Portugal Situation Report Wednesday 11^th August 2021

Introduction

Good morning – Since last Wednesday we are beginning to see an improving situation concerning key data in respect of Covid-19 in Portugal. In particular the decrease in transmission rates below 1.0 and the reduction in incidence rates which are most welcoming indicators. From our weekly trend reports, however, although the figures are encouraging, the number of deaths still gives rise to concern.

As far as vaccinations are concerned, Portugal is moving forward quickly with 18 year olds and over entitled to use the self-scheduling system and casa aberta (open house); those aged 16 and 17^th years who have booked vaccinations for the 14^th and 15^th August and a decision now reached on the vaccination of 12-15 year olds. Some 13 million doses of vaccines have so far administered in just over 6 months,  7.33 million people (71% of the population), having been vaccinated, with more than 6.4 million having completed the immunization with the appropriate number of doses according to the brand injected (62%). A remarkable achievement by any standards. Many congratulations to the Vice Admiral and his team.

Yesterday Safe Communities discussed with the British Embassy the situation concerning those mainly without utente numbers who have been turned away from vaccination centres. We are aware however from the feedback on our Facebook page, that some people have been recently contacted by SMS some months after registering their names on the DGS website without a utente number, so some progress has been made. You may recall this was an issue we raised with the Vaccination Task Force about 2 months ago

In order to try and resolve the issue we have shared on our Facebook page a post from our friends at Brits in Portugal, that if you have been turned away from a vaccination centre just comment with the name of the vaccination centre and its location and it will be consolidated and forwarded to the Task Force.

As you will hopefully have seen, we have published bulletins regarding an expected considerable rise in air temperature, which started today with the main effects being felt from Friday to Saturday. From what we understand this could be the hottest period this year. Although by metrological standards this does not amount to a heatwave, which requires a continuous period of 6 days at 5C or above, what it does mean is that we will see on certain days very high temperatures in certain places. The IPMA have issued high temperature warnings for 7 districts so far, which we expect to be increased both in number and intensity. We will keep you informed of further warnings and updates.

During this period in particular there are two very important things to remember: the risk of rural fires and high temperatures. If you live in a high risk fire area, ensure you have a plan of action, in case of fire and an emergency kit. Thinking about these issues after a far starts is leaving it too late.

I would also advise that you think about your outdoor activities over the weekend. This may not be the best time for a nature walk or a long bike ride for example, but if you decide to do so, ensure that you follow the safety tips, particularly ensure adequate consumption of fluids and avoiding the hottest periods of the day. Remember it can be much hotter later in the afternoon, than mid-day.

We have spent considerable time and investment over the last few years in developing safety advice and information, which is available in our new website. As a Civil Protection Volunteer Organisation (the only one serving the international community in Portugal) we take our role seriously and our information and advice is from official sources.  Our website and services do not cost anything to use, but not doing so  could place you and your family at unnecessary risk in by not being aware of the measures to take in the event of rural fires and other catastrophes.

With that please have a good day.

 

DGS Covid -19

Confirmed Cases: 990.293 (+ 2232 / + 0.23 %)

Number of admitted: 829 (-28 /-3.27 %)

Number of ICU admitted: 186 (-3 /-1.59 %)

Deaths: 17.502 (+ 17 / + 0.10 %)

Recovered: 929.547 (+ 3705 / + 0.40 %)

Active cases: 43,244 (-1490 /-.3.3%)

Safe Communities comparisons/trends show that deaths were similar to Monday and above last week’s daily average; new daily cases were double that of yesterday, similar to last week’s daily average. In hospital there was a moderate decrease after a small increase on Monday and in ICU there was a small decrease after a small increase the previous day. As far as active cases were concerned there was a large reduction for one day due to a high number of recoveries.

Health

DGS Vaccination Report

More than 6.4 million Portuguese people already have complete vaccination against Covid-19, which corresponds to 62% of the Portuguese population, indicates the latest vaccination report from the DGS. The information also confirms what had already been advanced by the Government: 71% of the population has already received at least one dose, the equivalent of 7.33 million people.

Data from the DGS also reveal that more than a third of young people between 18 and 24 years old have received at least one dose of a vaccine against the coronavirus, and 19% of people in this age group are fully vaccinated.

The vaccination report indicates that, in the 65-79 and 80-and-over age groups, the percentage of people who have received at least one dose of vaccine is 99%. Complete vaccination is higher in the 65 to 79 (97%) than in the over 80 (96%).

Portugal has already received almost 14.4 million doses of anti-Covid vaccines, with 13.2 million doses being distributed.

The most advanced region in vaccination is the Centre, where 72% of people already have a dose and 65% have completed the vaccination schedule 

Covid-19: “Everything is ready” to vaccinate children before the school year, says Costa

The prime minister today congratulated the DGS for recommending universal vaccination for children between 12 and 15 years old, saying that “everything is in place” to guarantee the vaccination of this age group before the school year.

“I am delighted that science has confirmed that it is possible to fulfil our duty to guarantee universal protection for all children over 12 years old”, wrote António Costa in a message posted on his official Twitter account.

The prime minister thus reacted to the announcement, made today by the General Directorate of Health (DGS), which recommends universal vaccination of children and young people between 12 and 15 years of age, thus no longer limited to specific situations, such as cases in who have risky diseases.

“Everything is in place to guarantee the administration of two doses of vaccines until the beginning of the school year”, António Costa wrote today, similarly to what he had already announced on 21 July, during the debate on the state of the Nation.

“The vaccines were purchased, the logistics were ready and the calendar was defined: young people between 12 and 17 years old can have complete vaccination until September 19th”, he pointed out.

Vaccination 12-15 year olds provisional scheduling under consideration

Lisbon, 10 Aug 2021 (Lusa) – The ‘task force’ for vaccination against covid-19 is “planning” the process of administering vaccines to young people between 12 and 15 years old, so that families can organize them.

“Planning is being done for these age groups and as soon as it is defined (the calendar) it will be communicated, so that the parents of the young people can organize themselves”, said the same source.

On July 27, the coordinator of the task force, Vice Admiral Gouveia e Melo, stated that the vaccination of young people aged 16 and 17 would start on the weekend of August 14 and 15 and that vaccination of the age groups below should happen on the following weekends.

“On August 14th, we are going to start vaccinating teenagers aged 16 and 17 years. Between the ages of 12 and 15 it will be on the following two weekends, if the DGS agrees on the importance of vaccinating this segment of the population”, said Gouveia e Melo at the time.

Covid-19: Delta variant with a frequency of 98.9% in Portugal

The Delta variant of the coronavirus that causes covid-19 is the most prevalent in Portugal, with a relative frequency of 98.9% in the week ending August 1, according to the Ricardo Jorge Institute.

According to the latest situation report on the genetic diversity of the new SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus in Portugal, of the total Delta variant sequences analysed, 62 have the additional K417N mutation in the Spike protein (the so-called Delta Plus), which has maintained a relative frequency below 1% from the week of June 14th to 20th.

No case was detected in the week analysed between the 26th of July and the 1st of August (week 30), reports the National Institute of Health Doctor Ricardo Jorge (INSA).

The INSA report indicates that, to date, 13,807 sequences of the genome of the new coronavirus, obtained from samples collected in more than 100 laboratories, hospitals and institutions, representing 298 municipalities in Portugal, have been analysed.

The institute also states that an average of 588 sequences per week have been analysed since the beginning of June and that this sampling involved laboratories distributed throughout the 18 districts of mainland Portugal and the Autonomous Regions of the Azores and Madeira, covering an average of 118 councils per week.

Study concludes that the total eradication of the virus that generates covid-19 is “probably feasible

The study developed by experts from the University of Otago Wellington (New Zealand, and published in BMJ Global Health, includes comparative data on technical, socio-political and economic factors of covid-19, polio and smallpox infections

The global eradication of covid-19 is “probably feasible” thanks to vaccination, public health measures and a global interest in controlling the pandemic, according to a new study.

For the signatories of the study published in BMJ Global Health, health policies and the global interest resulting from the financial and social crises make eradication of the virus possible, but, according to specialists from the University of Otago Wellington (New Zealand), the main objectives are to ensure greater vaccination coverage, capable of responding quickly to variants.

“Although our analysis is preliminary, with several subjective elements, it seems to place the eradication of covid-19 within the realm of the possible, especially in terms of technical feasibility”, say the authors of the study, which includes comparative data from technical, socio-political factors and economics of covid-19, polio and smallpox infections.

The researchers used a three-point scoring system for each of 17 variables, including availability of a safe and effective vaccine, lifetime immunity, the impact of public health measures, and effective government management of infection control.

Political and public concern with economic and social repercussions or the acceptance of restrictive measures were also calculated.

Mean scores in the study totalled 2.7 for smallpox, 1.6 for covid-19, and 1.5 for polio.

Sports

Volta s Portugal loses two cyclists due to a covid-19 case

Emanuel Duarte is infected with the new coronavirus and David Livramento was also removed from the Volta a Portugal, for sharing a room with the infected cyclist, confirmed today to Lusa a source at Atum General-Tavira-Maria Nova Hotel.

Alejandro Marque thus loses two teammates to help him defend the yellow card, with the Tavirenses being reduced to five units, before the start of the fifth stage of the 82nd edition, which today links Águeda to the Sanctuary of Senhora da Assunção (Santo Tirso), totaling 171.3 kms.

The 39-year-old Galician leads the overall standings, five seconds ahead of Amaro Antunes (W52-FC Porto) and 25 over Frederico Figueiredo (Efapel).

Travel

Largest recruitment action: Ryanair to hire 300 people in Portugal

Ryanair will hire more than 300 pilots, cabin crew and information technology professionals in Portugal, the biggest recruitment action ever made in the country, the airline announced this Tuesday.

The decision follows on from the investment that the company will make at Lisbon airport, where it will allocate three more aircraft as of November as part of its 2021 winter schedule.

“We are pleased to announce this recruitment campaign for new jobs in Portugal, as Ryanair continues to invest in our Portuguese operations, not only in Lisbon, but also in the Porto, Faro and Ponta Delgada regions”, says the director of Ryanair staff, Darrell Hughes, in a statement. “Ryanair is a major employer and investor in Portugal and we are pleased to be able to offer pilots, crew and IT professionals exciting opportunities.”

Pilot and cabin crew job offers will be available at Ryanair bases in Lisbon, Porto, Faro and Ponta Delgada.

“Ryanair currently has an information technology HUB (Ryanair LABS Lisboa), which operates virtually, allowing its employees (qualified IT professionals) to work 100% from home. This virtual office will be expanded in the coming years, Ryanair invites applications for these exciting IT positions,” the statement explains.

The company also guarantees that it will continue, through its growing investments, to support the recovery of the Portuguese economy and the tourism industry.

Anyone interested in these job opportunities and in knowing all the details can find out on the page: https://careers.ryanair.com/

Portugal Situation Report Saturday 7^th August 2021

Introduction

Good morning – Firstly our SCP team would like to thank the government as for the first time we can recall in a year, there was no Council of Minister’s meeting last Thursday concerning Covid-19 and therefore no re-scheduling of dinner for us, through publishing charts, translations, preparing Facebook posts, answering your questions etc! Hopefully this is a sign things are improving.

On a more serious note, yesterday was a very busy day concerning rural fires, particularly in the Algarve, both in terms of providing prevention and self- protection advice as well as monitoring of fires, which we did as usual throughout the day, reporting on those. For the Algarve the fact that there were five fires in less than for hours in the afternoon came as no surprise given the extreme fire risk which we had outlined earlier in the day.

Each day at this time of the year there are upwards of around 40 fires sometimes reaching over one hundred. This is too many, but a vast reduction of over 300 per day during the worst of the 2017 fire period. The vast majority of rural fires take place in isolated areas and do not pose a threat to life or property, and the vast majority are extinguished quickly, normally within one hour due to the great work of the emergency services.

These fire are monitored by Civil Protection through their dashboard and through Fogos.pt which has an automatic link to the ANEPC dashboard downloading information but with more features. This is important as it ensures accuracy, and avoids human error.

Our role at Safe Communities, as it was when I spent over 30 years as a police officer, is to protect life and property. For that reason SCP trained for and became Portugal’s only Civil Protection Voluntary Organisation under Portuguese law in the area of communication in particular to the international community living and visiting here.

We attended numerous civil protection exercises, visited command posts during incidents, and entered into formal agreements with the ANEPC, as well as becoming part of the National Civil Protection plan, plus working closely with fire behavioural experts. As such in times of crisis we can call upon the relevant authorities for guidance, advice and information when required as in carrying out our statutory duties.

Although we monitor all rural fires we do not report each and every one, such as stating the number of operatives, vehicles and aircraft as that alone provides very little information concerning the fire situation, especially where exactly the fire is and which direction it is moving in for example. Our criterial for creating SITREPS (situation reports), is when the fires has exceed the initial attack stage; and or if it poses a threat to life or property; it becomes a major incident declared by the ANEPC or there multiple fires in a close area. In such cases we create a Facebook post, linked to a major incident page (in serious cases) on our website with as much relevant and accurate information available.

Regarding to the fire at Carvalhal, Loulé, which re-ignited 2 days after it was dominated, this shows the problem concerning fires which burn at high temperatures when the vegetation is very dry, there are high air temperatures, low humidity with high winds. If you have burned piled and cut debris, you will know the problems of ensuring the fire is fully extinguished – this is why in cases like this there is always deployment of fire fighters well after the conclusion stage, to monitor the situation  and to ensure a quick response to and re-ignitions that take place.

Turning to the weather. We frequently provide advice concerning the dangers of high temperatures and how to avoid exposure to the heat, as well as ways recommended by the DGS to keep safe in high temperatures. We are now seeing temperatures across several parts of the country, particularly in the Algarve, temperatures are well into the 30s.  For those working outdoors, such as builders, for example, or those undertaking leisure sports activities, in these temperatures there is a danger of heat exhaustion or heat stroke, if your body basically over heats. This can lead to heat exhaustion and even worse heat stroke which if left untreated can lead to death. We have advice on the symptoms and treatment which can be downloaded here.

https://www.safecommunitiesportugal.com/find-information/environment-and-weather/sun-and-temperature-extremes/

I will be discussing these subjects on KissFm radio on Sunday at 0915 on Solid Gold Sunday.

 

Please take care and have a Safe Day

 

Covid 19

DGS Covid-19 Report
Confirmed Cases: 982.364 (+ 2377 / + 0.24 %)
Number of admitted: 866 (-32 /-3.56 %)
Number of ICU admitted: 194 (-2 /-1.02 %)
Deaths: 17.440 (+ 18 / + 0.10 %)
Recovered: 920.278 (+ 2911 / + 0.32 %)
Active cases: 44,646 (-552/-4.5%)

Safe Communities comparisons/trends show that deaths yesterday were nearly double that of Thursday and above last week’s daily average; new daily cases were slightly higher than Monday in line with last week’s daily average. In hospital it was the 4th day in a row of moderate decreases and in ICU there was a reduction for two consecutive days. In active cases there was a smaller decrease, with the total having have decreased by 17.6% in 12 days.

In Algarve new cases at 245 is more than yesterday’s figure of 230. Increase 10.3% of total similar to yesterday.

Health

Covid-19: Portugal with 12 million doses of vaccines administered expects an additional 1.2 million this month

Portugal has already administered more than 12 million doses of vaccines against covid-19 and expects to receive 1.2 million additional doses this month, in addition to 1.6 million doses contracted with suppliers.

“Mainland Portugal surpassed the mark of 12 million doses of vaccines against covid-19 administered to the population, which allowed to vaccinate more than 6.8 million people, with at least one dose, of which more than 6.1 million have the complete vaccination schedule”, says the Ministry of Health in a statement released today.

In the same note, the Ministry of Health also states that the country hopes to receive over 1.2 million doses of vaccines this month.

“It should be noted that more than 1.2 million additional vaccines are expected to be delivered during the month of August, which will be added to the 1.6 million doses of vaccines already expected and resulting from initial contracts with companies that supply vaccines”, advances the document.

The Ministry of Health highlights the “commitment of all those involved in the process” of vaccination, such as health professionals, security forces and the armed forces, among others, to have reached “a milestone” of 12 million doses administered, as well as efforts to purchase additional vaccines.

Covid-19: Reinforcement of more than half a million vaccines arrives in Portugal in the coming weeks

Evora, 06 Aug 2021 (Lusa) – Portugal will receive a booster of more than half a million vaccines against covid-19 in the next two weeks, in an “effort” to give the virus “the last blow”, said the coordinator of the ‘task force’ of vaccination today.

“We are going to receive a booster, in addition to what is planned, of 286,000 [vaccines], on Monday, then on another Monday, another 300,000, and then still another booster”, which did not he needed the quantities, he indicated.

The task force coordinator, Vice Admiral Henrique Gouveia e Melo, who was speaking to journalists at the end of a visit to the Covid-19 Vaccination Center in Évora, said that Janssen and Pfizer vaccines have “already arrived”, which allowed again to “accelerate the process”.

“The reinforcement [of vaccines] at Moderna is also being negotiated”, he pointed out, stressing that this “effort” is aimed at “giving a final blow” to the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes the covid-19 disease.

Stressing that the country is “close to reaching” 70% of the vaccinated population, Gouveia e Melo considered that this number “is no longer a goal” and established that the goal now is to have, by September, “all the eligible population” for the vaccine “with the first dose”.

In this sense, he added, the country will once again “have an average of more than 100,000” doses of vaccine administered per day, as early as next week.

“We want to vaccinate 800,000 people, of which more than half a million are first doses and, in these coming weeks, we want to give a high amount of first doses and then have the second doses for September”, he stressed.

Asked about people missing appointments at vaccination centers due to vacations, the coordinator of the ‘task force’ said he had already noticed that “in some centers” of vaccination there are people with appointments “who do not show up”.

“But later, when we go to study” the case, it is observed that “there were scheduling errors, because we put these people on schedule but there was no confirmation from the person whether they wanted or not” the vaccine, he stressed.

 

Covid-19: DGS prepares guidance on vaccines not approved by the European Agency

Lisbon, 05 Aug 2021 (Lusa) – The Directorate-General for Health (DGS) is preparing guidelines on vaccines against covid-19 Covishield (AstraZeneca) and Chinese Sinovac, not approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), that will be released soon.

Asked by Lusa about whether the DGS will recognize these two vaccines for the purposes of quarantine exemption for travellers arriving, for example, from Brazil, the entity said only that it is “preparing guidelines on these matters, which will be published in due course” .

SIC reported on Tuesday that Portugal will recognize the Indian-made AstraZeneca vaccine and the Chinese Sinovac vaccine, which are neither approved by the EMA nor administered in national territory, saying that “Infarmed’s decision will be applied by the General Directorate’s rule of health”.

In response to Lusa, Infarmed said that “it provided the necessary information to the Directorate-General of Health at the right time” and sent any clarification to the DGS.

“Portugal continues to receive and purchase vaccines within the scope of supplies under the contracts signed by the European Commission, namely with AstraZeneca, Janssen, Moderna and BioNTech/Pfizer”, adds the National Medicines Authority.

 

DGS issues Guidelines for outdoor events

Lisbon, 06 Aug 2021 (Lusa) – Outdoor shows, even free ones, must have admission tickets, controlled entrances and the public must be distributed by marked places, indicates an updated guideline by the General Directorate of Health (DGS) .

In the document, the DGS emphasizes that, “at this stage, shows with audiences not distributed by marked places are not allowed”, insisting that the places in the outdoor show venue must be previously identified (chairs or marking on the floor), “giving preference to seating positions”.

Stressing the importance of always complying with a distance of 1.2 meters between non-cohabiting spectators, “given that spectators do not move, they are outdoors and are obligatorily wearing a face mask at all times”.

DGS also says that in outdoor shows “the period of entry and exit of the public must be extended so that the entrance of spectators can be delayed, complying, in access, with the rules of minimum physical distance of 1.5 meters between people non-cohabitants”.

In shows with a stage, the first two rows next to the stage must not be occupied or, alternatively, a distance of at least two meters must be guaranteed between the stage and the first row of spectators to occupy, indicates.

The guideline also defines that events with audiences held outside fixed spaces or establishments of an artistic nature, “should be preceded by a risk assessment by the territorially competent health authority”, in conjunction with the event organizer, listening to the local security forces, to determine if there is feasibility and conditions for realization.

Portugal analysing with Brazil easing of travel restrictions

On Wednesday, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Augusto Santos Silva, revealed that Portugal is analyzing with Brazil the possibility of easing restrictions on the entry of passengers from the South American country due to the covid-19 pandemic.

“We started working together with the Brazilian authorities (…) to see under what conditions and when we can ease some of the restrictions that currently apply to passengers arriving in Portugal from Brazil,” said Augusto Santos Silva.

Currently, passengers from Brazil can only travel to Portugal for family, professional, study or humanitarian reasons, they have to present a negative test to covid-19 and they have to comply with a period of quarantine.

Augusto Santos Silva said that Portugal can “evaluate the restrictions that are currently in place” as the situation of the pandemic evolves positively in each of the countries.

“It was this work that began on July 30th, between Portugal and Brazil, and will continue after the holidays,” said the minister, when asked about the difference in criteria between Portugal and Spain regarding the recognition of vaccine certification against covid-19.

 

 

Portugal Situation Report Wednesday 4^th August 2021

Good morning – Although it is early days, it appears that we may have now reached a turning point in the Covid-19 pandemic here in Portugal. All the key indicators such as RT and a reduction in incidence rates show that we are now at last on a downward track.

Of course we have been in similar situations before, only to find that cases have increased again, necessitating the reintroduction of more restrictive measures.

However, we are now at a point where the measures are less restrictive than we have seen for well over a year, and we have one of the highest vaccination rates in Europe. The Portuguese government in my view have done an incredible job in responding to crisis few of us have previously experienced.

I can say this with some experience and confidence, having been at the forefront in Hong Kong in 2002/3 dealing with the SARS crisis. We learned a great deal from that crisis which is why Safe Communities Portugal became the first organisation in Portugal to start monitoring its progress, two months before it reach our shores.

If all goes well we will be back to normality once 85% of the population is vaccinated with estimates being that will be sometime in October. Before then, once 70% vaccinations are achieve, estimate, September we will then move to the next phase. Currently 57% of the population have been fully vaccinated and almost 70% at least one dose.

As proposed by several experts, measures were approved at the last Council of Ministers applicable to the levels of 70% and 85% of complete vaccination of the population, based on indicators related to the assessment of the risk of transmission of the infection, the level of incidence, clinical severity and the responsiveness of the National Health Service, to be defined by the member of the Government responsible for the health area. An Order has now been published with details of these and can be downloaded in English from our Covid-19 Risk page.

https://www.safecommunitiesportugal.com/major-incidents/covid-19-risk/

I recommend that you visit this page with the updated figures from the INSA which are usually published on Saturday mornings

The self-scheduling of Covid-19 vaccines for those age 16 and 17 years was available from yesterday, August 3, at the DGS site.

According to the Task Force – At this time, older people cannot schedule a vaccination because the portal “is only allocated to self-schedule for 16 and 17 year olds”. This group is for vacancies available for the 14th and 15th of August, so they will have full priority. There are more than 200,000 teenagers eligible for vaccination across the country. The task force stated that the portal should re-open for older age groups within days.

The Casa Aberta (Open House) scheme is now available to those 30 years of age and over. Users will now be able to schedule their “Casa Aberta” vaccination through a TICKET SYSTEM, in order to avoid queues. Please see our Facebook post yesterday and also our website Covid-19 Vaccinations page.

Turning to the subject of rural fires and other catastrophes; much of this is a result of extreme weather conditions, which we are experiencing in Portugal in respect of high temperatures, but also in the north of Europe concerning heavy rain and flooding.

We are focusing on this subject because of the high risk of rural fires in Portugal which will likely increase further as the weather becomes dryer. To help the foreign communities here in Portugal will also report on major catastrophes overseas, where families or friends may be affected.

Extreme weather is becoming far more frequent, and sets the conditions where fires can start and spread easily. Often these are a result of negligence and sometimes deliberately.

It is essential, and I repeat “essential”, therefore that we are fully aware of the fire risks, especially those living in high risk areas. We should know what action to take should a fire start, bearing in mind that fires can start and spread very quickly.

So we remind those in rural areas, especially high risk areas, to understand the fire risk in your area, develop a self-protection action plan, practice it and know what to do should a fire break out. Your life and that of your family could depend on the decisions you make and the action you take.

I will be covering this topic in more detail in a special feature in this Thursday’s Algarve Resident.

With this please have a Safe Day

 

DGS Covid-19 Report Tuesday 3^rd August 2021

Confirmed Cases: 974.203 (+ 2076 / + 0.21 %)

Number of admitted: 945 (-23 /-2.38 %)

Number of ICU admitted: 204 (+ 1 / + 0.49 %)

Deaths: 17.397 (+ 19 / + 0.11 %)

Recovered: 909.330 (+ 4368 / + 0.48 %)

Active cases: 47,476 (-2311/–4.6%)

Safe Communities comparisons/trends show that deaths were double that of the previous day and nearly double last weeks’ daily average; new daily cases were nearly double that of Monday’s but still below last week’s daily average. As far as hospitalisations are concerned there was a moderate decrease following Monday’s’ large increase, but still second highest since 15th March. In ICU there was another small increase, and in so far as active cases are concerned there was a very large decrease for one day, the lowest total since 14^th July 2021

 

Health

Vaccines for 16 and 17 year olds

The self-scheduling of Covid-19 vaccines for those age 16 and 17 years was available from yesterday, August 3, at the DGS site.

According to the Task Force – At this time, older people cannot schedule vaccination because the portal “is only allocated to self-schedule for 16 and 17 year olds”. This group has vacancies available for the 14th and 15th of August, so they will have full priority. There are more than 200,000 teenagers eligible for vaccination across the country.

This came into effect a few hours ago and appointments can be made in the same way as older age groups on the DGS website.

At this time, older people cannot schedule vaccination because the portal “is only allocated to these ages”, confirms the task force, which recalls that young people were considered a priority in this phase before the start of the new academic year. “It’s a constraint on the system”, he justifies, noting that the portal will open again for other age groups “within a few days”.

COVID 19 – Vaccination “Casa Aberta” is now available for 30s and over

The announcement was made yesterday by the coordinator of the task force, Vice Admiral Henrique Gouveia e Melo, who also said that this regime would no longer be conditioned to the use of the Janssen vaccine (from Johnson & Johnson pharmaceuticals), in vaccination centers that have other brands available.

Users will now be able to schedule their “Casa Aberta” vaccination through a TICKET SYSTEM, in order to avoid queues. The ticket scheme using a digital password is here.

Gouveia e Melo stressed that this system is already being tested in some places and will be generalized next week.

The “Casa Aberta” allows for the vaccination of first doses by people +30s, who have not scheduled a vaccine and who have not been infected with Covid-19 in the past six months.

DGS Reduces interval between doses of Pfizer’s vaccine

The changes were announced in DGS Standard 021/2020 of 3 August 2021 “n5. Vaccination schedule of the COMIRNATY® vaccine – Recommended vaccination schedule: 2 doses with an interval of 21 to 28 days.”

Pfizer/BioNtech is the most used brand of vaccines against Covid-19 in Portugal. New interval is flexible.

A change that confirms what had already been requested by the coordinator of the vaccination task force, Vice Admiral Gouveia e Melo, to be able to vaccinate the younger people group before the start of the school year.

And above all, given the prospect of the arrival of one million vaccines from Pfizer next week, it is expected that it will be possible to speed up the vaccination process again.

Blood donations

The Portuguese Federation of Benevolent Blood Donors (FEPODABES) launched, this Tuesday, an appeal so that “citizens continue to give blood at this time of year”.

According to the website dodor.pt , the reserves of the Portuguese Institute of Blood and Transplantation (IPST) referring to negative groups are the most worrying. Type O- and B- have reservations for up to four days and type A- for four to seven days. AB- and O+ groups have reservations of seven to 10 days. Groups AB+, A+ and B+ will last for more than 10 days.

In the summer and in time of pandemic, “hospitals continue to need blood to meet the needs of their patients”, warns FEPODABES, calling for “all citizens over 18 years old, weighing more than 50 kilos and that they are healthy, make your gift”.

“Right now we are in need of blood donors of blood groups 0-, A-, B- very low reserves”, he emphasizes.

To respond to this need, it continues to promote summer campaigns. Collection locations and dates can be found on the official website www.fepodabes.pt .

“Summer is a time of the year when the availability of citizens to donate blood is reduced, so FEPODABES decided to promote this summer campaign to contribute to the maintenance of blood reserves”, he explains.

Alberto Mota, president of FEPODABES, insists that it is “very important that people make their donation before leaving for the well-deserved vacation, because even in the summer hospitals need blood.” This call to mobilize citizens is also aimed at “remembering that giving blood is a benevolent gesture that can save lives”, he concludes.

 

Portugal Situation Report Wednesday 28th July 2021

 

Introduction

Good morning – Well yesterday was dominated by the Infarmed meeting attended by the President of the Republic and the Prime Minister together with various experts. This was the first since 28^th May 2021.

There is some optimism reflected by the fact that the increase in the number of new cases is slowing down although still of concern in the north. The Rt is decreasing and if this drops to less than one then the number of new cases will reduce as well.

During the meeting, as expected experts advocated the implementation of a four-phase plan to gradually ease restrictions currently in place. In the first recommendation, where we currently find ourselves, the restrictions remain the same. They suggest that the mask be kept indoors and at public events, where social distancing is also mandatory. From the second level onwards, circulation without a mask must be guaranteed.

In specific cases of trips to the beach and campsites, the mask should only be mandatory in common places and when the distance cannot be fulfilled. In restaurants, experts suggest a limit of people per table – which should gradually increase as levels advance – but do not make any recommendations about times. Weddings and baptisms may have more people as the levels advance, starting at 50% capacity.

There was also a focus on the risk matrix by increasing the incidence to 480 cases (and not 240 cases) per 100,000 inhabitants, as well as increasing the alert threshold for intensive care from 245 to 255 in “red lines”. We await how this will transpire but it appears this was acceptable to the Minister of Health.

There was also a great deal on focus on the success of the vaccination plan in which Portugal stands out with one of the highest vaccination rates in Europe and on 25^th July being placed at 9^th place in the world according to Our World in Data. The plan is to extend vaccinations down to 16 and 17 year olds starting 14^th August.  Clearly this is important given that the greatest increases in cases are in the younger age groups.

On the question of travel, the minister of health stated that even as the countries have different rates of vaccination, “the variants have entered through the circulation of nationals from other countries” and that is why it is necessary to pay attention to travel. “With rules it is possible to return to some normality, but rules are very important”, she says.

These recommendations and analysis will allow the Government to consider the situation at the Council of Ministers Meeting tomorrow and decide whether existing measures need to continue, (if so for how long) or whether there can be some relaxation in view of the current situation. We should hear some news during the usual press conference following the COM as well as in the official communique.

As usual there will likely be a great deal of speculation today in the media what may or may not happen, but as we have seen before nothing is certain until the outcome of the COM and even then changes can be made in the lead up to the publication of the decree law.

As we head towards the coming weekend the IPMA forecast a considerable increase in the rural fire risk with a larger number of municipalities at maximum level than we have seen for some time. We will as usual be providing the daily rural fire risk reports on a daily basis supplement with advice to prevent fires as well as self-protection measures in the event that you are affected by a fire. As we have said repeatedly it is vitally important for those living in rural areas, particularly those parishes at high risk to have an action plan in place should a fire break out. Leaving it to when a fire starts is too late.  In windy and dry conditions fires can spread very quickly and change direction depending on the wind conditions.

Lastly I would like to extend our best wishes and many thanks to Jennie Kelly who for over the last year or so has been publishing our morning and overseas reports on our website as well as being the Editor of our Newsletter. She has done an excellent job as a volunteer. Jennie has just moved back to the UK for a while with her husband Phil, but we understand this is a temporary measure and we look forward to seeing her return in due course. She remains an advisor to our association. We welcome at the same time our new volunteer Susan Wright who has been a follower of SCP for some years. Susan lives in Vila Nova de Gaia and has kindly offered to help us by publishing the reports on our website and other assistance as needed.  A warm welcome to the team Susan.

With that please have a Safe Day. 

Covid-19 Report published 27^th July 2021

New confirmed cases: 956.985 (+2316 / +0.24%)

Number in hospital: 928 (+9 / +0.98%)

Number in ICU: 200 (+2 / +1.01%)

Deaths: 17.307 (+6 / +0.03%)

Recoveries: 888.423 (+5051 / +0.57%)

Active cases: (51,255 (-2741/-5.07%)

Safe Communities comparisons/trends show that deaths are less than last weeks’ daily average; new daily cases were higher than yesterday but less than last week’s daily average. Cases in north again higher than those in Lisbon and Vale do Tejo. There was a smaller increase in hospitalisations but highest total since 16th March 2021 and also a small increase in ICU cases for one day. Highest total since 17th March 2021. Good news is that active cases showed a very significant decrease the biggest since March. – In Algarve new cases slowing down – daily increase 6.3% of all new cases

Health

Infarmed meeting Statistics

André Peralta Santos, from DGS, revealed that the incidence is higher than 400 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. However, the rate of increase in the number of cases “has been decreasing”.

There is greater incidence in the metropolitan areas of Lisbon and Porto, as well as in the Algarve. In Lisbon and the Algarve, there is already “a trend of stabilization or descent”. In Porto, there are still “growth areas”, since, here, the resurgence of the pandemic occurred after it had occurred in Lisbon.

Since early June there has been an “increasing trend” in admissions, with 198 in ICU and 900 in total on 25 July. At the moment, there is an occupancy of 78% of the reference value of 255 beds. The age group with the highest occupation in the ICU is between 40 and 59 years old.

Until recently (week 26 of the pandemic), only 2% of those admitted to the ward had the complete vaccination schedule. This value rises to 5% in the case of those admitted to the ICU. 

Health Minister says youth vaccination “is already clarified”

The Minister of Health considered, this Tuesday, that the vaccination of young people under 18 years is clarified and that it will be addressed in the Council of Ministers, although the final position of the Directorate-General for Health is not yet known.

“On the subject of vaccinations, the decision to vaccinate from 18 to 16 years of age has already been clarified, and vaccination from 12 to 15 in cases of comorbidities is already clarified, which will now be listed by the General Directorate of Health (DGS)”, said Marta Temido, without failing to stress that the Government will meet to “appreciate the current measures” and also “to reflect on the recommendations left today by the experts ” in the Council of Ministers on Thursday.

According to the official, who was speaking to journalists after the meeting at Infarmed, in Lisbon, which brought together specialists, the Government, the President of the Republic and the President of the Assembly of the Republic, technicians from the technical commission for vaccination against covid-19 are still analysing ” the benefit-risk balance regarding vaccination at these “younger ages”, but emphasized that there is a political decision.

“We all want to have this information as soon as possible and we are prepared to vaccinate these age groups in logistic terms, we now depend on this technical assessment and there is also a decision that can be taken beyond this technical decision”, he said.

Marta Temido also refuted the thesis of greater resistance to vaccination against covid-19 among younger people, citing the study presented this Tuesday by the director of the National School of Public Health (ENSP) of the Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Carla Nunes 

Covid-19: Medical Association reiterates the need for a new risk matrix

Lisbon, July 27, 2021 (Lusa) – The President of the Medical Association today reiterated the need to review the risk matrix, arguing that the indicator proposed to the Government two weeks ago allows to understand the effects of vaccination on the evolution of the covid- 19.

“From the moment that vaccination began to accelerate, we started to have a situation that was not being contemplated in the Government’s risk matrix, which is the question of the severity of the disease,” he told the Lusa Miguel Guimarães agency on the day in that another meeting of experts is held at Infarmed on the epidemiological situation in Portugal.

The proposal of the Medical Association (OM), developed in collaboration with the Instituto Superior Técnico, adds to the two existing indicators – incidence and transmissibility (Rt) – three more: lethality, admissions to the ward and admissions to intensive care units.

These indicators, explained the Chairman, allow us to assess the severity of the disease, also reflecting the effects of vaccination against SARS-CoV-2, and this is what the Order would like to see in the Government’s risk matrix, to which it sent the new matrix.

For its part, the Ministry of Health told Lusa that these data are already considered in decisions about the pandemic, the same justification also given to the OM in a letter delivered on Monday, and sent any changes to after the Infarmed meeting, which takes place today.

“We fulfilled our mission”, said Miguel Guimarães, considering that the new indicators are “the best way to protect the economy and health”.

More than 11,000 adverse reactions to covid-19 vaccines

Infarmed has received more than 11,000 reports of side effects from vaccines against SARS-CoV-2. Of these, four thousand were considered serious.

As of July 22, the National Medicines Authority (Infarmed ) has received 11 314 reports of adverse reactions to vaccines against covid-19. Of these, 4015 were considered serious. Until the same date, 11 002 989 inoculations were administered, which represents, according to the same source, one case of side effects reported for every thousand vaccines administered.

Of the vaccines approved by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), and administered in the country, it is AstraZeneca (Vaxzevria) that registers the highest number of notifications per thousand vaccines given, about 1.7. Of the more than two million inoculations, 3480 adverse reactions were reported.

In the remaining three, it is in Pfizer’s ( Cominarty) with more doses dates (7.4 million) that more side effects have been reported (6485). The Janssen as fewer doses (444 000), which is also have fewer reactions (379). In Moderna (Spikevax), in more than 1.1 million vaccines there were 970 reactions.

Infarmed meeting – Survey report

Carla Nunes, from the National School of Public Health, revealed that younger people have lower risk perception values ​​in case they come to be infected by covid-19 (only 37%, against 60% of the older group).

“We can imagine a winter in which life can get very close to what it was before,” he said, stressing the importance of vaccinating the youngest.

“If we don’t vaccinate the children, we’re going to have a spike in cases.”

57.1% of respondents say it is “difficult or very difficult” not to socialize with family or friends. The highest value (62.1%) is between 16 and 25 years old.

The greatest resistance to the vaccine (that is, those who do not want to take the vaccine or who have not yet decided) is found in the most active age groups, between 26 and 65 years, with about 25%. The highest number of respondents who answered that they had no intention of taking it was between 46 and 54 years old (19.9%).

Among respondents who do not want to get the vaccine, 57% said they did not have enough information. 50% said they were afraid of developing side effects and 40.7% considered that vaccines were not, in their opinion, effective.

20.9% prefer to gain immunity through contagion, 14% responded that covid-19 is not a dangerous disease for themselves and 7% believe they do not need the vaccine because they have already been contaminated. Only 2.3% said they did not believe in vaccines.

Order wants a family nurse for each patient

Lisbon, 28 Jul 2021 (Lusa) – The Ordem dos Enfermeiros wants to meet with the tutelage to discuss a proposal that aims to recover the care activity damaged by the pandemic, nurses with broad skills, more professionals in health centers and a family nurse per user.

Underlining the impact of the covid-19 pandemic on patient care, particularly with regard to chronic patients, the Ordem dos Enfermeiros (OE) wants to accelerate the implementation of the family nurse figure in terms of health care.

The proposal is one of those contained in a letter sent to the Minister of Health, Marta Temido, and the Deputy Secretary of State for Health, António Lacerda Sales, in which the OE asks for an audience to discuss the topic and the implementation of experiences.

Citing the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR) and what it foresees in terms of reformulating the provision of health care with a focus on primary health care, the OE proposes to increase the number of nurses assigned to these care units personalized health services.

It also wants a reinforcement of nurses at the level of community care units and in the integrated continuing care.

They also propose the “expansion of the competences and areas of intervention of nurses and specialist nurses” and the “assignment of a family nurse to each user/family”.

According to the OE, “there are currently three thousand nurses able to integrate the labor market, which, of course, should be considered for this purpose”, also referring that “at this moment, nurses are overwhelmed with requests”, whether for vaccination against covid-19, or by following up on users.

Travel

A quarter of lawsuits filed against airlines for transporting passengers to national territory without a negative Cov-19 test already paid

ANAC has filed 539 lawsuits against 40 airlines and, of these, 133 have already resulted in fines paid. Cases concern 7156 passengers who entered the country (disembarked) without covid-19 tests carried out in the 72 hours prior to the trip

Between 2020 and last week, the National Civil Aviation Authority (ANAC) filed 539 lawsuits against 40 airlines for transporting passengers to the national territory without the respective negative covid-19 test, carried out in the 72 hours prior to the trip. Of these, 133 are already completed and led to the payment of fines applied. They are about a quarter of all open procedures.

The number of lawsuits filed this year and until last Friday (282) already exceeds those of last year (257), after the entry into force of the decree-law that established the payment of fines for lack of tests to covid-19, at the end of June. The diploma establishes that companies may be subject to fines ranging between 500 and 2000 euros per passenger transported without a valid test carried out and without proof that they would not need to do so, but there are other nuances: in periods when the country was in a state of emergency, the amount of the fine would rise to twice what was expected, and in cases where there was negligence, it would fall by half.

ANAC source was unable to specify to the PUBLIC the total amount actually paid in the 133 processes that have already been completed, nor did it clarify which companies were fined, justifying not being able to do so because of the cases are still “in progress”.