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Azores Situation Report Wednesday 12^th October 2022

From our colleague in the Azores

Covid-19 

In the seven days from Friday 30th of September until Thursday 6th of October there were 165 new positive cases of Covid-19 registered in the Azores, and a total of 1,744 tests performed. 245 people have recovered, and no new deaths have been recorded with the total still at 117 There are 167 active cases, 80 fewer than the previous week.

There are 2 patients in the region’s hospitals as of 7th of October with Covid, only one of which is in hospital because of Covid. There are no patients in the ICU.

120902 people in the region have had Covid, that’s over 50% of the population.

As from Monday the 10^th of October it is no longer necessary to self-isolate because of Covid-19 in the Azores Region. 

Here is the notice issued by the health authority: –

A circular issued by the Regional Health Directorate extinguishes in the archipelago, as of today, the prophylactic isolation by covid-19.

The circular explains that “regarding the repeal of measures for the prophylactic isolation of positive cases by SARS-COV-2, following the publication of Decree-Law No. validity of published decree-laws, within the scope of the covid-19 disease pandemic, the Regional Health Directorate comes to clarify that, in the Autonomous Region of the Azores, despite the validity of the Government Council Resolution No. On September 1, the prophylactic isolation measures of positive covid-19 cases are considered to apply in the region, as well as in the mainland, so that, as of the present date, there will no longer be prophylactic isolation of cases. positive for SARS-COV-2”.

Covid-19 | People aged 60 and over eligible for seasonal vaccination in the Azores 

People aged 60 years and over, professionals and residents of nursing homes, health professionals and adults with pathologies are part of the eligible group for vaccination against covid-19 in the Azores, it was revealed.

In a circular published today by the Regional Government, it is read that people who are part of the eligible groups of the vaccination campaign against covid-19 autumn/winter 2022/23 “must be vaccinated as long as they have completed the primary vaccination schedule” with any one of them. of vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Those people will be able to be vaccinated “regardless of the number of boosters performed previously” or whether they have already had covid-19.

The group eligible for seasonal vaccination includes people aged 60 years or over or citizens between the ages of 18 and 59 with “risk pathologies”, such as immunosuppression, diabetes, obesity, mental, cardiovascular, neurological, liver or kidney diseases.

“Professionals and residents in Residential Structures for Elderly People”, in health homes, in the “Regional Network of Integrated Continuing Care (RRCCI)”, in prisons, residential homes or occupational activity centres, are also eligible for seasonal vaccination.

Also, part of that group are health service professionals, students in “clinical internship” and “firefighters involved in transporting patients”.

The Regional Health Directorate says that the “recommended interval between the seasonal booster dose and the most recent event” (infection with covid-19 or the last dose of vaccine) is four to six months, being the “minimum interval” three months.

People who are part of the eligible group but who have an “incomplete primary vaccination schedule” must “take a booster dose”.

Those eligible who do not have the “recommended boosters” against covid-19, “only perform a booster dose” of the coronavirus vaccine.

Also today, an ordinance came into force that extends until December 31st the “validity of medical prescriptions in which flu vaccines are exclusively prescribed, for the 2022/2023 flu season, issued from July 1st, 2022”.

Azores Situation Report Wednesday 5th October 2022

From our colleague in the Azores

Covid-19 

In the seven days from Friday 23rd of September until Thursday 29th of September there were 232 new positive cases of Covid-19 registered in the Azores, and a total of 1,856 tests performed. 237 people have recovered, and no new deaths have been recorded with the total still at 117 There are 247 active cases, 5 fewer than the previous week.

There are 6 patients in the region’s hospitals as of 30th of September with Covid, three of which are in hospital because of Covid. There are no patients in the ICU.

120737 people in the region have had Covid, that’s over 50% of the population.

Entrepreneurs worried about “serious insecurity” in the city of Ponta Delgada 

Several business associations expressed “deep concern” with the “increase in poverty, begging, alcoholism and drug addiction” in the city centre of Ponta Delgada and will request meetings with regional authorities and the police.

The position was expressed at a meeting that brought together the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Ponta Delgada (CCIPD), the Regional Association of Tourist Activities Companies of the Azores (AREAT), the Local Accommodation Association (ALA), the Azorean Houses and the delegations the Portuguese Association of Travel and Tourism Agencies (APAVT), the Portuguese Hotel, Restaurant and Similar Association (AHRESP), the Portuguese Hospitality Association (AHP) and the Car Rental Industry Association (ARAC).

In a statement, the Ponta Delgada Chamber of Commerce and Industry said that the business associations had decided to request meetings with the president of the Regional Government, José Manuel Bolieiro, with the mayor of Ponta Delgada, Pedro Nascimento Cabral, and the PSP Regional Command, in view of the “situation of insecurity and begging” in Ponta Delgada.

The businessmen considered that the competent authorities should take “urgent measures”, justifying that “the problems that are being verified” are “different from those that occurred a few years ago”.

“The behaviour and profile of beggars are very different, being more aggressive and closely associated with problems with alcohol and drugs. Faced with this new reality, old policies and measures persist to combat them, the results of which are unacceptable”, warned the businessmen.

According to the associations, the occurrences are mainly in the centre of Ponta Delgada, “but not only”.

There are, they say, “degrading situations carried out by homeless people”, others “alcoholic”, and still “drug addicts, who use public roads and spaces of commercial establishments for actions that jeopardize public health and safety”.

The businessmen also pointed to a “galloping begging” with “very aggressive and insistent behaviour towards local passers-by and visitors”.

In the opinion of businessmen, over the years there has been “an evident lack of accountability, cooperation and interconnection between the various entities that have the competence to combat these situations”.

Faced with the “serious situation we are currently experiencing” in terms of public health, public order, business associations are calling for urgent changes in social policies, because “they are not responding satisfactorily to the increase in poverty, begging, alcoholism and of drug addiction, with a view to helping and giving people greater dignity”.

“It is necessary for the Regional Government to do much more and better in this area”, reads the statement.

Entrepreneurs also ask for a concerted and integrated intervention by the PSP, the City Council and the Regional Government that allows “a joint action plan, in the short and medium term”.

They also ask for day and night policing by the municipal police, in cooperation with the PSP, which must also reinforce “active policing, on the street” and the awareness of judicial entities for law enforcement, which “takes this reality into account”.

Another of the measures proposed by the businessmen is the identification of critical places and a greater police presence in them, the restitution of public space (gardens, streets and squares) to families and tourists, who “have stopped using them, due to insecurity and the annoying constant aggressive begging”.

Eight crew members rescued after fishing boat fire. 

Eight crew members were rescued about 555 kilometres from the island of São Miguel, in the Azores, after a fire broke out on the fishing vessel where they were traveling.

Health centres start flu vaccination and Covid reinforcement 

Starting Tuesday, the 4^th of October, health centres will have an open house for flu vaccination and seasonal Covid-19 reinforcement, but the Island Health Unit advises scheduling an appointment

Flávio Vieira, a nurse at the São Miguel Island Health Unit (USISM) responsible for vaccination, explains that the simultaneous administration of the fourth dose of the Covid-19 vaccine and the flu vaccine was initiated by the most vulnerable groups. vulnerable, namely by users and professionals of residential structures for the elderly (ERPI), but “from the 4th of October we will open the possibility to the rest of the eligible population”.

Each health centre will have, on its premises, a “vaccination centre”, operating during its working hours”, or if necessary during extended hours (decision will be made by each health centre according to needs), explains Flávio Vieira.

Vaccination against influenza and Covid-19 will take place in an open house regime, “but it will be limited to the daily vaccination capacity of each health centre”, since, “in one day, we can have more professionals at the service”. , and in another we may have less”, warns the official.

For this reason, “the population is advised to schedule the vaccination”, emphasizes the official.

It is necessary, however, to bear in mind that not everyone can take the fourth dose of the vaccine against Covid-19 – a circular from the Regional Health Directorate defined the groups eligible for the vaccine booster against Covid-19. It should also be noted that, while the fourth vaccine booster against Covid-19 can be taken by those over 60, only those over 65 are entitled to the free flu vaccine, along with pregnant women and people with certain pathologies (chronic and immunosuppressed patients), residents in ERPI and other institutions, and health professionals and other care providers.

Flávio Vieira stresses, however, that taking the flu vaccine is also recommended for those over 60 years of age, and below that age you can also get the flu vaccine, however the user must have a medical prescription and buy the vaccine at the pharmacy, then going to the health centre for administration. The person responsible for vaccination at USISM also leaves an alert for those who are not followed at the health centre and suffer from any of the pathologies in which the flu and Covid-19 vaccine is recommended: in these cases, you must bring a medical statement to certify who suffers from the pathology in question (there is a form available online), because in these cases the health centre’s computer system has not registered their pathology.

It should also be noted that the vaccine booster against Covid-19 can only be done three months after the last dose of the vaccine or a positive status.

USISM expects to receive a total of about 13,000 doses of the flu vaccine, reveals the nurse responsible for vaccination at USISM. The number of doses of the vaccine against Covid-19 has been progressively provided, as the shared services of the Ministry of Health become available. “It is based on the number of doses that we are given that we are establishing priorities and organizing the vaccination process”, emphasizes Flávio Vieira.

The nurse also explains that the Covid-19 vaccine gives immunity against the new variant, and that “this year, we are using two types of vaccines: one, more expensive, with a high dose specifically for home users and institutionalized elderly; and another vaccine for the general population”. Flávio Vieira says that the objective is to guarantee “greater immunity to a population group that in itself is more vulnerable, either individually or because it can be a focus of infection for other residents”.

Who can take the fourth dose of the Covid-19 vaccine?

People over 60 can be vaccinated, as well as health professionals, firefighters who transport patients, professionals from Residential Structures for the Elderly, Health Homes, Regional Network of Integrated Continuing Care, Prisons, Residential Homes, and Occupational Activities Centres. And even those over 12 and under 60 have certain risk pathologies, including diabetes, obesity, active malignancy, cardiovascular disease, transplantation, immunosuppression, neurological diseases, chronic kidney disease, chronic lung disease, mental illness, and chronic liver disease (between 18 and 59 years old).

Situation Report Azores –  Wednesday 28th September 2022 –

From our colleague in the Azores

Covid-19 

In the seven days from Friday 16th of September until Thursday 22nd of September there were 239 new positive cases of Covid-19 registered in the Azores, and a total of 1,979 tests performed. 221 people have recovered, and no new deaths have been recorded with the total still at 117 There are 252 active cases, 18 more than the previous week.

There are 6 patients in the region’s hospitals as of 16th of September with Covid, one of which is in hospital because of Covid. There are no patients in the ICU.

120505 people in the region have had Covid, that’s over 50% of the population.

Eight crew members rescued off São Miguel after fishing boat fire 

Eight crew members were rescued about 555 kilometres from the island of São Miguel, in the Azores, after a fire broke out on the fishing vessel where they were traveling, the Navy revealed.

In a statement, the Navy said that the emergency alert was received at around 4:53 am, having been issued by the Portuguese fishing boat “Filipa Miguel”, which was located 555 kilometres east of the Azorean Island of São Miguel.

On board the vessel were eight crew members between 40 and 50 years of Portuguese nationality.

“The Portuguese Air Force C-295 aircraft, which had been involved in the search and location of the Filipa Miguel fishing vessel and the life raft, made the sighting around 08:43, confirming the fire on board”, indicates the Marine.

The crew, who were “all fine”, were rescued by the merchant ship “Thor Menelaus” around 10:47 am.

That merchant ship is currently on its way to Terceira, the island where the rescued crew will disembark, concludes the Navy.

Capelinhos volcano eruption darkened Faial sky 65 years ago 

The sky turned dark, the houses “shallow sand”, the land impossible to cultivate and “half the world” went off the island, with the volcanic eruption of Capelinhos, in Faial, Azores, which began 65 years ago.

“It started with some earthquakes. From there, I would make bigger ones and we would see something dark up here, but we didn’t know what it was”, recalls António Gonçalves Pereira, 76, who was only 11 years old when the Capelinhos Volcano erupted.

The darkness of the skies was the result of the ash thrown up by the eruption, in its initial phase, but, at the time, information was scarce and it was only through radio that António discovered that, on September 27, 1957, the eruption had erupted. Capelinhos Volcano, in the parish of Capelo, municipality of Horta.

“Me and some friends came up, to try to see the volcano up close, but here the police were ahead and would not let us pass”, recalls António Pereira, also remembering the words of the agent who was on duty at the scene: “ Wing back! Can’t pass! This is always shaking the earth, suddenly a big one comes and drowns us all”.

The frequency of the earthquakes and the volume of ash released by the volcano forced the local authorities to evacuate the localities closest to the eruption (parishes of Capelo and Praia do Norte), but although there were no fatalities, many houses and farmland were destroyed.

“Many houses were destroyed! Up here, it was a disgrace! Even down there, at the foot of the volcano, there were houses that were shallow with sand”, says António, remembering that even the Capelinhos Lighthouse, which was on the slope next to the place where the eruption began, “was covered” by ash.

Faced with this scenario of destruction, the United States of America opened its doors to emigration to help the displaced from the island of Faial, influenced by some US congressmen and senators, including John F. Kennedy, who shortly after would be elected president of the USA.

“Walked half the world! A few hundred, not to say, thousands of people, left here, and it was a big thing, if not, there were people here who were serious and there was no work for everyone”, explains António Pereira, recalling that the land of cultivation “produced nothing, because “everything was full of sand” from the volcano.

It is estimated that 30% of the population of the island of Faial (currently less than 15 thousand people reside on the island) will have emigrated to the United States and Canada, taking advantage of the “Azorean Refugee Act”, approved on September 2, 1958. , through which thousands of emigration visas were exceptionally issued to citizens from the Azores.

António Gonçalves Pereira, a retired mechanic, says he never thought of emigrating, but recalls that those who stayed also counted on the help of emigrants to recover the houses destroyed by the volcano.

“Families who were abroad and those who went from here to there, got together and sent hundreds, not to say thousands of contos – at the time [the currency] was the escudo -, to help in the reconstruction here”, says António, adding that if this were not the case, the volcano’s survivors would not have been able to recover their assets.

The memories are of those who saw up close, 65 years ago, the birth of the Capelinhos Volcano, whose eruption began on September 27, 1957, and ended more than a year later, on October 24, 1958.

Currently, what remains of the eruption, worn down by the wind and the waves of the sea, is one of the main tourist attractions on the island, enhanced by an underground interpretation center, however built on site, which gathers all the information about the origin and consequences. of Capelinhos Volcano.

Azoreans have the lowest life expectancy in the country 

The Autonomous Region of the Azores presented, between 2019 and 2021, the lowest value of life expectancy at birth and at age 65 in the country.

According to data from the National Statistics Institute (INE) for the 2019-2021 period, released yesterday, the highest value of life expectancy at birth was recorded in the North region, at 81.13 years, while the regions of Madeira (78.55) and the Azores (78.18) presented the lowest values.

Despite life expectancy having decreased in the period under analysis, INE points out that “in the last 11 three-year periods, all NUTS III regions recorded gains in longevity at birth”. In fact, in the case of the Azores, it went from 78 years old in the period 2018-2020 to 78.18 years old in the triennium 2019-2021. However, in the archipelago, life expectancy at age 65 has decreased: from 17.63 years to 17.58 years. A trend that was observed in the other regions, with the exception of the Autonomous Region of Madeira.

The greatest differences in longevity at age 65 between men and women were also recorded in Madeira and the Azores, where women could expect to live on average, respectively, 4.49 years longer and 4.47 years longer than men.

Attempt to escape from jail by 33 inmates 

At the Ponta Delgada prison, 33 inmates were close to making an escape this week.

According to a source from the National Union of the Prison Guard Corps, the inmates dug a hole that began in a room turned into a warehouse, behind an armoured door that they managed to open. They were 20 centimetres from the outside.

The alert from neighbours because of the noise denounced the attempt to escape.