Portugal Situation Report Saturday 17Th July 2021

 

Introduction

Good morning – We start today by extending our condolences to the families and friends of those who died in the floods in Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands as well as other countries. This is a tragedy beyond all proportions, in terms of deaths, injuries and widespread destruction.

There are many in the community in Portugal who have friends and relatives in the affected area, and are undoubtedly worried over the situation.

Our coverage of this, which we started around 0700 hrs on Thursday. I thank “Deutsche in Portugal” Facebook group for kindly sharing our post within the German community here and the vast majority of our followers, who have found such information useful and shared it accordingly – thank you.

However, we received one or two comments, asking “what has this has to do with Portugal and why is Safe Communities covering this?”

Let me explain. Safe Communities Portugal has and will always report on safety and security matters that affect the large diverse community we support in Portugal and this means a multi-national approach. We have many followers of many different nationalities, and we try our best to serve those communities here, through for instance our overseas reports, as well as reporting on major catastrophes overseas, where there is a significant local interest and concern.

It is important to distinguish between just reporting the news which the media do, and the role of Safe Communities, which is to provide assistance through identifying  and promoting official enquiry services such as for missing persons, various government warnings, travel that may be affected and of course, answering your enquiries where we can. This has been part of our remit for some years in our capacity as an official Civil Protection Volunteer Organisation. We have undertaken these services during major catastrophes in Portugal of course, including the fires of 2017 and Monchique fire of 2018.

In crisis situations, debate on Facebook, which is not focused on the facts can create unnecessary, unrelated and long threads. This has a negative impact and makes it more difficult for people to find factual information and answers to questions. In critical situations such delays can even place lives at risk. Where such comments detract from the main topic, be it a health crisis or major fire for instance, we will delete these in the interests of the majority and in order to achieve our mission. The “about us” section on our Facebook page is very clear on this subject.

If anyone finds this part of what we do not to their liking, then rather than spend a lot of time criticising which then means we have to answer the issue in question, which takes up time and detracts from our important work, then please feel free to use another Facebook community that is more in keeping with their views.

Some good – news. Yesterday mainland Portugal surpassed the mark of 10 million doses of vaccines against Covid-19 administered to the population, of which about six million correspond to first doses and about four million to people with the complete vaccination schedule.

We should all be grateful for as this is by far the main weapon in our arsenal to combat Covid 19 in the long run. We are trying our best in liaison with government to resolve the issue concerning vaccinations for those without a utente number and will update as soon as there is progress.

With the heat increasing across the country it is more important than ever to push home the fact that rural fires are a part of Portuguese life and we should all be aware of their impact. The temperatures are likely to increase further over the next few days and vegetation will become dryer. It is important that those of you living in rural areas, especially in high risk areas are aware of action to take in the event of a fire. I cannot stress enough the importance of having an action plan beforehand because trying to decide at the time what to do without a plan will be too late. Fires can spread very quickly with great intensity. I will be discussing this on KissFm tomorrow Sunday 18th July at 0915 hrs.

Please have a restful and Safe weekend

 

Headlines

Portugal has already administered 10 million doses of vaccines

Mainland Portugal surpassed the mark of 10 million doses of vaccines against Covid-19 administered to the population, of which about six million correspond to first doses and about four million to people with the complete vaccination schedule.

At this moment, about 95% of the population over 50 years living on the continent already has a dose of the vaccine administered and 85% has completed vaccination. It should also be noted that, of the adult population residing on the continent, 74% already have a dose of the vaccine and 55% have the complete vaccination schedule.

The Secretary of State for Health, Diogo Serras Lopes, underlined the joint effort that has been developed to achieve this goal: «We thank everyone involved in this vaccination process – health professionals, health entities, the armed forces, the security forces, and local authorities, among many others – the enormous spirit of commitment and dialogue that has been demonstrated so that our main objective, outlined since the beginning, continues to be achieved: that each vaccine, delivered in Portugal, arrives , as soon as possible, to the people”.

Covid-19: Centre for Disease Control anticipates strong increase in the number of cases in the coming weeks in the Union

Stockholm, 16 Jul 2021 (Lusa) – The number of covid-19 cases is expected to increase sharply in the coming weeks in the European Union (EU) due to the Delta variant and the widespread relief of restriction measures, announced today the European Centre for Control of Diseases (ECDC).

According to projections released today, there may be almost five times more new cases of infection by August 1st, with an estimated incidence of over 420 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants for the week ending August 1st in relation to the territory of the EU, as well as Norway and Iceland. Last week, the incidence was less than 90 cases per 100,000 population.

For the following week, between August 2nd and August 8th, which represents the longest projection of the ECDC, the European organization estimates a new rise in this indicator, then rising to around 620 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants.

Although these projections remain epidemiological scenarios, this level of infection is in line with what was observed during the peaks of autumn 2020 and in April 2021, according to data from the EU agency. However, the number of hospitalizations and deaths is likely to grow more slowly due to the vaccination campaign at the community level.

Currently, the trend is upward in two-thirds of the 30 countries monitored by ECDC, “and in the most affected countries, the largest increases in cases and the highest levels of infection are in the 15-24 age group, with limited increases ” in the over 65 age group.

 

Covid-19 Incidence and transmission rates published 16th July

The national incidence rate rose from 336.3 to 355.5 cases per 100,000 inhabitants and on the continent from 346.5 to 366.7 cases, in the figures published today.

The national R(t) decreases from 1.15 to 1.12 and for the mainland from 1.15 to 1.13.

At municipal level for incidence rates per 100,000in the 14 day up to 14th July the highest municipalities were: Albufeira 1291, Loulé 1176, Portimão 941, Lagos 912, Sines 897 and Faro 888.

As can be seen five of the six highest municipalities were in the Algarve. All municipalities in the region showed an increase compared to last week

 

Covid-19

DGS Covid-19 Report published 16th July 2021

Confirmed Cases: 923,747 (+ 3547 / + 0.39 %)

Number of admitted: 778 (+ 4 / + 0.52 %)

Number of ICU admitted: 171 (-3 /-1.72 %)

Deaths: 17,194 (+ 7 / + 0.04 %)

Recovered: 857,108 (+ 2571 / + 0.30 %)

Active cases: 49,445 (+969/ +1.9%)

Safe Communities comparisons/trends show that deaths were higher than yesterday and above last week’s daily average of hour;  new daily cases were similar to Thursday and third highest since 10th February; of these 41.6% were in Lisbon and Vale do Tejo same percentage to average of last week. In hospital there was a small increase with the highest total since 19th March 2021 and in ICU a small decrease but still the second highest total since 19th March 2021. Active cases again increased with the highest total since 11th March 2021. In the Algarve there were over 300 news cases.

Health

Lisbon “maybe already at the peak” of the fourth wave, says Temido

Lisbon “maybe is already at the peak” of the fourth wave, admitted the Minister of Health.

On a visit to the vaccination centre in Oeiras, this Friday, Marta Temido admitted the hypothesis that Lisbon is already going through the peak of a fourth wave, acknowledging, however, that more data are needed and praising the vaccination efforts.

“Perhaps we are at the peak of the fourth wave in Lisbon. The professionals have been a tireless workforce in this vaccination campaign. At the moment we are registering well over 120 thousand doses per day and in this centre there have been three thousand doses per day , in recent days. This involves many manoeuvres, many small actions, so that everyone can be vaccinated,” he explained.

“One of the things we know about this pandemic is that only after we pass the peak can we say that we have already been there”, stressed the official, adding that it is necessary to continue to “bet on basic precautionary measures, which are not very demanding ” face what they allow.

About the open letter written by health professionals calling for no return to confinement, the minister assured that Portugal already has a set of measures adapted to the situation: “What this letter tells us is that maybe we can manage to control the numbers maintaining the measures that we are currently practicing.”

Covid-19: Intensive care with 72% of intensive care beds occupied

 Lisbon, July 16, 2021 (Lusa) – On Wednesday, 72% of the 245 intensive care beds for patients with covid-19 were occupied by mainland Portugal, when, in the previous week, this indicator was at 56%, the Directorate announced today. General of Health (DGS).

“The daily number of covid-19 cases admitted to Intensive Care Units (ICU) on the continent showed an increasing trend, corresponding to 72% of the defined critical value of 245 occupied beds”, indicates the report of the “red lines” of the pandemic DGS and the National Institute Doctor Ricardo Jorge (INSA).

According to this risk analysis, on Wednesday, 174 patients were admitted to intensive care, 38 more than on the previous Wednesday.

“The maximum recommended occupancy for covid-19 patients in Intensive Care Units by region is being updated and will be presented next week”, the report also states.

The “red lines” of control of the pandemic established by several experts predicted 245 beds as the critical value in the set of hospitals in mainland Portugal, pointing to a regional distribution of 85 beds in the North, 56 in the Centre, 84 in Lisbon and Vale the Tagus, 10 in the Alentejo and 10 in the Algarve.

The document that established these “red lines” stressed, however, that the integrated management of the National Health Service’s capacity presupposes a network response, which means, in intensive care medicine, that regional needs can be met with the response of others regions with greater capacity.

The report released today also mentions that the age group with the highest number of cases of covid-19 in the ICU corresponds to people between 40 and 59 years old, representing 82 patients out of a total of 174 hospitalized in these units.

Covid-19: Doctors and pharmacists speak out against containment measures

Lisbon, July 16, 2021 (Lusa) – Doctors and pharmacists spoke out in an open letter, released today, against the taking of “extraordinary containment measures” to combat the pandemic, warning that they produce “more serious” effects for society than the covid-19.

In the letter, released by some media, the 20 signatories portray the current situation in the country, stating that in the last 14 days (until July 8th), the covid-19 mortality rate was 0.03 per 100,000 population, against a mortality rate from other diseases and causes of death of 2.7 per 100,000.

“The average number of patients hospitalized for covid-19 was 528.7, in a total of about 21 thousand NHS beds, of which 17,700 were dedicated to covid-19”, underline the signatories, among which are the President of the Order of Pharmacists, Ana Paula Martins, pathologist Germano de Sousa, public health physician Jorge Torgal.

They further note that the incidence of positive tests was 254.8/100,000, “but the true incidence of covid-19 is unknown”, and that the “incidence” of infection among those who completed the vaccination plan is 0.01 %.

In light of this situation, the subscribers state that “it is not reasonable to combat the current situation – no longer pandemic, but endemic – by resorting to ‘sanitary’ measures, the effectiveness of which has been called into question by several prestigious researchers”.

They also consider that these measures produce “greater effects on society and the common good than the disease itself” and that some of them “may have contributed to the increase in the circulation of the virus”.

“The risk of dying from a disease other than covid-19 is actually increasing in Portugal”, they say.

Portuguese back to the altar. Marriages increase 88%

The postponement of wedding celebrations was one of the consequences of the pandemic, but it is now on a growing trend.

According to data released this Friday by the National Institute of Statistics (INE), in May there were 2,602 celebrations, which represents an increase of 88.4% from April to May.

Deaths, on the other hand, follow an inverse trend and are falling. In June, 8,116 deaths were registered, a number lower than in May (-493). Also compared to the same period of the previous year, there is a decrease of 5.2% (-448).

Only related to Covid-19, 76 deaths were identified in the last month, representing 0.9% of total deaths in June.

Live births also continue to decline, which has been happening for a year, since July 2020.

In April and May, respectively, 6,212 and 6 629 live births were registered, which means a decrease of 10.7% (-742) and 8.4% (-611), compared to the same period in 2020.

In April and May 2021, the natural balance was, respectively, minus 2,217 and minus 1,972, which compares with balances of minus 3,487 and minus 2,361 in the same periods of 2020.

 

Portugal Situation Report Wednesday 14th July 2021

 

Introduction

Good morning, in the last few days there have been many figures regarding Covid-19 but probably the most important to put in perspective are the following. Portugal recorded, on Monday, 476 active outbreaks on the continent, of which 18 are in nursing homes and two in health institutions, according to data from the General Directorate of Health (DGS) announced yesterday.

Although this may seem high, these numbers contrast drastically with the maximum number of active outbreaks recorded in February 2021, when there were 921 active outbreaks in mainland Portugal. As you can see from our weekly comparison tables, that we publish on Mondays, the number of infections is also having some impact on the health service. Compared with the daily averages over three weeks, the numbers in ICU were up 57%, and in hospital they increased by 68%. Again to put this in context, at the beginning of February this year, those in hospital stood at near 7000, many times higher than at present.

There are various forecasts at the present from several experts, but there appears to be a consensus that the peak is likely to come in August before the situation improves.

With these increases, most taking place within the younger age group, one would think this would deter taking part in large gatherings. Yet a few days ago we saw reports of a gathering of a rave party with nearly 300 people and few days ago a similar party to the west of Albufeira with some 150 youngsters participating.  This maybe one of the reasons for the large new cases in the Algarve reach around 2000 in the last six days.

Turning to vaccinations, more than 42% of people already have full vaccination and 60% have taken at least one dose. This week 1,040,692 doses were administered, 231,000 more than the previous week – the highest since the start of the vaccination campaign against Covid-19.

Self-scheduling for those aged 23 years of age became available on Monday. The self- scheduling started with the 65 years of age, and over on 65s and over, on 23rd April and the process is the same.

People who have not received the second dose of AstraZeneca vaccine do not need to make an appointment for the second dose, they just need to go to the respective centre at the specific time for this type of vaccination. The time schedules can be downloaded here. https://covid19.min-saude.pt/antecipacao-das-2a-doses-de-astrazeneca/

We understand that there is some pressure at the vaccination centres in the Algarve, so please use the virtual traffic light system concerning queuing times.

Turning to the weather – well the temperatures did not reach the higher 40s forecast for last weekend, but it was still very hot, with temperatures around 39C and just over 40C recorded in some central and southern parts of the mainland. During this period we publish the Rural Fire Index which shows the rate by which fires can start and spread.

Compared with previous years, so far this year we have been fortunate in terms of the number of fires (around 300 in the last four days), given the weather conditions recently. This compares with over 330 a day during the worst periods of 2017. However it is important to remember that we are only at the start of the critical fire period that normally runs until 30th September. As the summer progresses, the vegetation becomes drier and in doing so it provides the fuel for fires to start and spread more easily. Some of the worst fires of 2017 were in October. The emergency services have responded very quickly to incidents, with most being brought to a conclusion within the initial attack phase of 90 minutes. However, one yesterday in the Algarve yesterday burned for some 3 hours even with the deployment of 4 aircraft/helicopters.

Much of the quick responses is due to the prepositioning of some fire vehicles e.g. at locations where the risk is extremely high, not necessarily at the fire station which maybe some distance from the areas concerned. Another area where we have been fortunate, is that we have not had significant multiple fires at the same time in the same region. When these occour in areas where access is difficult, more response is required, and any delay in bring the fire under control leads to fires spreading, the circumference of the fire becoming larger, burning with greater intensity. This then becomes far more difficult, with more firefighters becoming deployed with the risk of the fire becoming out of control – as in the case of the Monchique fire in 2018 which burned for 8 days!

This is why, as soon as you see signs of a fire call 112 immediately – every second counts

With that, please have a Safe Day.

Covid-19

The good news was from yesterday that both the number of active cases and the total in ICU decreased. The report published by DGS on Tuesday showed the following:

Confirmed Cases: 912.406 (+ 2650 / + 0.29 %)

Number of admitted: 742 (+ 13 / + 1.78 %)

Number of ICU admitted: 161 (-2 /-1.23 %)

Deaths: 17.173 (+ 9 / + 0.05 %)

Recovered: 850.034 (+ 3490 / + 0.41 %)

Active cases: 45,199 (+849/ -1.8%)

Safe Communities comparisons/trends show that deaths were double last week’s daily average (4); new daily cases were below the 3,000 mark seen last week; 43% of these were in Lisbon and Vale do Tejo a lower percentage than average of last week. In hospital, there was an increase but lower than last few days. Highest total since 23rd March 2021. In ICU there was a decrease, the first decrease for some days, and active cases also decreased.

Health

Covid-19 Incidence rate amongst young people increased five times in the last month.

Cases of new SARS-CoV-2 infections have increased in all age groups, however, less accentuated increases have been recorded in older groups as a result of vaccination, while the incidence in the 20 to 29 age group has shown a sharp ascent.

The cumulative incidence is increasing in all age groups, however, it is among the youngest that the incidence has been more pronounced. In the last month, the number of new cases per 100,000 inhabitants in 14 days increased six times in the age group from 0 to 9 years old and more than five times in the age group from 20 to 29.

This increase in cases, however, verifies the impact of vaccination on the increase in cases, since the increase in the number of cases has been less accentuated among the elderly. To Público, the mathematician Carlos Antunes, from the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon, stated that it is possible to verify a “gradual mitigation” of infections “in the higher aged groups”.

In the range from 0 to 9 years, the incidence increased from 59.15 cases at 14 days to 366.62. However, in the age group from 20 to 29 years, the increase in incidence rose from 142.43 cases per 100,000 young adults to 766.34, representing an increase of 439%.

Carlos Antunes explains to the publication that this increase has been similar in all regions of the country, highlighting, however, the “slower rate of increase and a much lower incidence rate” in Portuguese aged 50 or over, which he points out as a result of the advance in vaccination. “The groups that have the least vaccination coverage, under 50 years old, continue to be those with the highest rates of higher incidence and rate of increase. And all regions have the same pattern”, he says, adding that Lisboa and Vale do Tejo is beginning to see “a slowdown in almost all bands”, a trend that is seen mainly in the 50-59 group.

Mainland Portugal with 476 active outbreaks.

Portugal recorded, on Monday, 476 active outbreaks on the continent, of which 18 are in nursing homes and two in health institutions, according to data from the General Directorate of Health (DGS) announced this Tuesday.

According to the DGS this data contrasts drastically with the maximum number of active outbreaks recorded in February 2021, when there were 921 active outbreaks in mainland Portugal.

The majority of active outbreaks were registered in the Lisbon and Vele do Tajo Region, with 350, while the North Region had 46, Algarve 31, Alentejo 24 and Centro region 25.

According to data from the DGS, 84 active outbreaks were related to education and teaching establishments in the public and private sectors, which include schools, higher education, day care centers and other social facilities.

An active outbreak consists of two or more confirmed cases with an epidemiological link to each other in time and space, explains the DGS , adding that “only after 28 days have elapsed after the date of diagnosis of the last confirmed case (two incubation periods no new cases) is that the outbreak is considered closed”

Covid-19. More than six thousand daily cases expected in early August.

The peak of the new wave should be reached in the second half of August, forecasts the Covid-19 Insights platform

New cases of infection by Covid-19 are expected to exceed 6000 daily in the first week of August. The forecast is made by the “Covid-19 Insights” platform, which brings together specialists from Nova Information Management School and COTEC Portugal. The same platform estimates, according to “Jornal de Notícias”, that the peak of the new wave should occur after the second half of August.

“I don’t think these are scary numbers. Even six thousand cases today are not as serious as they were from January to March, because they translated into hospitalizations and deaths”, said the co-ordinator of the platform, Pedro Simões Coelho. The platform predicts that, on the same date, there will be 1101 hospitalizations – 213 in intensive care.

The red line monitoring report defines as a “critical threshold” the occupation of “245 beds in intensive care”. The latest DGS report registered 163 patients in the ICU.

Covid-19: Hospital Santa Maria in Lisbon registers 94% occupancy and foresees increased response.

Lisbon, 12 Jul 2021 (Lusa) – The Hospital de Santa Maria, in Lisbon, registers today 39 Covid-19 patients admitted to the ward and 18 to the intensive care unit (ICU), occupying 94% of the limit of available beds, the broadening of the “short term” response is foreseen.

A source from the University Hospital Centre Lisbon North (CHLN), which integrates the Hospital Santa Maria, said that the contingency plan for the response to Covid-19 patients, as of today, has 42 beds available in the infirmary and 19 in the ICU.

With readiness and capacity to anticipate the needs registered during the Covid-19 pandemic, the Hospital de Santa Maria has “in progress the expansion of its response, in the short term, in the ward and in the ICU”, pointing out as “very likely” that the reinforcement happens already during this week.

Speaking to Lusa agency, a CHLN source said that the opening of another ward, with 21 beds, is planned, which will join the two wards already available (each with the capacity to accommodate 21 patients), increasing to 63 the total number of beds.

Regarding the response to Covid-19 patients in the ICU, the capacity building will be “according to needs”.

As of today, Santa Maria Hospital has 39 Covid-19 patients admitted to the ward, which represents 92.8% of the available capacity, and 18 in the ICU, which corresponds to 94.7% of the occupancy limit, according to CHLN data, noting that “there are variations in the level of occupation throughout the day”, including due to medical discharges.

Regarding the age of hospitalised Covid-19 patients, the CHLN stated that “the average is 55 years old”, specifying that in the ward the average is 59 years old and in the ICU it is 50 years old, according to data recorded last week.

Covid-19: Guard Council asks emigrants to comply with recommendations and “don’t make it easy”.

Guarda, July 13, 2020 (Lusa) – The Mayor of Guarda appealed today to emigrants, who this summer are on vacation in the county, to comply with “the basic rules” recommended by the authorities and “do not make it easy”, to avoid possible contagion from Covid-19.

“There has to be immense rigour in what are the behaviours, defence and protection attitudes of themselves [emigrants] and the community where they are inserted, from the outset, complying with the basic rules of the national Health authority, with commitment and with this obligation, which today we all assume as natural, as a situation that is necessary to defend our health”, said Carlos Chaves Monteiro to Lusa agency.

The mayor appeals to emigrants who are already in the territory and to those who will soon come to visit their families, to comply with the recommendations in force.

The municipality of Guarda will inform them “to commit to this code of conduct, to this way of being, which is to sanitize, protect with gloves and masks, with everything that is already part” of the current experience and appeals “don’t make it easy”.

“Because, in fact, we cannot yet put out the victory cry, because the virus is more resistant, less vulnerable, more multi-adaptable than what we imagined. And, therefore, we have to give science time so that it can defend us more fully and totally and, for that, we need, until then, everyone’s contribution”, he declared.

Carlos Chaves Monteiro recognizes that the presence of emigrants in the territory, traditionally with greater expression in the month of August, will help to boost the local economy.

Covid-19: Alentejo with occupancy rates of 32.6% in infirmary and 28.6% in ICU.

Évora, July 12, 2021 (Lusa) – Hospitals in Alentejo recorded, on Sunday, a total occupancy rate by patients with Covid-19 of 32.6% in the infirmary and 28.6% in intensive care units, revealed today source of the Regional Health Administration (ARS).

“In hospitals in the Alentejo region, on 11 July, there was an occupancy rate in wards of 32.6% and in intensive care units of 28.6%”, indicated the source of the ARS do Alentejo, in written response sent to Lusa agency.

According to the same source, on Sunday, in all hospitals in the region, 15 patients were hospitalized with Covid-19 in the ward and another six in intensive care units.

“The current capacity of beds dedicated to Covid-19 is 46 in the ward and 21 in intensive care units”, he stressed.

The source of the ARS of Alentejo pointed out that “the response capacity will always be adjusted and the necessary measures taken” according to the evolution of the epidemiological situation.

The data refer to the Hospital do Espírito Santo de Évora (HESE) and the hospitals of the local health units (ULS) in the coast of Alentejo, North Alentejo and Baixo Alentejo.

AHRESP proposes plan with 10 measures to compensate accommodation and restaurant.

AHRESP sent the Government a plan to compensate tourist accommodation and the restoration of the effects of the pandemic with 10 measures, such as the reinforcement of the Apoiar program, a new simplified lay-off and credit and tax moratoria.

Entitled “Face the pandemic, ensure survival”, the plan is presented by the Association of Hotels, Catering and Similar Services of Portugal (AHRESP) as a “last attempt to save the most affected sectors” by the pandemic crisis.

The plan, released today, provides for 10 measures, advocating right away the replacement of the recently launched IVAucher program by the attribution of a “direct 50% discount”, applied directly at the time of consumption and with no limit on use.

This solution, argues AHRESP, would make it possible to overcome the fact that IVAucher does not have direct and universal access, “which could limit its scope”.

In line with the Government’s recent decision to allow restaurants to serve meals beyond 3:30 pm in high and very high risk municipalities, provided that customers do have a negative test for Covid-19 or present a digital certificate, this association advocates that tests and certificates be used to advance to a new level; that is, to allow tourist accommodation, restaurants and the like to no longer have time or capacity restrictions and for nightlife establishments to reopen.

Among the measures of the plan addressed to the Government, there is also a new stage of candidacies for the Apoiar program, providing support between 5,000 and 7,500 euros for self-employed entrepreneurs (ENI) without employees, with billing losses of between 15% and 50% or above 50%, respectively or between 12,500 and 18,750 euros for ENI in dependent workers, for the levels of invoicing breaks referred to.

Portugal sends Covid-19 vaccines to Guinea-Bissau.

On July 12, Portugal sends a first batch of 24,000 vaccines against Covid-19 to Guinea-Bissau to support the Guinean health authorities in implementing their national vaccination plan against this disease. Vaccines will be accompanied by the material necessary to enable their administration, including, in particular, syringes and needles.

This donation is part of the fulfilment of the political commitment assumed by the Portuguese Government to make available at least 5% of its batches of vaccines to Portuguese-speaking African countries and East Timor, and is part of the second phase of the Action Plan in the health response to Covid-19 pandemic between Portugal and Portuguese-speaking African countries and East Timor.

In this sense, the shipment of this batch of vaccines to Guinea Bissau follows others that have recently been sent to Cape Verde, Mozambique and São Tomé and Príncipe. Also during this month of July, new batches will be sent to Angola and East Timor.

This action is the result of the joint effort of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, through Camões – Institute for Cooperation and Language and the Embassy of Portugal in Bissau, and the Ministry of Health, through the General Directorate of Health, of the National Medicines Authority and Health Products (Infarmed) and the Task Force of the National Vaccination Plan against Covid-19 in Portugal.

Portugal Situation Report Saturday 10th July 2021

 

Good morning – Safe Communities Portugal was set up originally to provide residents of Portugal and visitors with information regarding living safe and secure in this wonderful country. As time has gone on we have expanded our remit to give help and understanding to the rules and decrees that the Portuguese Government brings out that affect us and as many of our readers are foreign immigrants we have offered this service in English. We now have many nationalities who follow us so we have expanded to 9 different languages on our website.

However, we are still ostensibly an organisation offering a service to those who LIVE IN PORTUGAL or have close affiliation as visitors or those with second homes here. With an ever changing world due to Covid 19 we at Safe Communities have also had to change and whilst we encourage readership through our Facebook wherever a person may be, we are finding there are some who take the opportunity to promote their own agendas, which can in some cases be extreme and unhelpful in dealing with the health crisis we are facing. Often these appear to originate from those who appear to have little or no connection with Portugal.

Safe Communities is run for the benefit of residents of, and visitors to Portugal and we do not want to see such remarks being made by people who do not even live here during these very trying times. Unlike a Facebook group who can determine who can or cannot become a member, as well as remove those who do not comply with the rules, we operate an open page so the information can be shared as widely as possible to those it effects. As such we rely on the trust of those who comment to follow the rules and standards which we have clearly laid down.

Our admins have a very difficult job in answering many questions every day and it is not right or fair for them to be distracted in this important work. It is also not right that those who have genuine questions should have to wade through long threads of endless often totally unrelated and uniformed comment, making it more difficult to find the answers already given.  This is why we delete those that are unhelpful and detract from the main purpose of the information.

We would ask everyone to be thoughtful and respectful in what comments they post and if they cannot adhere to these standards then please do not post on our page as it is very counter-productive to running this organisation, which we must again reiterate is all run by volunteers. I am sorry to labour this point but I feel it necessary.

Some good news – More than 611,000 people were vaccinated in the last four days, the Vaccination Task Force confirmed yesterday. On Thursday, Portugal reached a new record in the number of vaccinations with 158,000 doses administered in one day.

Also a record was the fact that 364,380 Covid-19 tests were carried out in Portugal, which represents an average of more than 60,000 daily tests a day during the first week of July.

At the Olhão vaccination centre police were called to restore order after there were problems with the long waiting time and some people apparently “jumping the queue”. There is a traffic light system now in place that provides the waiting times at various centres which can be viewed here. Best to check so you can be prepared. The Prime Minister did forewarn of “some discomfort” to be expected given the push to get all those eligible for a vaccination processed quickly.

The Resolution of the Council of ministers was published yesterday evening following the Communique on Thursday. Some issues have caused some confusion and controversy particular with regards to the requirement for testing or the presentation of a Digital certificate at hotel accommodation or staying at hotels anywhere in the country. The President of  the Hotels and Touristic Enterprises of the Algarve has been quick to respond to this stating that this should be revoked adding that “hotel professionals are not health professionals, nor security forces, nor health authorities” and “are not qualified nor have conditions to comply with the measure announced by the Government”.

Clearly this presents a number of practical issues, such as what happens if someone tests positive at checking in? In the case of AL local lodging, in some properties people can check in themselves using a digital lock code sent to them beforehand.

Again with very little notice given between publication and implementation of some of these new laws and seemingly lack of understanding of the practicalities involved for those it effects, this places considerable pressures especially on businesses who have to make last minute adjustments which can be weekly depending on which municipality the company is based. This also makes it very difficult for the police who are required to enforce as well as of course, ourselves in having to try and answer peoples questions, without the full details being available to the last minute.

Reminder today is forecast to be the hottest day of the year so please take care in the heat, avoid rural fires and protect yourself particularly young children from the UV

Have a Safe weekend

Covid-19

The DGS report for Covid-19 yesterday reported the following figures
Confirmed Cases: 902.489 (+ 3194 / + 0.36 %)
Number of admitted: 617 (+ 18 / + 3.01 %)
Number of ICU admitted: 141 (+ 5 / + 3.68 %)
Deaths: 17.142 (+ 7 / + 0.04 %)
Recovered: 842.024 (+ 1727 / + 0.21 %)
Active cases: 43,323 (+1460/ + 3.9%)

Safe Communities comparisons/trends showed that deaths were nearly double last week’s daily average (4); new daily cases were the third highest since 11th February 2021 (similar to the previous day; of the new cases 46.3% (1482) were in Lisbon and Vale do Tejo a lower percentage than average of last week. In hospital there was an increase the highest total since 29th March 2021 and those in ICU were the highest since 28th March 2021.

Regarding active cases there was again a very large increase, the highest since 12th March

Health

Covid-19: One hundred and thirty municipalities with an incidence above 120 cases per 100,000 inhabitants

Lisbon, 09 Jul 2021 (Lusa) – One hundred and thirty municipalities record an incidence of new cases of infection by the SARS-CoV-2 virus above 120 per 100,000 inhabitants in the last 14 days, 43 more than last Friday.

According to data released today in the epidemiological bulletin of the Directorate-General for Health (DGS), Loulé (1,016) and Albufeira (997), in the Algarve, are the two municipalities with an incidence above the limit of 960 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.

The 130 municipalities with an incidence of more than 120 cases represent 42% of the total number of municipalities in the country.
According to the same data, 27 counties have a cumulative incidence in 14 days of more than 480 cases of infection, and 27 counties have an incidence of more than 240 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.
Another 58 municipalities have an accumulated incidence in 14 days of between 120 and 239.9 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, while 20 municipalities have zero cases in the last two weeks.

In municipalities with low population density, which represent more than half of the continental territory, the red line that forces municipalities to withdraw from the decontamination plan is set at 480 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the last 14 days and the remaining municipalities are under alert when exceed 240 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the same period.

Portugal set a record of more than 60,000 Covid tests per day in the first week of July

In the first six days of July alone, 364,380 Covid-19 tests were carried out in Portugal, which represents an average of more than 60,000 daily tests and the highest value since the beginning of the pandemic, according to data provided by the National Health Institute Dr. Ricardo Jorge (INSA) to ECO.

Given the rapid spread of the Delta variant, the Government has focused its strategy on strengthening vaccination against Covid, as well as on encouraging mass testing, in order to avoid heavier damage to the economy. Thus, and given that screening tests for the disease are necessary for access to more and more spaces, which led the Executive to contribute 100% to the performance of four tests per month , testing has increased in recent days.

“Between 1 and 6 July, 364,380 Covid diagnostic tests were carried out in Portugal”, of which 208,384 are PCR tests (57.2% of the total) and 155,996 are rapid antigen tests (42.8%), which places the country with a “daily average of 60,730 tests” , signals the entity led by Fernando de Almeida, in response to the ECO. This is, therefore, the highest daily average since the beginning of the pandemic, surpassing the threshold reached in January, at the peak of the third wave, with about 52,000 tests performed per day.

 

Covid-19. Meeting at Infarmed scheduled for the 27th

Specialists and political leaders will meet again on the 27th of this month for another “meeting at Infarmed”, as the meetings in which specialists and public health officials present data and predictions about Covid-19 to politicians and social partners.

The last meeting of this kind took place on March 28, when the hypothesis of a change in the risk matrix was more urgently put forward, defended by the President of the Republic, but generally rejected by specialists.

This Thursday, at the press conference that followed the Council of Ministers, the Minister of the Presidency had already given a sign that there could be a return to this model of meeting. “The Government is always available to hold meetings at Infarmed and, therefore, if that is the intention of all parties, we are available for this meeting”, said Mariana Vieira da Silva in response to a question from the Renaissance.

 

Covid-19: Lisbon and Tagus Valley reaches 99% of beds occupied in intensive care

Lisbon, 09 Jul 2021 (Lusa) – Lisbon and Vale do Tejo, with 82 hospitalized patients, reached 99% of the limit of 84 intensive care beds destined to covid-19 in this region, indicates the report of the “red lines” of the pandemic today disclosed.

“The region of Lisbon and Vale do Tejo, with 82 patients admitted to the ICU, represents 60% of the total cases in the ICU [in the country] and corresponds to 99% of the regional limit of 84 beds in the ICU defined in the “red lines” report”, refers to risk analysis by the Directorate-General for Health (DGS) and the National Institute Doctor Ricardo Jorge (INSA).

cnn.com

According to data from health authorities, the Algarve region has 15 patients in ICU, which corresponds to 150% of the defined limit of ten beds for covid-19.

The “red lines” of pandemic control established by several experts predict 245 beds as the critical value in the set of hospitals in mainland Portugal, pointing to a regional distribution of 85 beds in the North, 56 in the Centre, 84 in Lisbon and Vale the Tagus, 10 in the Alentejo and 10 in the Algarve.

The document that established these “red lines” stresses, however, that the integrated management of the National Health Service’s capacity presupposes a network response, which means, in intensive care medicine, that regional needs can be met with the response of others regions with greater capacity.
According to today’s report, the daily number of covid-19 cases admitted to ICUs on the continent showed a growing trend, corresponding to 56% of the 245 beds, compared to 46% the week before.

In intensive care in national hospitals were, on Wednesday, 136 patients, with the age group with the highest number of people admitted to these units corresponding to the age group between 40 and 59 years, indicates the document of the DGS and INSA.

 

Covid-19: Chairman of the Doctors Advocates Replacing Self-Tests with Rapid Antigen Tests

Wikipedia

The Chairman of the Medical Association, Miguel Guimarães, said today that the use of self-tests “is not an adequate measure” of prevention and protection against covid-19 and defended that they should be replaced by antigen tests. “Self-tests are not feasible and can give false feelings of security as has happened in many family and social gatherings because self-tests fail so much. It is not an adequate measure”, Miguel Guimarães told journalists on the sidelines of the XIII National Congress of Mutualism.

jornalmedico.pt

The chairman of the Medical Association said that although the measures announced on Thursday by the government were “appropriate”, the use of self-tests “is not adjusted” and defended their replacement by rapid antigen tests. “The rapid antigen test was already legislated by the Government, that there was a contribution to this test. It is this test that people should use”, said Miguel Guimarães.

Along with the rapid antigen test, the president also recalled that the PCR tests provide guarantees that “the person is not infected for some time, about two to three days” and recalled the importance of the covid-19 digital certificate.

Restaurants in high or very high risk municipalities will now have to require a digital certificate or negative test to covid-19 from 7 pm on Fridays and on weekends and holidays for indoor dining.  The measure, approved on Thursday by the Council of Ministers, applies only to tables inside the restaurants, according to the Minister of the Presidency, Mariana Vieira da Silva, who clarified that the new requirement will start to be applied from 15:30 Saturday.

 

 

Portugal Situation Report Wednesday 7th July 2021

 

Introduction

Good morning – With the increasing number of new cases, and the Minister of Health forecasting this could double to around 4,000 a day and over 800 in hospital in around 15 days, it is essential to take all steps to avoid situations which could result in the accelerated spread of the disease. It is of concern, therefore, that on 4th July the GNR had to intervene and put an end to an illegal party, with more than 300 people, taking place on a property in the municipality of Alcochete, district of Setúbal, for violating measures in force to contain the pandemic of Covid-19.

Such irresponsible and thoughtless action will certainly result in a spread of the disease, with those who had no association with the party becoming affected. One hopes that those responsible will be held to account. Often advanced notice of these parties circulate through social media, and it is pleasing to note that some who have seen these have alerted the PSP/GNR, so that early action can be taken. In this case some 20 or so GNR had to put themselves at risk dealing with this illegal gathering.

This problem is reflected in the fact that at present the higher increases in new cases are among the younger age groups, the under 27s yet to be vaccinated.

Regarding vaccinations, the Prime Minister admitted this Tuesday that vaccination conditions in the next two weeks will become “more uncomfortable”, due to the acceleration effort needed to face the fourth wave of the Covid-19 that affects the country and warned that the fight has not ended. There are already long queues at some vaccination centres, due to the acceleration of the vaccinations process down to 27 years, those self-scheduling and those attending the “Casa Aberta” Open House scheme without an appointment.

Regarding the vaccination of those who have registered on the DGS portal without a utente number we are, as we stated earlier, in liaison with government and are expecting news very shortly.

The good news last night was that Portugal expects to receive about 1.8 million vaccines against Covid-19 by the end of this month, the vast majority from Pfizer, according to the `task force’, adding that it maintains a reserve for the second doses.

Turning to the weather, the maximum temperatures will gradually rise from today, forecast to reach 40 degrees on Saturday in the Alentejo region, according to the IPMA. Speaking to Lusa news agency, meteorologist Patrícia Marques explained that temperatures are going to rise a lot, but a heat wave is not expected, as temperatures drop on Monday. For a “heat wave” temperatures have to exceed 5 days above average. She added, however, that temperatures in parts of the Alentejo could exceed this, and that the temperatures will be higher in Évora, Beja, Santarém and Castelo Branco.  “This is normal for this time of the year” she said and went on to warn people concerning the fire risk.

The fire risk must be taken seriously, regardless whether it is technically a heat wave or not. For the days that these temperatures and associated dry conditions are experienced, we will need to be particularly our guard. We will continue to monitor and post preventive and self-protection measures accordingly.

For those living in these high risk rural areas, it is important that people have a plan of action of what to do should a fire break out and threaten your home. Remember fire crews may not be able to reach you quickly if you live is an inaccessible area, and the first fire response maybe through helicopter/aircraft. Knowing what to do until the emergency services arrive could help save your life and that of others. More about developing an action plan can be downloaded from our website here.

Practice it, ensure the whole family are aware, and do not leave key decisions to the last minute. Fires can burn intensely, spread and change direction quickly, at which point it is too late to develop a plan!

Lastly, we are happy to promote very good causes. One of these is Madrugada Association, a not-for-profit association that provides “Hospice at Home” or end of life care and support in the comfort of a patient’s home in the Algarve. From hands-on nursing and personal care to provision and delivery of medical/hospital equipment, Madrugada’s end of life services and support are free of charge. Madrugada exists thanks to a wonderful team of dedicated volunteers, members, and network of supporters. They are in need of extra pairs of hands for their retail outlets in Lagos, Lagoa and Luz. Also, if any readers are planning any house refurbishments or deep ‘Spring Cleans’, they are always happy to collect saleable items for their charity shops, from Sagres to Albufeira.

For more information about their services or how you can support Madrugada, please email operations@madrugada-portugal.com or call +351 282-761 375. ‘Because you care, we can!’

With that, please have a Safe day

Headlines

Costa admits “inconvenient conditions” for vaccination in the coming weeks.

Acceleration in the pace of vaccination causes inconvenience in queues across the country.

The Prime Minister admitted this Tuesday that vaccination conditions in the next two weeks will be “more uncomfortable”, due to the acceleration effort needed to face the fourth wave of the Covid-19 that affects the country, and warned that the fight has not ended.

“The country is still facing this difficult pandemic, we are even facing a fourth wave of this pandemic. And we cannot distract ourselves, we cannot relax, this requires us to really speed up the vaccination process. A great effort will be made in the next few two weeks, with conditions that will be more uncomfortable for those who are vaccinated, but which will reinforce the safety of everyone and particularly of those who will see the second dose of vaccination more quickly reached”, said António Costa.

The Prime Minister pointed out that the effort to speed up the vaccination process against Covid-19 does not allow for “any distraction” as to the social behaviour of the population, imposing the maintenance of hygiene rules and physical distancing.

“This is a fight that hasn’t ended, it’s a fight that has to continue and we have to fight it,” he said.

On Monday, Vice Admiral Gouveia e Melo, who co-ordinates the task force responsible for vaccination against Covid-19, said that the possibility of long lines at the vaccination centres was expected due to the increased pace of the process, but acknowledged that it is a problem and will have to be resolved.

Covid-19: Portugal expects to receive 1.8 million vaccines by the end of the month.

Lisbon, 06 Jul 2021 (Lusa) – Portugal expects to receive about 1.8 million vaccines against Covid-19 by the end of this month, the vast majority from Pfizer, announced today the `task force’, adding that it maintains a reserve for the second doses.

“By the end of July, it is estimated to receive about 1.8 million vaccines”, being 1.1 million doses from Pfizer, 300 thousand from Moderna, 250 thousand from AstraZeneca and 150 thousand from Janssen, he told the Lusa agency the structure that coordinates the logistics of the vaccination plan.

At the moment, “available vaccines are enough to guarantee 850,000 doses in the present and next week”, as part of the ongoing vaccination effort in mainland Portugal, assured the same source, ensuring that the `task force’ “maintains a reservation for the administration of the second doses”.

On Monday, more than 141,500 doses were administered in mainland Portugal, which, according to the `task force´ led by Vice Admiral Gouveia e Melo, constituted the daily vaccination record since the campaign started on December 27th, 2020 .

The co-ordinator of the ‘task force’ told Lusa on Saturday that Portugal will accelerate the pace of vaccination, due to the rapid spread of the Delta variant of the SARS COV-2 coronavirus, considered more transmissible and which is already predominant in the country.

Data from the Ministry of Health indicate that, by the end of Sunday, more than 9.1 million vaccines had been administered, around 5.7 million referring to first doses and 3.4 million that allowed users to complete their vaccination.

Covid-19

DGS Covid-19 Report

The following report was published yesterday

Confirmed Cases: 892.741 (+ 2170 / + 0.24 %)

Number of admitted: 613 (0 / 0.00 %)

Number of ICU admitted: 133 (-3 /-2.21 %)

Deaths: 17.118 (+ 1 / + 0.01 %)

Recovered: 837.135 (+ 2510 / + 0.30 %)

Active cases: 38,488 (- 341/ – 0.88%)

Safe Communities comparisons/trends show that deaths are well below last week’s daily average (4); new daily cases are back to over two thousand, but less than recoveries; of the new cases, 53% (802) were in Lisbon and Vale do Tejo – approximate average of last week. In  hospital the same as Monday – highest total since 29th March 2021; in ICU a decrease but still second highest total since 28th March 2021. Active cases showed a decrease after 15 days of consecutive increases, but second highest total since 13th March. In the Algarve the new cases were much lower than for several days (145) (6.4% compared to 13.6% of total on Monday)

Health

Covid-19: More than 141,500 vaccines administered on Monday, new record broken.

Lisbon, 06 Jul 2021 (Lusa) – More than 141,500 doses of vaccines against Covid-19 were administered on Monday in mainland Portugal, the `task force’ that co-ordinates the vaccination plan was reported to Lusa yesterday.

According to the ‘task force’ for the Vaccination Plan against Covid-19, on Monday the daily record of vaccines administered in mainland Portugal was reached.

The co-ordinator of the ‘task force’ told Lusa on Saturday that Portugal will accelerate the pace of vaccination due to the rapid spread of the Delta variant of the SARS COV-2 coronavirus, predicting that it will be possible to vaccinate around 850,000 users per week.

Vice Admiral Gouveia e Melo explained that the maximum amount of existing vaccine stocks will be used to increase the pace of vaccination.

Since the beginning of the vaccination plan against Covid-19, on December 27th, 2020, Portugal has received more than 9.5 million vaccines, with 8.3 million already distributed by vaccination posts in mainland Portugal and by the two regions autonomous.

Covid-19: Intensive Care Occupancy Reaches 55% Critical Limit of 245 Beds.

Mainland Portugal currently has about 55% of intensive care beds intended for Covid-19 patients occupied, whereas about a month ago this occupancy rate was around 20%.

According to today’s situation report by the General Directorate of Health, 136 people are hospitalized in intensive care units (ICU), 84 more than on June 2nd, when a total of 52 patients needed this type of clinical care.

These 136 people who are in the ICU represent 55% of the critical value of 245 beds occupied foreseen in the “red lines” established by various specialists who defined various indicators to monitor the evolution of the pandemic in Portugal.

“Adopting an occupancy rate of 85%, the total number of critically ill Covid-19 patients (admitted to intensive care) in mainland Portugal should remain below 245”, says the document, which points to a regional distribution of 85 beds in the North, 56 in Centro, 84 in Lisbon and Vale do Tejo, 10 in Alentejo and 10 in Algarve.

The “red lines” also point out that the integrated management of the National Health Service’s capacity presupposes a network response, which means, in intensive care medicine, that regional needs can be met with the response of other regions with greater capacity.

An analysis of the weekly reports of the pandemic risk analysis also shows that, since 3rd April and for ten consecutive weeks, admissions to ICUs showed a decreasing trend, which was reversed in early June, when a “increasing trend” in the number of beds occupied.

On June 9th, 72 people were admitted to the ICU with Covid-19 (29% of the 245 bed threshold), a number that has been increasing since then: 88 patients (36%) on June 16th, 106 patients (43%) in June 23, 113 patients (46%) on June 30 and 136 patients (55%) today.

Study reveals a 40% drop in emergencies and 25% in surgeries in a year of pandemic.

Lisbon, 07 Jul 2021 (Lusa) – A 46% reduction in face-to-face medical consultations at health centres, 40% in hospital emergencies and 25% in surgeries is the result of the first year of the pandemic in healthcare, according to one study released today.

The study “The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the provision of healthcare in Portugal”, promoted by the Saúde em Dia Movement, was carried out by the consultancy MOAI, with data from the National Health Service (SNS) Transparency Portal, collected between June 25th and July 5th, 2021.

In order to analyse the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on healthcare provision in Portugal, the available data for the first year of the pandemic (March 2020 to February 2021) was compared with the immediately preceding period (March 2019 to February 2020).

In primary health care, there were fewer 9,362,365 face-to-face medical consultations (46%) and 83,630 fewer home consultations (43%), while non-face-to-face consultations grew by 130%, 11,965,498 more, in the first year of the pandemic compared. with the previous homologous period.

The increase in remote medical contacts may be related to the work of health centres in monitoring cases of Covid-19 with patients who stay at home, without serious illness.

Face-to-face nursing contacts decreased by 20% (less than four million), while non-face-to-face nursing contacts increased by 71%.

In total, there were 13.4 million fewer medical and nursing contacts in person at health centres, reveals the study by the Saúde em Dia Movement, constituted by the Medical Association (OM), the Portuguese Association of Hospital Administrators (APAH) and the Roche, which is presented today at OM in Lisbon.

Lambda. There is a new variant of Covid-19 that concerns scientists (with at least two cases in Portugal).

It was first identified in Peru, where its spread has grown exponentially. But in the meantime, it has already been detected in 29 countries, including Portugal. More contagious, a recent study, still in pre-publication, suggests it may also be more resistant to vaccines.

First identified in Peru in August 2020, there is a variant that is worrying and intriguing scientists because of the unusual nature of its mutations. In June, Lambda was already considered by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a “variant of interest” and although in some of them it is still not very prevalent, it has been identified in at least 29 countries. In Portugal, the Dr. Ricardo Jorge National Health Institute detected two cases.

It is in South America that the community transmission rate is of greatest concern. In August 2020, in Peru, the prevalence of this variant (formerly known as C.37) was 9%, but the percentage was rapidly escalating. In the last three months it was confirmed in more than 80% of the samples collected in the country.

Moreover, the fact that in South America genetic sequencing is not carried out exhaustively makes it difficult to know the true extent of the outbreaks.

Also detected in the United Kingdom, where there are still few cases, this began to be investigated in June by Public Health England, which recently stressed that there is no evidence that it causes more serious disease or is more resistant to vaccines, despite being extremely contagious.

But there is another investigation, with more disturbing conclusions. The University of Chile in Santiago studied the effect of Lambda on viral infectivity using blood samples from local health professionals who received two doses of China’s CoronaVac vaccine.

The research, still in pre-publication, but published in an article last week, suggests that this variant is more infectious than Gamma (Brazilian) and Alpha (English) and with a greater capacity to escape the antibodies produced by vaccination.

Covid-19: Government estimates 4,000 Daily Infected in Next Two Weeks.

Newsroom, 05 Jul 2021 (Lusa) – The Government estimates that the number of new cases of people infected with Covid-19 could reach about 4,000 daily in the coming weeks, doubling the trend of almost 2,000 infected, warned the Minister of Health today.

“[…] We have estimates that go up to mid-July and that put us already with a number of new cases in excess of 4,000 and with a number of admissions in excess of 800 and the use of intensive care in excess of 150”, stressed Marta Temido this evening, in an interview with TVI.

According to Marta Temido, the scenario designed by the Government, for the next 15 days, will be “guaranteed if nothing is reversed”.

“At this rate of growth, in 15 days, we will double the number of cases, that is, instead of having the 2,000 we had today, we will have about 4,000, with regional variations, but we will tend to double the number of cases nationwide”, she reinforced.

Today, Portugal has surpassed 600 hospitalizations with the entry of 46 more people, in a day with five deaths attributed to Covid-19 and 1,493 new cases of infection by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, according to the General Directorate of Health (DGS).

Travel

Covid-19: Flights to Madeira with more seats available than before the pandemic.

Funchal, Madeira, 06 Jul 2021 (Lusa) – Tourism in Madeira registers growth rates and data show that, in July and August this year, there are “more seats available” on flights to the region than before the pandemic.

“We’ve been growing since February and Madeira arrives in July and August with more seats available [on planes] than in 2019, the year before the pandemic”, declared Eduardo Jesus in the plenary of the Legislative Assembly of Madeira.

Madeira’s Tourism Secretary was in parliament to defend a legislative proposal by the Regional Government (PSD/CDS-PP) that aims to adapt to the region the national statute that establishes the regime for access and exercise of the activity of travel and tourism agencies and that it transposed a European directive.

The government official pointed out that “in 2020, hotel occupancy reached 31%, far from normal”, but he considered the data “extraordinary”, taking into account the current context of the pandemic and comparing it with data relating to the continental territory (34% ) to the Azores (19%).

The official pointed out that in July there is an availability of “3.5 times over 2019 and August is 2.2 times”.

Eduardo Jesus also stressed that SATA and EasyJet are “making the biggest operation” ever for Madeira.

The government official commented on Germany’s decision to remove Portugal from the list of bans for travellers, released on Monday, stressing that “the announcement is for half a dose”, because “Madeira is far ahead of the national territory” and “he is right in wanting to have positive discrimination”.

The regional secretary revealed that the region carried out “139 steps with 15 countries to restore connections” and ensure the integration of Madeira in the corridors. “Only with Germany we are not satisfied”, he informed.

Region Reports

Madeira Situation Report Wednesday 7th July 2021 by our Special Correspondent, Daniel Fernandes

Covid-19 update

There were 37 new Covid-19 cases, 34 recoveries and no deaths from Covid-19 in Madeira since the previous Madeira Situation Report.

On Saturday, there were 6 new Covid-19 cases (all cases of local transmission) and 4 recoveries. Once again, there were no patients in hospital.

On Sunday, there were 12 new Covid-19 cases (from 1 passenger who had arrived from Brazil, 1 passenger who had arrived from South Africa, 2 passengers who had arrived from the Lisbon and Tagus Valley Region and 8 cases of local transmission) and 10 recoveries. There were no patients in hospital.

On Monday, there were 9 new Covid-19 cases (from 1 passenger who had arrived from the Czech Republic, 1 passenger who had arrived from the UK, 3 passengers who had arrived from the Lisbon and Tagus Valley Region, 2 passengers who had arrived from Central Portugal and 2 cases of local transmission) and 14 recoveries. There were no patients in hospital.

And on Tuesday, there were 10 new Covid-19 cases (from 1 passenger who had arrived from the United Arab Emirates, 1 passenger who had arrived from Northern Portugal and 8 cases of local transmission) and 6 recoveries. There were no patients in hospital for a second consecutive day.

There were 79 active cases on Tuesday, of which 24 had been imported while the other 55 cases had been a result of local transmission. As of Tuesday, there had been 9,705 cases, 9,553 recoveries and 73 deaths.

On Tuesday, there were 21 patients in isolation in a dedicated hotel, 58 patients in isolation in their own accommodation and no patients in hospital.

On the same day, there were 17 suspected cases under epidemiological investigation and analysis, which were all linked to patients who tested positive for Covid-19, to calls made to the SRS24 helpline, to referrals by SESARAM (Madeira Regional Health Service) and to airport screening.

There were 26,973 travellers under monitoring by the health authorities. Monitoring is being carried out through the ‘MadeiraSafe’ app. There were also 432 people, who had contact with positive cases, being monitored by the health authorities of several Madeira municipalities and of Porto Santo.

As for Covid-19 testing on passengers who had arrived at Funchal and Porto Santo airports, 250,671 samples had been collected until Tuesday (at 15h30). By Tuesday, 504,799 samples from RT-PCR tests had been processed and 73,142 antigen rapid tests had been carried out in the Autonomous Region of Madeira.

The SRS 24 helpline (Regional Health Service – 800 24 24 20) received 485 calls from Friday to Tuesday. Overall, it had received 55,349 calls.

The Covid-19 mental health helpline (Linha de Acompanhamento Psicológico da Direção Regional de Saúde – 291 212 399 – available every day from 09h00 to 21h00), which was set up to provide emotional and mental support to anyone in Madeira received 21 calls from Friday to Tuesday. Overall, it has received 3,714 calls.

https://funchalnoticias.net/2021/07/04/6-novos-casos-de-covid-19-55-suspeitos-4-recuperados/

https://funchalnoticias.net/2021/07/04/12-novos-casos-de-covid-19-10-recuperados-24-suspeitos/

https://funchalnoticias.net/2021/07/05/9-novos-casos-de-covid-19-14-recuperados-37-suspeitos/

https://funchalnoticias.net/2021/07/06/10-novos-casos-de-covid-19-6-recuperados-17-suspeitos/

Inoculation of 2nd dose of AstraZeneca vaccines brought forward

The Regional Health and Civil Protection Secretariat have brought forward the inoculation of the 2nd dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine. People who had been scheduled to be inoculated with the 2nd dose of the AstraZeneca vaccine on July 15th and 16th are instead asked to be inoculated on July 7th and 9th respectively, at Centro de Vacinação do Funchal (Funchal Vaccination Centre) which is located at Madeira Tecnopólo.

https://funchalnoticias.net/2021/07/06/secretaria-da-saude-antecipa-vacinacao-da-2a-dose-da-astrazeneca/

Covid-19 vaccination update

As of July 4th, 232,172 Covid-19 vaccine doses (131,130 1st doses & 101,042 2nd doses) had been administered in the Autonomous Region of Madeira. This means that 52% of the population has been inoculated with the 1st vaccine dose while 40% of the population have been fully vaccinated.

A total of 22,210 vaccine doses (9,927 1st doses & 12,283 2nd doses) were administered in the week leading up to July 4th.

A highlight is that the Municipality of Porto Moniz has reached the milestone of having 70% of its residents vaccinated with at least 1 vaccine dose. The Municipality of Porto Santo had been the first municipality in the Region to have reached this figure.

The priority for this week is to continue the vaccination campaign, particularly in the municipalities of Câmara de Lobos and Santa Cruz.

A shipment of 35,100 Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine doses arrived in Funchal in the early hours of Saturday. It will allow the regional Covid-19 vaccination campaign to continue.

https://funchalnoticias.net/2021/07/06/mais-de-232-mil-vacinas-contra-a-covid-19-administradas-na-ram/

https://funchalnoticias.net/2021/07/04/mais-35-100-vacinas-da-pfizer-chegaram-ao-funchal/

Delta variant

Pedro Ramos, Madeira’s Health and Civil Protection Secretary, said the Delta variant of Covid-19 has been present in 20% of all samples sent by the Autonomous Region of Madeira for genome sequencing at Instituto Ricardo Jorge. Once again, he appealed for the population to get vaccinated and to the tested at pharmacies every fortnight. Nevertheless, he said the Region is becoming more and more protected thanks to the work carried out by the regional authorities. According to him, this has ensured there are few Covid-19 cases, deconfinement has taken place and people are living almost normally. He reminded that this fight isn’t over yet.

https://www.jm-madeira.pt/regiao/ver/134056/Regiao_preocupada_com_aumento_da_variante_Delta_mas_consegue_estar_a_viver_proximo_do_normal

Tourism in Madeira

Tourism levels in Madeira are increasing and the latest data suggests that there are more seats available on flights to Madeira in July and August than there were before the pandemic. Eduardo Jesus, the Madeira Tourism Secretary, said that SATA and easyJet are carrying out their biggest operation ever to Madeira. He also said that although hotel occupation levels in 2020 reached 31% of their capacity, which was far below the usual levels, this was still an extraordinary figure if the pandemic is taken into account and if a comparison is made with the data in the Portuguese mainland (34%) and in the Azores archipelago (19%). Although he was pleased with Germany’s decision to remove strict restrictions for travellers arriving from Portugal, he wished Germany had positively discriminated the Region because it is “way ahead” of the rest of the country. He informed that he had made contact 139 times with 15 countries in order to ensure the return of flights to Madeira and the inclusion of the Region in air corridors.

https://www.jm-madeira.pt/regiao/ver/134064/Covid-19_Voos_para_a_Madeira_com_mais_lugares_disponiveis_do_que_antes_da_pandemia

Power cut

Empresa de Electricidade da Madeira (Madeira power supplier) announced there will be power cuts due to planned work on the electricity supply network. These works cannot be postponed and will take place in the following days and places:

CÂMARA DE LOBOS – July 7th – 09h00 to 12h00

– Caminho da Levada dos Barreiros (numbers 38 to 58)

– Caminho da Nazaré (numbers 12 to 39)

– Rua do Cabrestante (numbers 24 to 404)

– Rua do Curaçau (number 40)

– Estrada do Cabrestante (numbers 3 to 8)

FUNCHAL – July 8th – 09h00 to 12h00

– Rua Velha da Ajuda (number 124)

– Rua do Vale do Amparo (numbers 3 to 14)

– Travessa do Pinheiro das Voltas

– Travessa do Tanque (number 121)

– 1ª Vereda do Pinheiro das Voltas (numbers 16 to 23)

July 9th – 00h00 to 05h00

– Estrada Comandante Camacho de Freitas (number 82)

– Rua da Encosta do Pico dos Barcelos – Galeria and Bar

– Urbanização do Pico dos Barcelos

SANTANA – July 9th – 13h30 to 16h30

– Lamaceiros

– Lombo do Curral

– Pico António Fernandes

– Pico do Eixo

– Queimadas e Fontes

– Serrado

– Rua do Pico António Fernandes (number 49)

– Travessa e Beco da Feiteira do Nuno (numbers 5 and 11)

– Vereda do Cabeço das Fontes (numbers 2 and 6)

However, power could be restored during the time frame mentioned above. So, for safety purposes, it should be assumed that there will be power at any time during this period of time.

If necessary, customers can contact the free Customer Support Service (Serviço de Apoio ao Cliente): 800 221 187.

https://funchalnoticias.net/2021/07/03/publicidade-o-fornecimento-de-energia-sera-interrompido-nos-dias-horas-e-locais-abaixo-indicados-anuncio-57-2021/

https://funchalnoticias.net/2021/07/07/publicidade-o-fornecimento-de-energia-sera-interrompido-nos-dias-horas-e-locais-abaixo-indicados-anuncio-58-2021/

Algarve Situation Report Wednesday 7th July 2021

João Fernandes says that despite being good news, the German decision does not have immediate effect.

The removal of Portugal from the German list that prevented the entry of travellers into the country without quarantine is “good news”, but tour operators will take time to recover the activity, considered today the President of Turismo do Algarve.

“Nevertheless, this is good news, it allows non-essential flights to be carried out from Germany and is exempt from quarantine for those who have completed vaccination, have immunity certificate, or who undergo a PCR or antigen test on their return” , said the President of the Algarve Tourism Region, João Fernandes, to Lusa agency.

In reaction to the decision announced on Monday by Germany to remove Portugal from the list of countries with a ban on entry into the country due to the high prevalence of the Delta strain of the Covid-19 virus, João Fernandes recalled that, before the imposition of these limitations on travel, there were “311 flights planned for July from Germany”, but warned that these numbers will not be reset immediately.

“It would correspond to more than 56,000 airplane seats. A large part of these operations were cancelled, tour operators and airlines were, with the announcement of the 25th, demobilizing their operations, and, therefore, it will be necessary to resume all this dynamic”, he argued.

João Fernandes stressed that the image of Portugal, after the announcement that imposed the restrictions, “has suffered a major setback” and now it is necessary to “see how it is possible to capture this demand again”, in the face of “great distrust from the consumers themselves in relation to decisions that are changed at every moment and that often leave travellers at their destination having to anticipate their return”.

“And this whole process, contrary to what would be expected with the digital certificate, is unfortunately hampering what would be an opening expected by everyone” in the regional tourism sector, he lamented.

João Fernandes said he hopes that “there will be a stabilization of the rules based on the [digital] certificate that was agreed by the Member States of the European Union” and that its use is already more normalized after the main summer months and in the months of greater demand from the German market to the Algarve.

MotoGP/Portugal: FIM President “very happy” with return to Algarve.

The President of the International Motorcycling Federation (FIM), the Portuguese Jorge Viegas, was “very happy” with the return of the MotoGP World Championship to Portugal, after a second race in the Algarve was announced today.

Speaking to Lusa agency, Jorge Viegas said that he is “very happy that MotoGP is once again visiting Portugal, demonstrating the confidence of the FIM and Dorna in the national organizational capacity”.

“In addition to being the penultimate in the World Cup, which could be decisive for the attribution of the titles, I am convinced that we will have the stands full to applaud Miguel Oliveira and all the other protagonists”, stressed Jorge Viegas.

The Portuguese who manage the destinations of world motorcycling also highlighted the fact that Portugal has, with this race, “12 races of the various FIM World Championships in Portugal, the next being the Resistance – 12 Hours of Estoril”.

Portugal will host a second MotoGP World Championship event from November 5th to 7th, after the Australian GP was cancelled, due to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Thus, the Portuguese race integrates, for the second time this year, and third in the last two, the calendar of the world championship in motorcycling speed.

This time it will be the penultimate round, before the end of the season, scheduled for Valencia (Spain) a week later.

In 2020, Miguel Oliveira (KTM) won the GP of Portugal, which took place for the first time at the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve. In 2021, in the race held on April 18th, victory was for Frenchman Fábio Quartararo (Yamaha), while Miguel Oliveira was 16th, after a fall suffered in the opening laps.

Azores Situation Report Wednesday 7th July 2021 – From our colleague in the Azores

Àgua de Pau Mass Testing.

Last Monday was the first day of massive testing in the parish of Água de Pau, in São Miguel, the turnout was good, despite the light rain that was falling, with several people responding to the call for “civic duty”.

At 3:15 pm, a quarter of an hour before the scheduled time, the line for the João Bosco Mota Amaral Community Centre was running up Rua da Ribeira, approaching the square where the Ermida de São Tiago is located.

People responded to the call for voluntary testing in the parish that is needing more attention currently.

The 59 cases of Covid-19 registered in that locality, of about 3,100 inhabitants (according to the 2011 Census), largely contribute to the total of 99 active positive cases in the municipality of Lagoa, on the island of São Miguel.

Not even the light rain that was falling, kept away those who voluntarily responded to the challenge of the Regional Directorate of Health, which worked in partnership with the Health Unit of Ilha de São Miguel (USISM), the Municipality of Lagoa, the Água de Pau Parish Council and the Ordem dos Enfermeiros to set up the operation which, between Monday and Wednesday, hopes to test about 2,500 people over 6 years old.

“There is an outbreak in Água de Pau and that is why we are here, to try to get more positives”, the chairman of the Board of Directors of USISM, Pedro Santos said, noting that the ideal would be that no more cases would be detected.

But the main objective of the operation is “to break transmission chains, to avoid further contagion”.

It was just after 3:30 pm when people start to be called into the enclosure. “Good afternoon, have you had ‘Covid’ for less than three months?” the operational assistants are asking, to assess whether or not that person can take the test.

Those who had the disease caused by the new coronavirus recently may still be positive, so they are excused. Exempted are also all those who have already had the complete vaccination process, with a dose of two doses, or a single dose in the case of the Janssen vaccine.

The tests used are, as is usual in these operations, antigen tests, or rapid tests, so that everyone will leave that space knowing, after a wait that varies between 15 and 30 minutes, if the result was positive or negative.

Half an hour after the start of the operation and still no one had tested positive.

Domestic Violence.

The Covid-19 pandemic “increased the severity” of cases of domestic violence in the Azores, a region with a high incidence rate of these situations that may be related to “very pronounced remnants of a patriarchal society”, according to specialists.

Advanced data from 2019 indicate that the Ponta Delgada office (Island of São Miguel) of the Portuguese Association for Victim Support (APAV) recorded a total of 1,011 visits to 285 victims of 1,048 crimes.

Maria José Raposo, coordinator of UMAR – Alternative Women’s Union Response/Azores warns that the pandemic has led to cases with “more severe circumstances”, for example of women “over 60 years old, who throughout their lives have had serious behaviours of violence in their marriage and there comes a time when, physically and psychologically, they can no longer withstand such violence”.

For the official, the high incidence of cases of domestic violence in the Azores can be ‘justified’ by standards of a “patriarchal society” instilled and “transmitted by the mother or the father”.

This causes victims to “minimize all signs of marital violence” by submitting themselves to aggressive behaviour, he described.

“We still have very strong remnants of a patriarchal society, in which men still prevail in relationships. If this is instilled in the girls, they leave for that relationship already in inequality. Therefore, they will be subjected to emotional, physical, psychological subjugation, economic and financial”.

Parallel to marital violence, the UMAR victim support technique also reveals the “very frequent” existence of cases of violence by children against parents, specifically “on the mothers” and which “have a lot to do with alcohol and other substances”.

Pointing to a “slight decrease in the number of support cases from 2019 to 2020”, the manager of the APAV victim support office in Ponta Delgada, Raquel Rebelo pointed out that “the cases were more severe”.

This year there are still no total numbers, but APAV indicates “an increase” of situations, whose “complexity of action remained”.

The island of São Miguel, where the APAV victim support office is located in Ponta Delgada, has close to 80% of cases of violence.

More than 80% of the victims were female, while the rest were male.

The complaints arise “via telephone contact, through the victim and the community, namely neighbours, acquaintances, friends, relatives, and even co-workers”, according to data from APAV.

Regarding age groups, the most frequent victims are between 25 and 54 years old. In most cases, the aggressors are spouses or ex-spouses.

In 2020, the year that covers the Covid-19 pandemic, APAV “supported 250 victims of crime”.

“There is an increasing trend in the level of processes and the severity continues to be compared to 2020”, highlights Raquel Rebelo.

At issue are situations that have “already been occurring”, but which have intensified with the confinement and more permanent coexistence between victims and aggressors, leading to an action that implied “more articulation with other entities”, namely in terms of health, housing and with PSP.

According to the official, “the prolonged coexistence came to accentuate escalations of violence”.

Maria José Raposo added that UMAR has carried out, per year, “between 60 to 70 actions for training in gender equality”.

In the Azores there is an integrated support network for women victims of violence that brings together various institutions with answers in these areas and telephone lines that work daily.

Covid-19

3rd July 2021

29 new positive cases of Covid-19 were diagnosed in the Azores, all in São Miguel, resulting from 2,516 tests carried out in reference laboratories in the Region and two in an unconventional laboratory.

One of them refers to a traveller, resident, with a positive test on the 6th day, all the others are in the context of community transmission. Thus, in the municipality of Ribeira Grande there were nine new cases (three in Rabo de Peixe, three in Ribeira Seca, two in Ribeirinha and one in Maia). In the municipality of Ponta Delgada there were eight new cases (four in Covoada, two in Arrifes, one in São Pedro and one in Sete Cidades). In the municipality of Lagoa there are 12 new cases (six in Rosário, four in Água de Pau, one in Santa Cruz and one in Cabouco).

22 recoveries were recorded and as of today, four patients are admitted to the Divino Espírito Santo Hospital, in Ponta Delgada, one of them in the ICU.

4th July 2021

50 new positive cases of Covid-19 were diagnosed in the Azores, all in São Miguel, resulting from 2,601 tests carried out in reference laboratories in the Region.

Two of these new cases refer to travellers, one non-resident, with a positive analysis on the 6th day and the other resulting from screening on the 6th day of an inter-island traveller, between São Miguel and Terceira. All others are in the context of community transmission.

Thus, in the municipality of Ribeira Grande there were 20 new cases (nine in Rabo de Peixe, four in Ribeira Seca, two in Matriz, one in Pico da Pedra, one in Ribeirinha, one in Conceição, one in Santa Bárbara and one in Maia). In the municipality of Ponta Delgada there were 20 new cases (11 in Arrifes, three in Sete Cidades and one in each of the parishes of São José, Relva, Fajã de Baixo, São Pedro, São Sebastião and Fajã de Cima). In the municipality of Lagoa there were nine new cases (eight in Água de Pau and one in Santa Cruz). In the municipality of Vila Franca do Campo there was a new case in Ribeira Seca.

A recovery was registered, in Velas, São Jorge island.

5th July 2021

30 new positive cases of Covid-19 were diagnosed in the Azores, one on the island of Pico, three on the island of Terceira and 26 on the island of São Miguel, following 1,015 tests carried out in the reference laboratories of the Region.

On the island of Pico, a new case was diagnosed in Madalena, leading to a new transmission chain on the island. On the island of Terceira, two cases were diagnosed in the municipality of Angra do Heroísmo (one in Santa Luzia and one in Sé) and one in the municipality of Praia da Vitoria in the parish of Cabo da Praia. The diagnosed cases concern one traveller, non-resident, who tested positive upon arrival and two travellers, residents, who tested positive on the 6th day, following inter-island travel between São Miguel and Terceira.

On the island of São Miguel, there was a new case concerning traveller, resident, who tested positive upon arrival, after a travel from outside the archipelago. The rest of the cases are in the context of community transmission. Thus, the municipality of Ribeira Grande registered 10 new cases (four in Rabo de Peixe, two in Conceição one in Pico da Pedra, one in Matriz one in Ribeirinha and one in Ribeira Seca). There were six new cases in the municipality of Ponta Delgada (three in Arrifes, two in Covoada and one in São Pedro). There were seven new cases in the municipality of Lagoa (five in Água de Pau, one in Rosario and one in Ribeira Chã). In the municipality of Vila Franca do Campo there were three new cases in the parish of Água de Alto.

33 recoveries have been registered.

6th July 2021

11 new positive cases of Covid-19 were diagnosed in the Azores, one on the island of Faial, one on the island of Pico, one on the island of Flores, two on the island of São Jorge and six on the island of São Miguel, following 5,954 tests carried out in the reference laboratories of the Region — in the period from June 25th to July 1st, there were some technical constraints which made it difficult to compute the results of all screening tests for SARS-CoV-2. The total number of analyses processed in the archipelago is now updated.

On the island of Pico, a new case was diagnosed in São Mateus, municipality of Madalena, resulting from screening test on arrival to a non-resident traveller. On the island of Flores there was a positive case in Fajã Grande, municipality of Lajes, resulting from screening test on arrival to a non-resident traveller. On the island of São Jorge, there were also two positive cases in Velas, concerning two non-resident travelers who tested positive on the 6th day. On the island of Faial there is a new case in Angústias, municipality of Horta, of a resident who tested positive on the 6th day.

On the island of São Miguel, there were six new cases resulting from community transmission. Thus, the municipality of Ribeira Grande had five new cases (four in Matriz and one in Ribeira Seca), and in the municipality of Ponta Delgada there was a new case in Sete Cidades.

18 recoveries were registered. One of the cases previously reported for Santa Maria, with a history of interisland air connection, for which the SARS-CoV-2 screening test produced a positive result, provided documentation showing a previous infection and recovery, and is not considered an active case in the Region.

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

There was a death during yesterday of a patient who was in hospital at the Divino Espírito Santo Hospital in Ponta Delgada, a 51 years old man, residing in Calhetas, Ribeira Grande. The man concerned died as a result of organ or system failure related to chronic disease. In the present case, the death certificate does not indicate a direct cause of the death complications arising from SARS-CoV-2 infection, even though the patient was also infected.

The archipelago currently has 300 active positive cases: 285 on the island of São Miguel, five on the island of Terceira, three on the island of Pico, two on the island of Graciosa, two on the island of São Jorge, two on the island of Faial and one on the island of Flores. A primary local transmission chain has been extinguished in Faial and there are now two active transmission chains in the archipelago, one on the island of Faial and one on the island of Pico. To date, 204 have been extinguished on all islands. There are 2,133 people under active surveillance today.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, 6,499 positive cases of Covid-19 have been diagnosed in the Azores and 6,025 people recovered from the disease. There were 34 deaths, 83 people who left the archipelago and 57 cases with history of previous cure. To date, 585,049 tests have been carried out for SARS-CoV-2, which causes Covid-19 disease.

Since last December 31st, 2020 and until June 30th, 224,012 doses of Covid-19 vaccines have been administered in the Azores, with 124,738 people who received the first dose (51.4 % of the population) and 99,274 people with complete vaccination (40.9 %), under the Regional Vaccination Plan.