Month: April 2020

In a message to the country, António Costa announced that the São Bento Palace will open its doors to the Portuguese, not physically, but online. Through the work “Now that we cannot be together”, the Portuguese will be able to celebrate April 25 from home.

“Usually, on the 25th of April, we open these doors so that they can visit the official residence, its gardens”, António Costa started by announcing. “This year is, as we know, special.A year in which we have to be together (as a community, in spirit) but apart (physically)        to be able to face and overcome this pandemic so that we can be together again as we always have been, celebrating in the streets, in the gardens, what is the 25 of April, always “, added the Prime Minister

Not being able to be here physically, we want to let them be here via this online route. So we are going to remember what the other 25 of April  were like, where we were able to have our doors open and this house full”, he added.

António Costa invited the artistic directors of the National Theaters of São Carlos, São João and D. Maria II, and also of the National Ballet Company, to think, therefore, of an innovative celebration proposal for online platforms in which the Portuguese can watch from home.

The four curators invited the Portuguese theater company Hotel Europa and thus was born “Now that we cannot be together”, a work that António Costa calls “unique”. “A dance and music play that will celebrate the 25 of April differently today,” added the prime minister.

The work, filmed mostly in the gardens of the prime minister’s official residence, recalls the day when democracy was established through the testimonies of people who fought the dictatorship.

“And what I want to invite you here for is to make this visit online today, but one day, I hope next year, if not the following year, you will come here, physically, personally”, concluded António Costa.

The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, defended today that “the 25th of April is essential and had to be evoked”, as will be the 10th of June, the 5th of October and the 1st of December.

“In exceptional times of pain, suffering, mourning, separation and confinement, it is even more important to evoke the motherland, independence, the Republic, freedom and democracy”, emphasized the head of state in the solemn session evocative of the Carnation Revolution in the Assembly of the Republic.

The President of the Republic defended that the solemn session of the 25th of April is “a good and not a bad example” and that it would be “civically shameful” for the parliament to resign now from exercising all its powers.

“What would be truly incomprehensible and civically shameful was having an entire country living through this time of sacrifice and surrender, and the Assembly of the Republic resigned from exercising all its powers in a situation where they were and are more than ever essential. And also in this session, which has always been and will be an essential moment of critical and plural control in freedom and democracy – because these are the values ​​of April “, he said.

At the end of the solemn commemorative session of the 46th anniversary of the 25th of April, in the Assembly of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa focused his speech in defense of this commemoration of the Carnation Revolution, seeking to answer the “doubts of some Portuguese”.

“In a time of confinement for so many Portuguese, as it was at Easter and now at Ramadan, are we standing before a bad example in a state of emergency, in terms of principles, as in compliance with health directives? No. The state of emergency implies an extraordinary reinforcement of the powers of the Government. And, because we live in freedom and democracy and it is with them that we want to overcome these crises, the greater the powers of the Government, the greater the powers of the Assembly of the Republic must be to control it “, he argued.

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa stressed that “the Assembly of the Republic never stopped working, and discussed and voted the most important in plenary sessions” in the last few weeks, “respecting the health directives, as is obviously necessary”.

The President of the Republic added that “this session is an example of this, a good and not a bad example”, in which “dissenting voices were heard that spoke of April 2020, of successes and also of failures, past and present, and of dreams and fears present in a critical situation of national life “.

The law that changes the legal regime applicable to the prevention of domestic violence and the protection and assistance of victims was approved, following the recommendations of the Group of Experts to Combat Violence against Women and Domestic Violence of the Council of Europe (GREVIO).

Seeking to ensure the effective protection of victims of domestic violence, the present law proposal includes the following changes:

– it is determined that, within 72 hours, constructive measures should be taken to assess the risk of a victim’s situation concerning new acts of violence against the victim and other persons related to them, by the MP or the OPC, as well as in cases where the accused has been detained;

– civil courts are empowered to issue urgent provisional decisions to protect the victim, such as the provisional regulation of parental responsibilities, the provisional use of the family home and the keeping of pet animals, immediately communicated to the MP of the relevant court.

– the scope of the Violence against Women and Domestic Violence Database is broadened, in order to improve, harmonise and update official data relating to violence against women and domestic violence in progress, through the adapting and harmonising of data collection and information systems.

Portugal has surpassed the barrier of 300,000 tests carried out on the covid-19 disease, the Secretary of State for Health revealed today, stating that this number is higher than countries like Norway, Switzerland, Italy and Germany.

“Portugal has surpassed the barrier of 300 thousand tests carried out. Since March 1, about 302 thousand covid-19 diagnostic tests have been carried out in our country. We are talking about testing 27,925 people per million inhabitants, which to date today is superior to countries like Norway, Switzerland, Italy and Germany “, said António Lacerda Sales.

The official, who said he was speaking at the daily press conference to take stock of the covid-19 pandemic in the country, added that about 49% of the tests were carried out in public laboratories, 45% in private laboratories and 5% in other institutions, namely academic and military.

“There are also more and more users inserted in the Trace Covid platform. At the moment there are already more than 135 thousand in this tool that allows the follow-up through primary health care of patients or suspicious people”, said António Lacerda Sales.

According to the Secretary of State for Health, of this number related to Trace Covid, “more than 30 thousand are under clinical surveillance”.

“I would like to leave a word of acknowledgment to all the people who are sick, convalescing in their homes, respecting the compulsory isolation and thus guaranteeing, not only their individual recovery, but protecting our collective health”, said the Governor.

António Lacerda Sales also stated that “since March 9, approximately 2,300 patients have been transferred from hospitals in the National Health Service (SNS) to units in the national integrated continuous care network”.

And that, in the same period, 230 social responses were found, which allowed “to free crucial hospital beds at this time of greatest pressure from the system”.

“We remain committed to ensuring that the NHS continues to respond positively to the different phases of the epidemic and that everyone’s efforts continue to be as decisive today as they were yesterday,” he concluded.

Portugal today registers 820 deaths associated with covid-19, 35 more than on Wednesday, and 22,353 infected (more 371), indicates the epidemiological bulletin released today by the Directorate-General for Health (DGS).

Comparing with Wednesday’s data, which recorded 785 deaths, today there was a percentage increase of 4.5%.

Regarding the number of confirmed cases of infection with the new coronavirus, DGS data show that there are 371 more cases than on Tuesday, representing an increase of 1.7%.

The North region has the highest number of deaths (475), followed by the Central region (179), Lisbon and the Tagus Valley (146), the Algarve (11), the Azores (8) and the Alentejo, which registers one dead person, the epidemiological situation report says, with data updated until midnight on Wednesday.

Road accidents fall by more than 70% in the first 30 days of the state of emergency, with 7,719 fewer accidents, a trend that was repeated in the number of injured and fatalities on Portuguese roads.

In a statement, the Ministry of Internal Administration (MAI) highlights the sharp drop in the number of road accidents between March 19 and April 17, compared with the same periods in the last four years, from 10,918 to 3,199 registered accidents .

This trend is also confirmed in the data on fatalities, serious injuries and minor injuries (24 hours).

According to MAI, in the first case, the nine deaths recorded in the period under analysis represent a decrease of 72% compared to the same period in 2019, in which 32 fatalities had been recorded.

With regard to the seriously injured, the 51 recorded in the first 30 days of the state of emergency decreed in relation to the covid-19 represent a drop of 62% compared to the same period in 2019 (134).

The 799 minor injuries recorded between March 19 and April 17 of this year, mean a 76% decrease compared to the same period in 2019, in which 3,362 had been recorded.

The downward trend is also reflected in the comparative data between this year’s extended Easter weekend (April 9th ​​to 13th) and the same 2019 weekend (April 18th to 22nd), with a decrease in all indicators.

The authorities recorded 1,107 fewer accidents this year (-73%), resulting in seven fewer deaths (-78%), 32 serious injuries (-86%) and 408 minor injuries (-81%).

Although these numbers are associated with the state of emergency and the considerable decrease in the flow of road traffic resulting from this reality, the MAI underlines that the data reflect “in an exemplary way” how the Portuguese have contributed to contain the covid-19 outbreak in Portugal.

The country is in a state of emergency until May 2 because of the covid-19 pandemic, the disease caused by the new coronavirus.

The latest official data indicate that Portugal registers 785 deaths associated with covid-19 and 21,982 cases of infection.

Lisbon, 22^nd April 2020 (Lusa) – The national beaches will have (a limited) maximum capacity of bathers during the bathing season, following the pandemic, which will be calculated according to the “load capacity” of each beach, said the Program Co-ordinator for Blue Flag today.

“The beaches, being public spaces, will also have to have follow the procedures and rules  implemented for the safety of all, obviously highlighting social distancing issues”, to prevent the spread of the disease pandemic caused by the new coronavirus”, explained the National Co-ordinator of the Blue Flag program, from the Blue Flag Association of Europe (ABAE), Catarina Gonçalves.

The official said that a “manual of procedures concerning access to beaches” in Portugal is being prepared, in a collaboration between several organizations, including the Portuguese Navy, the Portuguese Environment Agency (APA), the Relief Institute for Castaways (ISN) and the Directorate-General for Health (DGS).

This guide should be ready “in the first week of May”, stressed Catarina Gonçalves, and will include the recommended load capacity of each beach.

“We will have to assess the means to calculate the load capacity of the beaches, that is, the beaches will have an occupation limit. The concession area of ​​a beach is already physically limited in that it has a dimension of extension and width, according to the high tide”, he continued.

The ABAE Co-ordinator explained that the maximum capacity of the beaches will take into account “the recommendations” of the DGS, namely, “what is the safe space between shades and umbrellas” and the required physical distance between people.

“More practical questions have to be addressed regarding the cleaning of spaces, the use of masks, the actual use of terraces and bars – whether it is permissible and if so under what conditions – the walkways, the showers, slides, deckchairs and even seagulls; all of these will be subject to much tighter hygiene procedures,” he stressed.

However, Catarina Gonçalves said that on the beaches it is “much more complicated” to implement these measures, since “you cannot put a yellow ribbon” to define the space used by bathers.

For this reason, the inspection “will have to be approached differently” and the responsible person should expect that “common sense” will be applied by bathers to comply with the rules and guidelines that will be established.

“We are very concerned with urban areas, as they do not have an entrance and an exit from the beach. The entire promenade, for example, is a beach entrance, which makes imposing restrictions very difficult.

Citizens with impaired hearing now have access to a video call service platform at the Contact Center of the National Health Service – SNS24. This line started operating on April 21, and has six Portuguese Sign Language interpreters who will provide assistance 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to ensure the clarification of these people.