the circulation of water, lighting and scenic effects.

The nativity scene also has elements evocative of the region, such as the Praça Marquês de Pombal, the old beach huts of Monte Gordo, the salt pans, the traditional Algarvian waterwheels and other local monuments. Most of the materials are natural or reused, such as cork and moss, focusing on the ecological aspect with the implementation of led lighting systems and reuse of water used in ornamental lakes.

This nativity scene, with the signature of Augusto Rosa, Teresa Marques, Joaquim Soares and António Bartolomeu, can be visited daily between 10:00 am and 1:00 pm and from 2:30 pm to 7:00 pm, with entrances between 0, 50 and 1 euro.

Young people remove invasive plants on the beach of Santo António

Several young people from the municipality of Vila Real de Santo António participated on Sunday, November 20, in an initiative to clean and remove weevils next to the beach of Santo António, announced the Parish Council.

As part of the “Ambienta-te” project, promoted by the Parish Council of Vila Real de Santo António and the Portuguese Institute of Sports and Youth, young people removed this invasive plant during the environmental action, with the support of the Institute for Nature Conservation and Forestry and Environment Division of the City Council.

Known as beach weevil, this invasive species is easy to find in the dunes and is a creeping, succulent plant.

Faro and Portimão with restrictions on Christmas lighting

The energy crisis is leading municipalities across the country to plan to have Christmas lighting turned on for shorter periods than in other years and to resort more to the use of low-consumption technologies .

In Faro, Christmas lighting will be on for a significantly shorter period than in previous years, starting to work at dusk and being turned off from 00:00, while in 2021 it was on daily from 17:00 to 02:00: 00.

The municipality of Portimão will also reduce this year the period of Christmas lighting by 10 days compared to previous years – turning on the lights between December 6th and January 6th – and by two hours daily.

Like other municipalities, Portimão City Council will also use low-consumption luminaires with LED technology, with the lights being turned off for every two hours of operation.

Faro Camara Systems  hacked

The Câmara de Faro announced that it had been the target of a computer attack that affected all of its servers, compromising the normal functioning of the services, which will be gradually resumed in the coming days.

In a statement, the municipality specified that the ‘ransomware’ attack was registered last Saturday, having been reported to the National Cybersecurity Centre, Judiciary Police and the Attorney General’s Office.

The municipality admits that there may be constraints over the next few days in the services, namely in the ‘back office’ system and in the email service, which are currently inactive.

Four of the suspects arrested for drug trafficking are in custody

Four of the 10 suspects arrested for drug trafficking on Tuesday by the Public Security Police in Lagos will be remanded in custody, the Faro District Attorney’s Office announced this Thursday.

The most serious measure of coercion was determined by the Juiz de Instrução Criminal de Portimão to four of the detainees, leaving another five suspects obliged to report periodically to the police authorities and another prohibited from contact with the remaining defendants in the process.

According to a note published on the Attorney General’s website, the suspects, eight men and two women, aged between 21 and 47, are indicted for the crime of drug trafficking. According to the prosecution, one of the detainees, aged 26, had been buying, since August 2017, cocaine, heroin, hashish, marijuana and pastilles (‘MDMA’ and ‘ecstasy’) from another of the detainees, this one aged 47, who later sold to consumers directly or through other elements.

The judicial entity adds that, “also at the indication of the 26-year-old detainee, the rest were responsible for disguising the drugs and money in various hiding places”.

During the searches and searches carried out, the police authorities seized various narcotic products, namely cocaine, heroin, marijuana, hashish and ‘ecstasy’, four weapons and ammunition, material for weighing and packaging the drug and 28 thousand euros. The case was investigated by the Public Security Police of Portimão and Lagos and supervised by the magistrate of the 2nd section of the Department of Investigation and Criminal Action (DIAP) of Portimão.

And to end this report there is news of an additional health centre opening in the Algarve.

Vilamoura has a new private hospital unit

The Lusíadas private health group will install a new hospital unit in Vilamoura, in the Algarve municipality of Loulé, in 2023, with an investment of 10 million euros and the creation of 250 new jobs.

The project presentation ceremony and the signing of the contract between the Lusíadas health group and the administration of the well-known seaside resort took place on the morning of Tuesday, November 22nd, in the former Lusotur building, designed by the architect Francisco Keil do Amaral, where the new hospital will be located, after “rehabilitation and construction” works.

“The Hospital Lusíadas Vilamoura will reinforce the offer of health care in the most extensive and populous municipality in the Algarve and will make a contribution to the socio-economic development of the region, in a lasting and sustainable way”, said the executive president (CEO) of Lusíadas Saúde, Vasco Antunes Pereira. For his part, the mayor of Loulé, Vítor Aleixo, welcomed this “investment in a very high quality tourist area, which joins others already in operation in the area”, and which will benefit the population of the entire municipality. .

“This initiative will also benefit from public and private investments that are planned and being developed in the area of ​​active and healthy ageing. It is about the formation of an ecosystem in the area of ​​the ‘silver economy’ [people over 65 years old], which is a segment with a future and great opportunities”, underlined Vítor Aleixo.

When operating at full capacity, the new unit will be able to perform around 4,500 consultations and 200 outpatient surgeries per month, according to data provided by the health group.“Vilamoura has year-round demand from a ‘less resident’ population and we consider that the [hospital supply, currently,] is insufficient”, said Vasco Antunes Pereira.

According to Lusíadas Saúde, this unit with 1,700 square metres aims to respond to the interests and needs of the population profile “resident and also tourists”, being the first hospital in the south of mainland Portugal “dedicated exclusively to outpatient surgery”.

“In terms of capacity, the unit will include permanent care, more than 20 consultation offices, treatment and examination rooms, operating and minor surgery rooms, a Gastroenterology unit and an Imaging area, equipped with specialised and cutting-edge technological equipment. , such as magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography (CAT), X-rays, mammography, ultrasound, among others,” according to a statement from the health group.