Algarve Situation Report Saturday 10th July 2021

 

Covid-19: Algarve Hotels Association says test or certificate is “overkill” and asks for revocation

The main hotel association in the Algarve yesterday considered “an exaggeration” the obligation to present a covid-19 certificate or test to access the hotel business and asked the Government to “immediately revoke” the measure.

Speaking to Lusa agency, the president of the Association of Hotels and Touristic Enterprises of the Algarve (AHETA), Elidérico Viegas, was very critical of the decision announced on Thursday by the Council of Ministers to introduce a test or certificate requirement in hotels , in mainland Portugal, and within restaurants in high and very high risk municipalities, from 19:00 on Fridays and on weekends and holidays, a measure that currently affects nine of the 16 municipalities in the Algarve.

“An unnecessary exaggeration, an impractical measure of dubious effectiveness. Contrary to what the Government claims, that it promotes development, it further restricts people’s availability to take holidays and contributes decisively so that many Portuguese choose to spend holidays abroad, instead of choosing to do so in their own country. ”, stated Elidérico Viegas.

The same source considered that the “hotel professionals are not health professionals, nor security forces, nor health authorities” and “are not qualified nor have conditions to comply with the measure announced by the Government”.

“And, therefore, we vehemently appeal to the Government to quickly and urgently reverse this decision, because it is against the public interest, not only regional, but also national”, asked the leader of the Algarve business association.

Elidérico Viegas said that the decision announced on Thursday, at the end of the Council of Ministers, by the Minister of the Presidency, Mariana Vieira da Silva, “doesn’t make sense, it’s something without any nexus”, because, he argued, “hotels do not they are places where there are outbreaks of infection” and “there is no knowledge of outbreaks of infection since the beginning of the pandemic in hotels and developments”.

“Hotels are being bombarded with phone calls all the time from all the people who had made reservations, outraged by this decision”, he warned, clarifying that, for the time being, there is still no cancellation of reservations, but warning that the decision “it will not motivate people to vacation in the country”.

 Covid.19: Police calmed down heated spirits in the lines of the Olhão Vaccination Centre

The PSP and the Municipal Police were this morning at the Olhão Vaccination Centre to calm the spirits of some citizens and organize the waiting lines that are felt all over the country, as a result of the acceleration of the vaccination process, other age groups in conjunction with reducing the intake of the second dose of Astrazeneca vaccine from 12 to 8 weeks.

One of the most heard criticisms at the place, according to Algarve Primeira, was the waiting time, but also because some people passed the front in line, not respecting the order of arrival.

Taking into account the increase in the number of people visiting the Olhão Vaccination Centre, the Municipality provided awnings next to the building, for greater comfort for those who have to wait sometime in the street before being assisted.

The Chamber calls for the understanding of people who have to wait their turn before entering the pavilion, ensuring that the entities involved “are doing everything to reduce the waiting time for users”.

It is also advisable for those who have an appointment to go to the Vaccination Centre only at his time, helping to avoid unnecessary queues.

Covid.19: Câmara de Silves extends suspension of cultural events until 18 July

The Municipality of Silves decided to continue with all events of a cultural nature suspended until the 18th of July, given the worsening of the epidemiological evolution that is being experienced in the municipality and in the Algarve in general.

In a statement, the municipality explains that following the weekly review on the containment and mitigation measures for the covid-19 disease, released today, after the Council of Ministers, the measures will be adopted as indicated by the DGS.

The same document recalls the importance of adopting safety behaviours in the fight against the pandemic by the entire community.

 

Algarve Situation Report Wednesday 7^th 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.

 

Algarve Situation Report Saturday 3rd July 2021

 

Hospitals in the Algarve with an increase in admissions among the youngest

Hospitals in the Algarve have 49 patients admitted to COVID-19 wards, 12 of which are in intensive care, with a trend towards an increase in admissions among the youngest.

Speaking to Lusa, the chairman of the board of directors of CHUA Ana Varges Gomes said that patients admitted to hospitals in Faro and Portimão are aged between 23 and 67 years old, “a younger age group than was verified in hospital admissions in previous years’.

“It is really a younger population that we have hospitalized and that does not have vaccination”, explained out Ana Varges Gomes, stressing that there are «a greater number of young patients hospitalized who are ill, who do not know if they will fully recover or if they will be left with sequelae”.

She attributes the increase in cases to non-compliance with the recommended health rules, due to the fact that people still think that the disease “only affects the elderly”, contrary to what is happening.

According to Ana Varges Gomes, the total number of admissions (49) in the two hospitals in the Algarve represents about 60% of the limit of 80 beds defined for the region, with no forecast for opening more beds.

«Right now we are in phase 2 of the contingency plan, which has four phases, and we do not plan to open more beds, because we still have 21 vacancies. However, we are monitoring the phases and we will open beds as needed», he said.

For her, the epidemiological situation in the Algarve “deserves some surveillance”, given the significant increase in cases of infections of the disease in recent weeks in younger age groups and given the forecast of an increase in population during the summer.

Loulé Council will be one of the safest in Europe to save lives

The project “Algarve Coração Seguro” was made official today in Quarteira, between the Algarve Medical Centre – ABC and the National Institute of Medical Emergency – INEM. This is a pilot project that aims to train people to be able to provide assistance to cardiac victims with defibrillators, with 1700 people already trained in the municipality of Loulé alone.

In addition to using the automatic external defibrillator – AED, these people also have knowledge of basic life support manoeuvres.

The signing ceremony was attended by the Deputy Secretary of State and Health, António Lacerda Sales, Luís Meira – chairman of the board of directors of INEM, IP, Vítor Aleixo – chairman of Loulé City Council, Nuno Marques – chairman of ABC, Telmo Pinto – President of the Parish Council of Quarteira, among other guests.

Essentially, the project exists to provide assistance to cardiac patients before the arrival of the means of assistance in coordination with CODU – Guidance Centre for Urgent Patients. At the moment, in the municipality of Loulé, there is a network with 61 operational defibrillators, with a total of 180 being expected to be acquired.

Another objective is to train around 3,000 people with this specific qualification. “If, with this, we make the ratios per 100,000 inhabitants, it can be said that this becomes the safest municipality, perhaps in European terms”, referred Nuno Marques do ABC.

The fourth edition of the cycle of “Cinema ao Ar Livre” in the parishes of the county is postponed indefinitely.

In a statement, the municipality states that following the weekly review on the level of incidence of covid.19 cases, in which the Municipality was considered to be at high risk, the new measures imposed by the DGS were adopted, which oblige to postpone the initiative, taking into account that its timetable is not compatible with the curfew (11:00 pm), one of the measures to be taken by high-risk municipalities.

The Municipality of Silves regrets the inconvenience caused, and recalls the importance of adopting safety steps in the fight against the pandemic by the entire community.

 

Algarve Situation Report Wednesday 30^th June 2021

 

Covid-19: Algarve with 32 active outbreaks and schools with the highest number of cases.

Faro, June 29, 2021 (Lusa) – Until Sunday, the Algarve recorded 32 active outbreaks of Covid-19, most of which originated in work, school and parties, and in schools where more cases were confirmed, a document indicates that the Lusa had access today.

According to the document from the regional health authorities, the schools had a total of eight active outbreaks, which allowed the identification of 88 cases of infection by the new SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, most of which in the Padre Cabanita 2nd and 3rd cycle elementary school, in Loulé (29 cases), and at the Areal Gordo Basic School and Kindergarten, in Faro (21).

In the labour context, 10 active outbreaks were recorded, four of which in hotels, with a total of 50 confirmed cases of Covid-19 having been registered until Sunday in companies in Albufeira, Loulé, Portimão, Lagos, Olhão and Tavira.

The parties and social gatherings in the Algarve led to five outbreaks of Covid-19, with 51 infected, 10 of which in a social gathering on Ilha da Culatra, in Faro, and there were also outbreaks originating in meetings in restaurants in Loulé, Olhão and Lagos.

On Monday, more than 1,300 students from 52 classes in the five municipalities in the Algarve where classroom classes were suspended, were in isolation, according to the Algarve Health delegate, Ana Cristina Guerreiro, told Lusa.

The decision to switch to non-face-to-face teaching, until the end of the school year, in 1st and 2nd cycle schools in the municipalities of the Central Algarve – Faro, Loulé, Albufeira, Olhão and São Brás de Alportel – was announced in the Sunday afternoon, due to the epidemiological “severity of the situation”.

In a family context, four outbreaks were identified, with 27 infected, and in homes and residential structures for the elderly, one outbreak, in the Torre Natal home, in Faro, which accounted for 20 cases and one death, of a 92-year-old elderly woman.

At the level of federated sport there were two outbreaks, in the hockey team in Boliqueime (two cases) and in a basketball team in Olhão (five).

In day care centers, only one outbreak was identified, with two cases, in a nursery in Monte Gordo (Vila Real de Santo António). The 32 outbreaks had caused, until Sunday, one death and two hospitalizations.

Covid-19: Municipality of Loulé announces free testing to the population.

In order to detect new infections early and reverse the increase in the number of cases of Covid-19 in the municipality of Loulé, as of July 1, the City Council will support testing in private social solidarity institutions via subsidy and promote it with the population to carry out free tests.

In a statement, the municipality said that the testing would include all users of residential structures for the elderly and residential homes, home support service, day centers and temporary shelter, socio-occupational forum and center for occupational activities in the area of ​​disability intellectual, totalling 19 institutions.

Employees and collaborators of these institutions will also be tested, in the same way as what had happened before, that is, by sample: they will be divided into four groups, with one group testing per week, which will ensure the testing of the entirety, employees of all institutions at the end of each month, as well as weekly monitoring of the situation in all households.

On the other hand, the municipality will open the tests to the community in order to reach a greater number of people screened. Thus, the municipality makes available to resident citizens the possibility of carrying out, free of charge, an antigen test. To do so, simply register on the platform and wait for the appointment. Each citizen will be able to perform only one test per month. If the result is positive for Covid-19, the person should contact the SNS24 Hotline or the entity that provides the testing service so that the appropriate PCR test can be performed.

The same statement also said that, at a time when Loulé is already on the red line corresponding to municipalities at high risk of infection (with more than 120 cases per 100,000 inhabitants), Mayor Vítor Aleixo stresses the importance of vaccination and testing to face this epidemiological situation, as well as the resumption of economic activity. “We are concerned about the current moment that requires urgent and effective measures so that we can return to normality in our daily lives. Only by identifying the cases can they break the transmission chains, which becomes more relevant at a time when more transmissible strains of the virus are circulating”, stresses the same person in charge.

Albufeira: GNR identifies 19 people in yet another illegal party.

Event took place on the public road.

The Albufeira GNR ended, on Sunday, June 27, a party that took place on the public highway “in breach of the measures in force to contain the Covid-19 pandemic”.

The facts took place during a patrol action. The Guard’s military verified “that a party was taking place on the public road, which was attended by 19 people”.

Following the action, an order was given to end the party, with several items being seized, such as a sound mixer, a column, a laptop computer and headphones.

Following the police investigations, all those present at the party were identified, and a notice was drawn up for the spread of disease, and the facts were sent to the Court of Albufeira.

The action was reinforced by the Intervention and Public Order Group (GIOP) of the Intervention Unit (UI).

This was not, moreover, the only party in Albufeira where the GNR had to act over the weekend: in a house, 43 people were accused for carrying out the illegal gathering.