Azores Situation Report Wednesday 26^th May 2021

 

By our Azores Correspondent

Inaugural Flight.

The Regional Government of the Azores, the Association of Tourism and the carrier Lufthansa considered this Sunday that the beginning of the company’s connections to São Miguel signals the recovery of the tourist sector in the region, affected by the Covid-19.

At 12:22 local time, Lufthansa’s 320-Neo aircraft, arrived from Frankfurt, Germany, with a capacity for 179 passengers, it landed for the first time at Ponta Delgada airport, on the island of São Miguel.

Awaiting the inaugural flight of the German company in São Miguel, which had an occupancy rate of around 80%, was a delegation of members of the Government of the Azores, ANA Airports and the air carrier.

Mota Borges considered the beginning of the connection to be “recognition” of the Azores’ tourism potential and said he hoped the operation would “infect other markets”.

“People want to travel, the Azores offers everything you need for a safe trip. There is so much to do on this island, not only on this island, but across the archipelago. It is truly safe by nature”.

The President of the Azores Tourism Association, Carlos Morais, praised the operation that aims to bring about 4 thousand passengers from the German market, the second most important tourist market in the Azores (the first is the national market).

“Today is a historic day for tourism in the Azores, and one of the largest airlines in the world is making its first flight to the autonomous region of the Azores. There are a total of 22 flights and it’s a very important market for the Azores“.

From the 25^th of June, Ponta Delgada will also have a direct connection with Geneva, Switzerland, on Fridays, operated by Swiss (belonging to the Lufthansa group).

Death 

The Regional Health Authority has reported that there has been another death.  An 86-year-old woman, who was hospitalized at the Hospital do Divino Espírito Santo, in Ponta Delgada”.

She was a resident of the parish of São Sebastião, in the municipality of Ponta Delgada.
The number of fatalities caused by Covid-19 in the Azores archipelago has risen to 33 since the beginning of the pandemic.

Over the last few days there have been a number of cases and recoveries.

22^nd May 

24 new positive cases of Covid-19 were diagnosed in the Azores, all in São Miguel, in the context of community transmission, resulting from 1,914 tests in the reference laboratories in the Region.

The municipality of Ribeira Grande registered 18 new cases (13 in Rabo de Peixe, four in Ribeirinha and one in Conceição). In the municipality of Ponta Delgada there are four new cases (one in São José, one in Santa Clara, one in Capelas and one in Arrifes). In the municipality of Vila Franca do Campo there is a new case, in Ponta Garça, and in the municipality of Lagoa there is a new case, in Santa Cruz.

There was a total of 18 recoveries.

During the epidemiological investigation, it was found that a positive case initially allocated to the parish of Matriz, municipality of Ribeira Grande, resides in the parish of São José, municipality of Ponta Delgada, so the data shown in the table reflect this change.

23^rd May 

30 new positive cases of Covid-19 were diagnosed in the Azores, 29 in São Miguel and one in Faial, resulting from 2,177 tests carried out in the region’s reference laboratories.

In Faial, the case now diagnosed resulted from screening, upon arrival, to a traveller, resident in Feteira.

In São Miguel, the municipality of Ribeira Grande registered nine cases (three in Rabo de Peixe, three in Matriz, one in Ribeirinha, one in Ribeira Seca and one in Pico da Pedra). In the municipality of Ponta Delgada there are also nine cases (four in São Vicente Ferreira, three in Capelas, one in São Sebastião and one in Arrifes). In the municipality of Vila Franca do Campo there are two new cases (one in Ponta Garça and the other in Água de Alto). In the municipality of Lagoa there are two new cases in Rosário, and in the municipality of Nordeste there are seven new cases, all in Salga.

There was a total of 30 recoveries.

24^th May 

12 new positive cases of Covid-19 were diagnosed in the Azores, all in São Miguel, resulting from 1,207 tests carried out in the Region’s reference laboratories.

The municipality of Ribeira Grande registered eight cases (five in Ribeira Seca, one in Rabo de Peixe, one in Ribeirinha and one in Santa Bárbara). In the municipality of Ponta Delgada there is a new case in Livramento and in the municipality of Vila Franca do Campo there are three new cases (one in Ponta Garça, one in São Pedro and one in Água de Alto).

There was a recovery in Terceira, Praia da Vitória municipality, Lajes parish.

25^th May 

33 new positive cases of Covid-19 were diagnosed in the Azores in the last 24 hours, all on the island of São Miguel, following 1,909 tests carried out in the reference laboratories of the Region. All cases concern community transmission.

There are 20 new cases in the municipality of Ribeira Grande (18 in Rabo de Peixe, one in Ribeirinha and one in Conceição). In the municipality of Ponta Delgada, there are five new cases (two in São Vincente Ferreira, one in Santo António, one in Capelas and one in Rosto do Cão (Livramento). There are four new cases in the municipality of Vila Franca do Campo (three in Ponta Garça and one in Ribeira Seca). There are two new cases in the municipality of Lagoa, both in Santa Cruz. In the municipality of Nordeste, a new case was diagnosed in the parish of Salga and in the municipality of Povoação there is a new case in the parish of Furnas.

During the epidemiological investigation of the case above mentioned, that was initially allocated to the parish of Arrifes, municipality of Ponta Delgada, it was found she was now residing in the parish of São Sebastião, in the same municipality, so this data was changed.

As of today, six patients are in the region’s hospitals, with five at the Divino Espírito Santo Hospital in Ponta Delgada (one in intensive care) and one at Santo Espírito Hospital in Angra do Heroísmo.

The archipelago currently has 264 active positive cases: 257 on the island of São Miguel, three on the island of Terceira, two on the island of Pico, one on the island of Faial and one on the island of São Jorge. There is one active transmission chain on the island of Terceira and 202 have been extinguished so far. 1,056 people are under active surveillance.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, 5,404 positive cases of Covid-19 have been diagnosed in the Azores and 4,978 people recovered from the disease. There were 33 deaths, 79 people who left the archipelago and 50 cases with history of previous cure. Up to now, 491,690 tests have been carried out in the archipelago for SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes the Covid-19 disease.

From December 31st, 2020 until May 20th, 106,631 people aged 16 years or more were vaccinated in the Azores, corresponding to 68,352 people who received the first dose, and 38,278 people who received both doses, under the Regional Vaccination Plan. 

 

Azores Situation Report Saturday 22nd May 2021

 

From our colleague in the Azores 

19^th May 

21 new positive cases of covid-19 were registered in the Azores, with 19 on the island of São Miguel, one on the island of Terceira and one on the island of São Jorge, following 2,383 tests carried out in the reference laboratories of the Region.

On the island of São Miguel, 18 cases were diagnosed in the context of community transmission and one related to a traveler, non-resident, who tested positive upon arrival. There are 10 new cases in the municipality of Ribeira Grande (eight in Rabo de Peixe, one in Ribeirinha and one in Matriz). There are five new cases in the municipality of Vila Franca do Campo (three in Água de Alto and two in Ribeira Seca). There are three new cases in the municipality of Ponta Delgada (one in Livramento, one in São Roque and one in São Pedro). In the municipality of Povoação, a new case was registered in the parish of Furnas.

On the island of Terceira, a new case was diagnosed in the municipality of Praia da Vitoria, parish of Santa Cruz, concerning a traveller, non-resident, who tested positive on the 6^th day. On the island of São Jorge, one case was diagnosed in the municipality of Velas (Santo Amaro), concerning a traveller, non-resident, who tested positive on the 12^th day

There were 29 recoveries, with 27 on the island of São Miguel and two on the island of Flores, that currently has no active cases.

20^th May 

21 new positive cases of covid-19 were diagnosed in the Azores, all on the island of São Miguel, in the context of community transmission, following 2,382 tests carried out in the reference laboratories of the Region.

There are 13 new cases in the municipality of Ribeira Grande (10 in Rabo de Peixe, one in Ribeirinha, one in Pico da Pedra and one in the Conceição). In the municipality of Ponta Delgada, there is a new case in the parish of São Pedro, and in the municipality of Vila Franca do Campo, there are six new cases (three in Água de Alto and three in São Pedro). In the municipality of Nordeste, there is a new case in the parish of Lomba da Fazenda.

In the same period, there were a total of 18 recoveries.

21^st May 

26 new positive cases of covid-19 were diagnosed in the Azores, with 24 on the island of São Miguel, in the context of community transmission, and two on the island of Pico, concerning travelers, non-residents who tested positive on the 6^th day. During the same period, 2,364 tests were carried out in the reference laboratories of the Region.

On the island of São Miguel, there are 17 new cases in the municipality of Ribeira Grande (10 in Rabo de Peixe, two in Ribeirinha, one in Ribeira Seca, one in Matriz, two in Pico da Pedra and one in the Conceição). There are three new cases in the municipality of Ponta Delgada (one in São José, one in São Vincente Ferreira and one in Arrifes). In the municipality of Vila Franca do Campo, there are four new cases in Água de Alto.

On the island of Pico, two cases were diagnosed in the municipality of São Roque (one in São Roque and one in Santa Luzia).

There has been a total of 25 recoveries, with 21 recoveries in Rabo de Peixe (see table at the end).

There are six patients in hospital, five in the Divino Espírito Santo Hospital in Ponta Delgada, with one patient in intensive care and one in Santo Espírito Hospital in Angra do Heroísmo.

One of the positive cases of the parish of Rosto do Cão (São Roque) in the municipality of Ponta Delgada submitted documentation demonstrating a previous infection and its recovery, and therefore is no longer considered an active case in the Region.

The archipelago currently has 239 active positive cases: 232 on the island of São Miguel, four on the island of Terceira, two on the island of Pico and one on the island of São Jorge. There is an active transmission chain on the island of Terceira and 202 have been extinguished. There are 1,045 people under active surveillance.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, 5,305 positive cases of covid-19 have been diagnosed in the Azores and 4,905 people recovered from the disease. There were 32 deaths, 79 people who left the archipelago and 49 cases with history of previous cure. Up to now, 484,483 tests have been carried out in the archipelago for SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes the covid-19 disease.

From December 31st, 2020 until May 18th, 100,505 doses of covid-19 vaccine were administered in the Azores, corresponding to 66,505 people aged 15 years or more who received the first dose, and 34,000 people who received both doses, under the Regional Vaccination Plan.

 

 

 

Azores Situation Report Wednesday 19th May 2021

 

From our colleague in the Azores

Voucher Scheme 

The Government of the Azores has approved a resolution that resumes the “Voucher Destino Açores Seguro” initiative, with the attribution of a financial incentive to promote the conduct of screening tests to SARS-CoV-2 prior to shipment to the region.

The decision was taken by the Government Council (PSD / CDS-PP / PPM coalition), which met by videoconference, on May 10th and 12th, and whose decisions were announced this Monday.

The financial incentive attributed to those who take the test in advance is then “usable, exclusively, in the purchase of goods or services, in any of the establishments of the network of members”.

The “Destination Insurance Azores Voucher” is set at 35 euros for all non-resident passengers, over the age of 12, who board at airports located on the mainland and in the Autonomous Region of Madeira, as well as for other trips originating abroad and arriving at airports on the islands of Santa Maria, São Miguel, Terceira, Pico and Faial, with a ‘voucher’ being issued for each passenger.

In October, the former President promoted this initiative for anyone who came to the archipelago with a negative test, also worth 35 euros, to spend on goods and services in the region.

However, the measure was suspended the following month, when it became mandatory to submit a negative test done within 72 hours prior to the trip.

The new Regional Government of the PSD / CDS-PP / PPM coalition decided to resume the initiative to capture “national and international tourist flows to the region” and to promote “the promotion of inter-island tourism”.

The Government of the Azores says that passengers a pre-arrival test “will have the test paid for by the region on arrival, awaiting in isolation the result of the test, which will arrive in a period of up to 24 hours”, repeating then at 6th and 12^th day of the stay.

Those who “test positive on arrival will have to comply with mandatory confinement, for a period of 10 days”, while their “traveling companions referred to as close contacts of high risk will have to comply with prophylactic isolation for a period of 14 days”.

If the accommodation chosen by the passengers does not have conditions for the isolation to be fulfilled, or “if the situation decreed extends beyond the period initially contracted by the passengers, the Autonomous Region of the Azores assumes the costs of accommodation and meals in a hotel designated for the purpose”.

The Regional Government Council held last week also approved a resolution that updates the APOIAR.PT Azores Program – Operational Costs 2020, “according to the recent approval of the measure and the ongoing negotiations with the European Commission”, the statement said.

This program aims to “mitigate the impacts on billing caused by the pandemic” and “to strengthen instruments designed to support companies with their operating costs”, aiming to contribute to “economic confidence”, “maintenance of productive capacity and employment” in this transitional period before the economic recovery “.

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Death.

Sadly, there has been another death in the region. According to a press release from the health authority, “there was a death of a 38 year-old man, born in the parish of Ponta Garça, municipality of Vila Franca do Campo, who was hospitalized at the ICU of the Hospital do Divino Espírito Santo, in Ponta Delgada, after worsening his health condition, determining his death due to bacterial over-infection “.

With this further death, the region registers 32 deaths.

Saturday 15^th May .

27 new positive cases of Covid-19 were diagnosed in the Azores, all in São Miguel, in the context of community transmission, resulting from 1,829 analyzes carried out in reference laboratories in the Region, and one in a non-conventional private laboratory.

Thus, 20 cases were diagnosed in the municipality of Ribeira Grande, all in Rabo de Peixe, one in the municipality of Ponta Delgada, in the parish of São Pedro, two in the municipality of Vila Franca (one in São Pedro and another in Ribeira Seca), three in the municipality of Nordeste (two in Lomba da Fazenda and one in Vila do Nordeste) and one in the municipality of Povoação, parish of Ribeira Quente.

In the same period, 16 patients recovered

Sunday 16^th May.

12 new positive cases of Covid-19 were diagnosed in the Azores, in the context of community transmission and all in São Miguel, resulting from 1,736 analyzes carried out in the reference laboratories in the Region.

Thus, nine cases were diagnosed in the municipality of Ribeira Grande (two in Conceição and seven in Rabo de Peixe), two in the municipality of Ponta Delgada (one in Santa Clara and one in Ajuda da Bretanha), and one in the municipality of Nordeste, in Lomba da Fazenda.

In the same period, 21 patients recovered, all in São Miguel.

Monday 17^th May. 

Eight new positive cases of Covid-19 have been diagnosed all on the island of São Miguel, in the context of community transmission, following 692 tests carried out in the laboratories of reference in the Region.

There are five new cases in the municipality of Ribeira Grande, all in Rabo de Peixe. In the municipality of Ponta Delgada, there is a new case in São Roque, and in the municipality of Vila Franca do Campo, there are two new cases in Água de Alto.

In the same period, there was a recovery in Lajes, on the island of Flores.

Tuesday 18^th May.

34 new positive cases of Covid-19 were diagnosed in the Azores, all on the island of São Miguel, in the context of community transmission, following 2,098 tests carried out in the laboratories of reference in the Region, and one in a private laboratory.

There are 31 new cases in the municipality of Ribeira Grande (29 in Rabo de Peixe, one in Ribeira Seca and one in Conceição). In the municipality of Ponta Delgada there is a new case in São Roque, and in the municipality of Vila Franca do Campo a new case was diagnosed in São Pedro.

In the same period, there were a total of 22 recoveries

There are currently five patients in hospital, all in the Divino Espírito Santo Hospital in Ponta Delgada, none in intensive care.

The Region currently has 246 positive active cases: 240 on the island of São Miguel, four on the island of Terceira and two on the island of Flores. There are two active transmission chains in the archipelago, one on the island of Flores and one on the island of Terceira and, to the present, 201 have been extinguished.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, 5,237 positive cases of covid-19 have been diagnosed in the Azores and 4,833 people recovered from the disease. There were 32 deaths, 79 people who left the archipelago and 47 cases with history of previous cure. Up to now, 477,354 tests have been carried out in the archipelago for SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes the Covid-19 disease.

From December 31st, 2020 until May 13th, 91,979 doses of Covid-19 vaccine were administered in the Azores, corresponding to 60,703 people aged 15 or over, who received the first dose and 31,276 people who received the second dose, under the Regional Vaccination Plan.

 

Azores Situation Report Saturday 15th May 2021

 

From our colleague in the Azores 

Road Safety Leaflet 

A road safety awareness campaign called “Welcome to the Azores” has been produced by the Azores Road Prevention Association (PRA) and its distribution is scheduled for June this year, in all the islands of the Azores, with a special focus on rental car companies, at airports, in delegations and tourist offices, said the regional secretary for Public Works and Communications, Ana Carvalho.

The ‘flyer’, which is simple to read, but full of essential information, to help prevent accidents in the region and helping to make the Azores a good choice in terms of road safety.

The regional secretary was speaking at the presentation of this document, which took place this Friday, in Ponta Delgada, and where the president of the Azorean Road Prevention Association was also present.

The campaign offers a bilingual brochure, explaining to tourists the rules and habits of the Azorean roads, to prevent accidents that arose with the increase in the circulation of rented vehicles.

Walter Adrahi, president of PRA, said that “in 2019, with the very intense increase in the number of tourists and with the huge increase in the number of rental cars, it was necessary to take some measures”.

“With the increase in tourism flows in the region, there was an increase in conflict situations due to the violation of certain rules, which can compromise road safety”, said the official.

After a significant increase in claims and the number of deaths in 2019, in 2020, a year marked by the covid-19 pandemic, accidents on the Azorean roads decreased.

The data show that, between 2010 and 2020, the peak number of deaths on the roads of the Azores was in 2019, with 28 deaths. Before that, there were almost always less than 20 deaths, except in 2011, the year in which 22 people died.

Last year, with the decrease in traffic, there were 2,875 accidents in the region, compared to 3,490 in the previous year.

12 people died in road accidents in 2020 in the Azores.

Rabo de Peixe 

The village of Rabo de Peixe, in the municipality of Ribeira Grande, will be the only location in the Azores subject to high-risk Covid-19 containment measures, announced the regional secretary for Health and Sports.

“We have Nordeste and Ribeira Grande with medium risk measures, Vila Franca and Lagoa with low-risk measures, Ponta Delgada, Povoação and all other municipalities in the Azores with very low risk measures”, said Clélio Meneses, in a press conference, in Angra do Heroísmo.

Due to the number of new cases of infection registered in the last seven days, which determine the level of risk of transmission according to the evaluation model applied in the Azores, the island of São Miguel would have two high-risk counties, Nordeste (284 new cases per 100 thousand inhabitants) and Ribeira Grande (308 new cases per 100 thousand inhabitants).

However, the regional health secretary said that it was “necessary to act in a detailed manner in time and place”.

“With the exception of the case announced today, perfectly identified, all other cases in the Nordeste were verified five or more days ago, which means that the situation is in evidence of control, therefore, high risk measures are not justified.

As for the municipality of Ribeira Grande, according to Clélio Meneses, “it is perfectly and intensely demonstrated that the focus of contamination is once again concentrated in the village of Rabo de Peixe, for which specific localized and more stringent measures are required”.

The risk level assessment in the Azores is based on a German model, of traffic lights, and is calculated according to the number of new cases of covid-19 per 100 thousand inhabitants in a period of seven days.

There are five levels of risk: very low (less than 25 cases per 100 thousand inhabitants), low (between 25 and 49 cases per 100 thousand inhabitants), medium (between 50 to 74 cases per 100 thousand inhabitants), medium high (between 75 and 99 cases per 100 thousand inhabitants) and high (more than 100 cases per 100 thousand inhabitants).

 

Vaccines

“Next week, everyone aged 60 or over will be [vaccinated],” said the regional secretary for Health and Sports, Clélio Meneses, at a press conference in Angra do Heroísmo.

According to the official, until the end of this week, all Azoreans over 63 years of age (excluding those who refused the vaccine) should be vaccinated, with a weekly evolution “in a stratified way”.

“up to the age 63 this week, up to the age of 60 next week and,  the following week, we hope to reach the age of 55”, he stressed, adding that people with certain pathologies and from certain sectors of activity also continue to be vaccinated.

In the Azores, 91,979 doses of vaccines against Covid-19 have already been administered to 60,703 people, of which 31,276 with two doses.

“This process is already at a very fast pace. Just yesterday, in São Miguel, 1,273 people were vaccinated. It is a very significant number. We have passed 1,000 jabs per day already on a regular basis”, said Clélio Meneses.

The minister said that the Azores are entering a “decisive moment to fight the pandemic”, with an increase in vaccination, but he called for the population to join.

“The rate of refusal depends on the island. We have information that in the age group that is being vaccinated in the village of Rabo de Peixe there was a significant refusal rate. These are worrying refusal rates, as it is a means of protection that is not used to be able to fight the pandemic”, he said.

Asked about the fact that the archipelago of Madeira, which has a population similar to that of the Azores, has already administered 112,364 doses of vaccines against covid-19, the official said that the process in the Azores “has a different complexity”.

“Some islands have reduced the speed of vaccination, in the sense of balancing so that all of them have the vaccines appropriate to what are the needs and vulnerabilities that are a fundamental criterion for vaccination,” he added.

 

Covid-19 

The Regional Health Authority has said that in the last three days the number of new positive cases of Covid-19 resulting from 6,803 tests is 71.  These tests were carried out in reference laboratories in the Region, in private laboratories with conventions, in the Regional Health Service, through rapid tests (mass screening), in the laboratory of Terceira University and by means of tests carried out in the scope of occupational medicine.

São Miguel registered most of the cases with 67and Terceira had 4.

There have been some recoveries, 53 in total, 48 of them on the island of São Miguel, 4 on Flores and 1 on Santa Maria.

As of today, seven patients remain in hospital, all in the Divino Espírito Santo Hospital in Ponta Delgada, with one in intensive care. There are currently 963 people under active surveillance.

The Region has currently 226 positive active cases: 216 on the island of São Miguel, five on the island of Flores, four on the island of Terceira and one on the island of Santa Maria.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, 5,156 positive cases of covid-19 have been diagnosed in the Azores and 4,773 people recovered from the disease. There were 31 deaths, 79 people who left the archipelago and 47 cases with a history of previous cure. There are two active transmission chains in the archipelago, one on the island of Flores and one on the island of Terceira. 201 chains have already been extinguished.

Since 31st December 2020 and 13th May, 91,979 doses of covid-19 vaccine were administered in the Azores, corresponding to 60,703 people aged 15 years or over who received the first dose and 31,276 people who received both doses, as part of the Regional Vaccination Plan.