Azores Situation Report Wednesday 20^th October 2021

From our colleague in the Azores  

Covid -19 

Since the last Situation Report a week ago on the 13th September there have been 117 new cases of Covid-19 registered, 19 more than the previous week, and 94 recoveries, 10 more than last week.

As of the 19^thOctober, there are seven patients hospitalised, all at the Divino Espírito Santo Hospital in Ponta Delgada, none of whom is in intensive care unit.

Current situation:

The archipelago currently registers 173 positive active cases: 144 on the island of São Miguel, 17 on the island of Faial, six on the island of Santa Maria, four on the island of Terceira and two on the island of Pico.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, 9,285 positive cases of COVID-19 have been diagnosed in the Azores, of which 8,884 recovered from the disease, 44 people died, 95 left the archipelago and 89 showed proof of cure of previous infection.

From December 31st, 2020 to October 11th, 173,743 people in the Azores have been vaccinated with the first dose (73.4 per cent) and 192,750 with complete vaccination (81,4 per cent), under the Regional Vaccination Plan.

The official Covid 19 page can be found here.

https://covid19.azores.gov.pt/

Care Home Outbreak 

The Regional Health Authority reported last week that there have been 16 positive cases of covid-19 since the 12th of October at ‘Lar Luís Soares de Sousa’, in Ponta Delgada.

With the onset of symptoms on the 11th, the contingency plan of the home was activated and people who showed symptoms, as well as close contacts, were tested.

From the subsequent testing, 16 positive cases were found, five concerning home professionals and 11 concerning users.

Visits have been suspended since the 11th and the contingency plan for this residential structure for the elderly was activated. The situation is being monitored by the Ponta Delgada Health Delegation.

Flood Management 

The second phase of the Region’s Flood Risk Management Plan, which will run from 2022 to 2027, indicates that in the last six years, eleven river basins at risk, have been identified, that is, six more compared to the previous cycle, in addition to two coastal areas also at risk, one of them São Roque, on the outskirts of the city of Ponta Delgada.

The revelation was made by the Regional Secretary for the Environment and Climate Change, Alonso Miguel, who specified that, in the case of hydrographic basins with additional risk, the Areia and Cinzeiro grottoes in São Miguel were involved; the Ribeira da Casa da Ribeira and the Ribeira de São Bento in Terceira; the Ribeira Seca in São Jorge and the Ribeira do Dilúvio in Pico.

Regarding risky coastal areas, the document points out, in addition to São Roque, São Roque do Pico.
In the first phase of the Region’s Flood Risk Management Plan, there were five river basins at risk: two in São Miguel (Ribeira Grande and Ribeira do Velado, in Povoação), two in Terceira and one in Flores.

Based on the occurrences registered in the last six years, a plan is defined with concrete measures for intervention in the water lines with the greatest history of damage, with a view to minimizing the risk of flooding in these places.

“Basically, this plan makes it possible to identify the basins that present the greatest risk of flooding in the region, and this also makes it possible to define a set of intervention measures in these river basins. In other words, it is the way we must make a diagnosis of which are the most urgent situations in terms of intervention”, he stressed.

With the effects of climate change, it is expected that there will be an increase in the intensity and frequency of floods in the Azores. Alonso Miguel considers that the answer to this problem involves the application of “very strict” measures and instruments for spatial planning, this “because a large part of these situations is avoided, naturally, with adequate spatial planning”.

It should be remembered that a flood warning system will be implemented in the archipelago in river basins at risk with the objective of providing, in advance, information that can be used to protect populations and minimize the risks of flooding and extreme natural phenomena.

 

Azores Situation Report – 13^th October 2021 – From our colleague in the Azores

 

Covid -19 

Since the last Situation Report a week ago on the 6th September there have been 92 new cases of Covid-19 registered, less than last week, and 84 recoveries.

Hospitalizations

As of today, there are nine patients hospitalized, six at the Divino Espírito Santo Hospital in Ponta Delgada, two at the Santo Espírito Hospital of Terceira Island, and one at the Horta Hospital, in intensive care unit.

Current situation:

The archipelago currently registers 152 positive active cases: 140 on the island of São Miguel, six on the island of Terceira, three on the island of Faial and three on the island of Pico.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, 9,168 positive cases of COVID-19 have been diagnosed in the Azores, of which 8,790 recovered from the disease. There were 43 deaths, 95 people who left the archipelago and 88 cases with history of previous cure.

From December 31st, 2020 to October 11th, 173,743 people in the Azores have been vaccinated with the first dose (73,4 per cent) and 192,750 with complete vaccination (81,4 per cent), under the Regional Vaccination Plan.

House Collapse 

An “old house” was last night “totally destroyed” in the city of Ponta Delgada, due to heavy rain that fell in São Miguel, but “the residents were not injured,” said Civil Protection.

The coordinator of Civil Protection for the municipality of Ponta Delgada, Pedro Azevedo, explained that it was “an old house, located on Avenida Príncipe de Mónaco”, in the city of Ponta Delgada and that, due to heavy rain on the island of São Miguel, ended up collapsing”.

“The couple and the two children who lived in the house are all well and have gone to their relatives,” he explained.

As for the water level in the Sete Cidades lagoon, which “has risen considerably” due to heavy rain, the official said that “the situation is resolved for now”, since “cleaning works were carried out for the natural drainage of water”.

Pedro Azevedo also said that the situations of roads that were blocked on Monday are “practically resolved”, namely in the parish of Ginetes and Arrifes, with “the cleaning work being concluded”.

In São Vicente Ferreira, the multipurpose pavilion was flooded again on Monday, and the coordinator of Civil Protection for the municipality of Ponta Delgada explained today that the situation “is resolved, but the pavilion’s floor will have to be replaced”.

The heavy rainfall caused, on Monday, several floods in homes on the islands of São Miguel and Terceira and in various public roads, according to a source from the Civil Protection.

 

 

Azores Situation Report Wednesday 6^th October 2021  

From our colleague in the Azores

Covid -19 

Since the last Situation Report a week ago on the 29th September there have been 106 new cases of Covid-19 registered, more than last week, and 76 recoveries.

Current situation: 

The Azores currently have 146 active positive cases, 133 in São Miguel, seven in Terceira, five in Faial and one in Pico.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, 9,078 positive cases of covid-19 have been diagnosed in the Azores, with 8,708 people having recovered from the disease. 42 died, 95 left the archipelago and 87 presented proof of previous cure.

From December 31st, 2020 until September 29th, 173,125 people have been vaccinated in the Azores with the first dose (73.2 percent) and 190,817 with full vaccination (80.7 percent), under the Regional Vaccination Plan.

As of yesterday, there are 10 inpatients, six at the Divino Espírito Santo Hospital, in Ponta Delgada, none in intensive care, two in the Santo Espírito da Ilha Terceira Hospital, with one in intensive care, and one in the Horta Hospital, also in intensive care.

The Transmissibility Index, or Rt, is an indicator of how many people a given individual can infect, within a given period.  In the Azores it is 1.06 this week.

Mask Wearing 

The Azores region has largely fallen in line with Continental Portugal regarding mask wearing.  It is mandatory to wear masks or visors to access or stay inside commercial spaces and establishments, including shopping centres, with an area greater than 400 square meters, Citizens’ Shops, educational establishments, schools and day care centres, except in outdoor recreational spaces.

It is also mandatory in concert halls, cinematographic film exhibition halls, congress halls, venues for events of a corporate nature, improvised venues for events, namely cultural, or similar, venues for sporting events and celebrations and health establishments and services.

The use of masks is also mandatory in residential or care facilities or home support services for vulnerable populations, elderly people or people with disabilities, as well as integrated continuous care units of the National Integrated Continuous Care Network and other dedicated residential structures and responses to children and young people and in places where this is determined in the norms of the General Directorate of Health, informs the circular issued.

It is also mandatory to wear masks or visors by workers in bars, clubs, restaurants and similar, as well as in commercial establishments and those providing services where physical contact with the customer necessarily occurs.

Explosive Material 

The Public Security Police carried out a nationwide police operation, entitled ‘ARMEX I-2021’, which seized 530 kilos of explosive material on the island of São Miguel.  The operation took place between September 30th and October 1st, with the Police from the Weapons and Explosives Nucleus carrying out several inspection actions throughout the Region, culminating in the apprehension 530 kg of explosive material, which were stored outside the legal conditions, on the island of São Miguel

The inspection actions are part of the operational strategy of the Azores PSP Regional Command and aim at the control of weapons and explosives and the verification of the legal requirements for their storage.

Volcanic Dust 

The Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA) confirmed today that some of the particles emitted by the volcano of Cumbre Vieja, in La Palma, have reached the Azores, causing a “significant reduction in horizontal visibility”.

In a statement, the IPMA has said that following the eruption of the volcano, on September 19th, “gases and particles have been emitted into the atmosphere” that “are transported over long distances”.

“According to the forecast results of the atmospheric monitoring service of the Copernicus program (CAMS), some of these particles have arrived in the Azores archipelago in the form of sulphate aerosol”.

The IPMA emphasizes that the sulphate aerosol “results from the liquid phase reaction of sulphur dioxide with water”, forming “small liquid particles”.

These particles, which can be “transported by the wind”, have “optical properties that contribute to a greater dispersion of light and, consequently, cause a reduction in visibility”.

IPMA observations confirm a significant reduction in horizontal visibility by these particles in the central and eastern groups of the Azores, which are expected to be found mainly in a layer below 800 meters in altitude”, the statement said.

The IPMA also refers that the “high humidity” registered in the Azores will have “increased the size of the particles”.

Today, the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA) said it was studying the possibility that a chemical reaction caused by the volcano of La Palma was creating a “fog” around some islands of the Azores, a possibility that has now been confirmed.

 

Azores Situation Report Wednesday 29^th September 2021

From our colleague in the Azores

Covid -19 

Since the last Situation Report a week ago on the 22^nd September there have been 78 new cases of Covid-19 registered, two more than last week and 57 recoveries.

Current situation:

The archipelago currently has 122 active positive cases: 98 on the island of São Miguel, 12 on the island of Faial, eight on the island of Terceira and four on the island of Pico.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, 8,973 positive cases of COVID-19 have been diagnosed in the Azores and 8,632 people recovered from the disease. There were 42 deaths, 95 people who left the archipelago and 82 cases with history of previous cure. To date, 700,266 tests have been carried out in the archipelago to detect SARS-CoV-2 virus which causes the disease COVID-19.

The Rt rate in the region is still at 0.66

From 31^st December 2020 to September 20th, 172,284 people in the Azores have been vaccinated with the first dose (72.8 per cent) and 186,398 with complete vaccination (78,8 per cent), under the Regional Vaccination Plan.

Bad Weather 

Five houses in the parishes of Mosteiros and Sete Cidades, on the island of São Miguel, were left uninhabitable because of heavy rain on Monday, Civil Protection has said.

The coordinator of Civil Protection for the municipality of Ponta Delgada, Pedro Azevedo, indicated that “five houses are not now habitable.”

“These people from the five houses are staying with relatives and it was not necessary to relocate them. The Social Action division in parallel with the Social Security Institute (ISSA) of the Azores has already carried out a case-by-case survey, housing by housing and everything is fine to be treated for further support to affected families with the synergy between the two entities”, he indicated.

Pedro Azevedo also referred that the most affected houses “have no structural damage”, that is, “are not at risk of collapse”, since the greatest damage is “at the level of contents, such as appliances and furniture”, and also “doors and windows”.

As for the cleaning work of houses, water lines and circulation routes in Mosteiros and Sete Cidades, they continue today “at a good pace”, he added.

The Civil Protection of the Azores registered on Monday 24th occurrences due to heavy rain on the island of São Miguel, namely “flooding of houses, blocked roads and dragging vehicles”, with no record of personal injury.

The parishes of Mosteiros and Sete Cidades, in the municipality of Ponta Delgada, were the most affected by bad weather.

In the case of Mosteiros, Pedro Azevedo told Lusa that “the two cars that were on the beach have already been removed”.

“There were two vehicles that were taken away by the force of the water, and in one of the vehicles there was a couple, who were eventually rescued by firefighters,” he said.

The municipal coordinator of Civil Protection for the municipality of Ponta Delgada also said that “the mud had already been removed from the interior of the houses” most affected.

“And, in parallel, all the cleaning of the road is being carried out next to the houses. And the priority is to restore the stream water line, where there is a lot of material to be removed”, he stressed, adding that there is still to be done “all a work to clean up the beach area” of Mosteiros.

Possible Drowning 

A man was found dead this morning on the beach at Água d’Alto, in Vila Franca do Campo on São Miguel.

According to information from the Captain of the Port of Ponta Delgada, a man of about 40 years was “spotted by surfers who were on the Água d’Alto beach and who quickly pulled him out of the water, but he was already dead.”

The alert was given to the PSP around 11:38 am and a lifeboat, the Maritime Police and the Vila Franca do Campo Fire Department immediately moved to the scene.

According to Commander Abrantes Horta, the body was transported to the Ponta Delgada morgue, but “has not yet been identified, nor is the cause of death known.”

Ship to Shore Transfer 

A crew member of a merchant ship, sailing off Terceira Island, was rescued on Monday.  He had severe abdominal pain and was needing medical assistance.

The alert was made at around 9:00 am, by a crew member of the merchant ship, and elements of the Praia da Vitória Lifeguard Station were immediately activated to the location, using a vessel from the Praia da Vitória port.

Alongside the merchant ship, the elements of the Life-Saving Station rescued and transported the victim, a 38-year-old man of Filipino nationality, to the port of Praia da Vitória, where elements of the Immediate Life Assistance Service (SIV) were waiting.  He was later transported to the hospital unit.