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Algarve Situation Report Wednesday 29th December 2021

New Year’s Eve: Câmara de Albufeira keeps fireworks to the sound of Kiss Fm and the transmission of “Carpe Nox” on RTP1

Due to the restrictions imposed by the pandemic, the traditional New Year’s party in Albufeira, at Praia dos Pescadores, was cancelled, however, the Municipality will not fail to mark the entry in 2022.

So, on December 31, at midnight, the local authority states that it will be possible to watch a pyro-musical show, which can be seen and heard from home. The fireworks will be launched from eight points in the municipality, reaching all parishes: Albufeira (2 launch points), Oura, Galé, Guia Ferreiras, Paderne and Olhos de Água.

The soundtrack and countdown for the entry into the New year will be broadcast by local radio Kiss Fm, on frequencies 95.8 fm and 101.2 fm.

At 1:30 am, RTP1 will also broadcast the New Year’s Eve night in Albufeira 2019-2020, with the show Albufeira Carpe Nox, which brought together 120,000 people at Praia dos Pescadores, among boats, planes, lights and sound, as well as music from Amor Eletro and The Black Mamba, exhibitions by the Flying Dragons and Airborne Pyrotechnics.

“This year, the New Year festivities had to be adapted to the circumstances and we decided to offer a fireworks show in different forms, which will cover the entire municipality and allow people to watch from their homes or hotel, where they are housed”, explains the Mayor, José Carlos Rolo. “The objective is to avoid the crowds and allow everyone to participate in the festivities from the tranquility of their homes”, he adds. 

Algarve hotels with last minute cancellations due to anti-covid restrictions

Algarve hotels anticipated a strong period of demand for the New Year, but they are being subject to massive cancellations with the new restrictions that force customers to submit negative tests, even if they are vaccinated.

Hotels in the Algarve are receiving last-minute cancellations due to the entry into force of new restrictions to combat the covid-19 pandemic and the worsening epidemiological situation.

“We are witnessing last-minute cancellations following the restrictions, due to the worsening of the pandemic. We continue to have reservations, but our forecasts, which were very optimistic for this year-end, are not confirmed”, stated the president of the Association of Hotels and Tourist Resorts in the Algarve (AHETA).

According to Elidérico Viegas, the new restrictions and the worsening of the pandemic have led to “many cancellations”, especially by the Portuguese, who are the ones who are most in demand in the region at this time of year, and also to a lower demand.

“Although there is still demand, the data we have now do not allow us to confirm the forecasts we had”, said the official, expressing the hope that, throughout the week, there may be last minute reservations, in case there is a slowdown in the number of new cases.

In view of the worsening of the epidemiological situation in Portugal, due to the Ómicron variant, the Government decided to bring forward the measures foreseen for the so-called “contact contention week”, which would only take place in January, to 0:00 on December 25th.

Among the measures enacted is the obligation to present a negative test in tourist establishments and local accommodation, when previously only the presentation of a digital certificate was required. 

Silves: Traders Exempt from Paying Municipal Fees in 2022

The Municipal Assembly of Silves unanimously approved the exemption from payment of fees for occupation of public space and/or advertising for the year 2022, for holders of commercial, service and restaurant establishments, closed, with suspended or conditioned activities, due to compliance with the restrictive measures imposed by the Government, in the context of the response to the pandemic.

In a statement, the municipality of Silves clarifies that the measure results from a proposal by the municipal executive led by the President of the Municipality of Silves, Rosa Palma, who had already received the unanimous approval of the Municipality of Silves, at the meeting on 29 November.

With the approval of this measure, the Municipality of Silves gives up revenue of around 226 thousand euros.

In this way, local entrepreneurs and merchants will not pay any fees in relation to requests for occupation of public space and/or advertising, between January 1 and December 31, 2022, a measure previously decreed by the municipality for the years 2020 and 2021, by the onset of the pandemic.

In addition to these measures, the Municipality registers others in support of the community, highlighting the activation of the Social Emergency Fund; the deferral of payment of bills for water supply and sanitation, with no default interest being charged, nor the suspension of the provision of said service; the suspension of the period for collecting all fees related to the municipal advertising licensing required by advertising companies; and exemption from payment and/or reduction of rents for concessionaires and commercial tenants of municipal spaces in 2020, 2021 and 2022.

Castro Marim offered 700 Christmas hampers

This year, the Castro Marim City Council delivered around 700 Christmas baskets.

For the municipality, the initiative created a few years ago, with the aim of contributing to a “more comfortable and happier” Christmas, is of greater importance at a time when the pandemic has increased the number of vulnerable families economic.

The baskets include several essential food products, selected also with the concern of integrating themselves into a healthier diet and lifestyle.

The Overseas Situation Report Friday 24 December 2021

by Mike Evans

“Any change, even a change for the better, is always accompanied by drawbacks and discomforts.”

—Arnold Bennett

If I may start this report by wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. This will be the last Overseas Report until the new year and whilst it would be good to end the year on a happy note the way the surge in Infections of the omicron variant is moving across the world makes it difficult to remain optimistic that life will eventually get back to some semblance of normality.

Throughout the year we have sought to bring you news and information from reliable and safe sources on what is the true situation regarding the Pandemic. Until we see the end we will continue to offer you an insight into what is happening around the world. As we enter the Christmas holiday period there is very little good news regarding the Covid 19 pandemic, however there is some heartening news courtesy of the Washington Post, coming out of Asia and especially Japan which we are delighted to bring you for this last edition before 2022.

In Japan, As the omicron variant surges around the world, Japan’s overall coronavirus cases and deaths have been plummeting. And no one seems to know exactly why.

Call it the hunt for a potential “X factor,” such as genetics, that may explain the trend and inform how Japan could deal with the next wave. While the new highly transmissible omicron variant has appeared in the country and experts suspect there is already some community spread, the overall transmission rate of the virus and coronavirus-related deaths in Japan have remained low.

“Honestly, we do not know the exact reason behind the sudden drop in covid deaths in Japan,” said Taro Yamamoto, professor of global health at Nagasaki University’s Institute of Tropical Medicine.

Throughout the coronavirus pandemic, Japan has had much lower rates of infection and death than in many Western countries, though there was a severe spike over the summer that overwhelmed hospitals.

Milder outbreaks — compared with the ravages of the virus in Europe and the Americas — were found in many Asian countries and were attributed often to a public accustomed to health measures from previous experiences with respiratory illnesses like the SARS and MERS epidemics. Researchers had also looked into genetics, diet and other factors that may have spared East Asian countries like Japan and South Korea from the high death tolls elsewhere. In Japan, researchers have also examined factors like weather, cyclical patterns in the spread of the virus, and potential past exposure to mild coronavirus variants that may have led to lower numbers of cases and death counts. Experts have identified potential genetic characteristics among the Japanese that may have led to a stronger immune system response to the coronavirus but said there needs to be more research to draw definitive conclusions.

Japan has now vaccinated most of its population and has widespread masking, which may explain the current low numbers. But so does neighbouring South Korea, where authorities are rescinding reopening plans because of a spike in infections and record numbers of serious and critical cases. And Japan has barely begun rolling out its booster shots, lagging other countries in the region, including South Korea.

“Obviously vaccination, masking and social distancing are surely factors, but those alone cannot explain it, especially when comparing the situation to South Korea,” Yamamoto said. “It is unclear yet whether there is a factor X that exists specific to Japanese or East Asian people, but in determining this we hope it can help us to understand and control the virus.”

In the past month, the official daily case count in Japan has ranged from about 60 to under 200 in a country of 127 million. There have been fewer than five coronavirus-related deaths recorded most days since early November.

Those numbers come with a caveat, and probably are an undercount of the pandemic’s true toll because of the lack of widespread testing, systemic contact tracing or vaccine passports, and delays in reporting of deaths from municipalities.

The lack of testing and the prevalence of asymptomatic cases means the government probably recorded one-fourth to one-tenth of the true number of cases until recently, when more testing options became available, according to Michinori Kohara, a researcher at the Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Medical Science who led a study published last month on underreported and asymptomatic positive cases. But even taking into account the underreporting, the number of cases and fatalities are a small fraction of the United States and many European countries.

Because of those limitations in detecting the true number of cases in the country, experts are paying attention to pressures on hospitals to gauge how the health-care system is faring, and whether there is a significant number of unreported coronavirus cases.

So far, they say, the situation has vastly improved since the spike in the summer, when hospitals were so overwhelmed that the government asked patients to treat themselves at home because there weren’t enough beds to accommodate them. Seriously ill infections are now under control, experts say.

Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Friday that the government aims to provide free and accessible testing starting at the end of this month. He has also called for a study of the government’s failures in responding to the spike this summer, including the cases where people died at home because the hospitals were full.

“There are some deaths and cases that may have been undercounted, but these numbers are not substantial enough to change the overall death rate or percentage,” Yamamoto said.

Japan has kept tight control on its frontiers, especially as the omicron variant emerged, though there is some doubt about the effectiveness of border control measures in preventing the spread of the virus. On Thursday, Japan recorded its first case of the omicron variant in someone who had not travelled. Japanese officials are watching the omicron variant closely, and there have been at least 159 confirmed cases of it. But the overall case count remains low: In the past week, the seven-day average of daily new cases in Tokyo was 25.

Taisuke Nakata, associate professor of economics and public policy at the University of Tokyo Faculty of Economics, led a team that tested six hypotheses to explain why the cases have plunged since the summer spike: 120-day cycle of outbreaks, people avoiding places with high infection risks, vaccinations, weather, herd immunity, or that Japan is seeing a low reproduction rate of the coronavirus.

They found that the final factor, which represents how many people are infected by one positive case, was most probably the only one at play. But they still could not explain why the reproduction rate was low, or how it stayed low even as the government lifted the “state of emergency” status in October and more people were out in society.

The low case counts in Japan are particularly confounding given the situation in South Korea, which had often experienced similar periods of ebbs and flows. “Many of us [in South Korea] are perplexed by how COVID-19 cases and deaths are approaching zero in the neighbouring country,” wrote Lee Duk-hee, professor of preventive medicine at Kyungpook National University in Daegu, in a blog post last month.

South Korea announced last week it would reimpose social distancing controls as the record spike of the coronavirus stymies the country’s reopening plans. The announcement came about 45 days after the government began its “living with covid-19” reopening plan.

Last week, South Korea’s daily caseloads surpassed 7,000 for the fifth time this month, with rising numbers of patients with serious or critical conditions. The health authorities have introduced at-home treatment for virus patients with light symptoms amid a shortage in hospital beds.

Some Japanese researchers have pointed to studies that found genetic or health conditions in Japan, including low prevalence of obesity. A study published this month by Japan’s Riken research institute, the country’s largest scientific research body, found that a genetic feature found in the white blood cells of up to 60 percent of Japanese people mounts an immune response to the coronavirus. The immune response was seen in 80 percent of the people with this genetic feature, and researchers found that it may explain one theory about Japan’s experience with the coronavirus.

This genetic feature, called HLA-A24, is common in East Asian countries and has been found in many countries that have had less severe experiences with the coronavirus, including Japan and Korea. But now, with the diverging experiences of Japan and Korea in the past two months, researchers said they hope to see more work done to find out more about what’s going on.

“Covid cases and deaths were low in Korea until now, but with the surge now and comparison with Japan, it would be interesting to examine what the immunity situation looks like now,” said Shin-ichiro Fujii, team leader at Riken’s immunotherapy laboratory.

Around the world the Scientific Community is learning more and more about the virus, and it can only be a matter of time until humanity can say that we have the “Cure”. Until that happens, we owe it to ourselves and our loved ones to protect each other as much as possible from the ravages this virus can cause.

Until the New Year Stay Safe.

Total Cases Worldwide – 277,687,256

Total Deaths Worldwide – 5,396,811

Total Recovered Worldwide – 248,911,553 

Total Active Cases Worldwide – 23,378,892 (8.4% of the total cases) 

Total Closed Cases Worldwide – 254,308,364

Information and Resources:

https://www.worldometer.info/coronavirus/

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2021/12/22/japan-covid-omicron-falling-cases/

 

Madeira Situation Report Wednesday 22nd December 2021 

By Daniel Fernandes

Covid-19 update

There were 1,174 new Covid-19 cases, 663 recoveries and 3 deaths from Covid-19 in Madeira since the previous Madeira Situation Report, which was published a week ago. Although there was a fall in the number of recoveries, the number of new cases and deaths also fell slightly. Nevertheless, the number of new and active cases remains high, in comparison to what happened during previous waves. Indeed, the highest number of new cases in a single day was recorded in the last week.

Pedro Ramos, Madeira’s Health and Civil Protection Secretary said a part of the population have not been complying with Covid-19 guidance, have been careless and irresponsible. He gave the example of Porto Santo, which has a 96% Covid-19 vaccination rate yet had 85 active cases on Sunday. According to him, there should have been fewer cases, but some people have not been complying with the relevant guidance.

On Wednesday, there were 156 new Covid-19 cases (4 imported cases & 152 cases of local transmission), 105 recoveries and 1 death. An 85-year-old female patient, who was partly vaccinated against Covid-19 and had pre-existing conditions, died with Covid-19 at Hospital Dr. Nélio Mendonça. The number of patients in hospital increased to 36, 5 of whom were in intensive care.

On Thursday, there were 152 new Covid-19 cases (12 imported cases & 140 cases of local transmission), 57 recoveries and 1 death. An 89-year-old male patient, who was not against Covid-19 and had pre-existing conditions, died with Covid-19 at Hospital Dr. Nélio Mendonça. The number of patients in hospital decreased to 35, 4 of whom were in intensive care.

On Friday, there were 103 new Covid-19 cases (3 imported cases & 100 cases of local transmission) and 106 recoveries. The number of patients in hospital decreased to 34, 5 of whom were in intensive care.

On Saturday, there were 246 new Covid-19 cases (7 imported cases & 239 cases of local transmission) and 98 recoveries. This was the highest ever number of new Covid-19 cases in a single day. The number of patients in hospital, including in intensive care, remained the same as the day before.

On Sunday, there were 163 new Covid-19 cases (14 imported cases & 149 cases of local transmission) and 89 recoveries. The number of patients in hospital increased to 39, 2 of whom were in intensive care.

On Monday, there were 165 new Covid-19 cases (14 imported cases & 151 cases of local transmission) and 111 recoveries and 1 death. An 81-year-old male patient, who had not been inoculated against Covid-19 and had pre-existing conditions, died with Covid-19. The number of patients in hospital increased to 44, 2 of whom were in intensive care.

And on Tuesday, there were 189 new Covid-19 cases (8 imported cases & 181 cases of local transmission) and 97 recoveries. The number of patients in hospital increased to 53, 1 of whom was in intensive care.

There were 1,445 active cases on Tuesday, of which 70 had been imported while the other 1,375 cases had been a result of local transmission. As of Tuesday, there had been 15,199 cases, 14,805 recoveries and 123 deaths.  

As of Tuesday, there were 99 patients in isolation in a dedicated hotel, 1,293 patients in isolation in their own accommodation and 53 patients in hospital, 1 of whom in intensive care. On Sunday, half to the hospitalised patients had not been inoculated.

On the same day, there were 358 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.

Also on the same day, there were 30,927 travellers under monitoring by the health authorities. Monitoring is being carried out through the ‘MadeiraSafe’ app. There were also 409 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, 321,639 samples had been collected until Tuesday (at 15h30).

As for Covid-19 rapid antigen tests, a total of 854,829 tests had been carried out by December 12th, 780,618 of which as part of mass testing campaigns.

By Tuesday, 756,794 samples from RT-PCR tests had been processed in the Autonomous Region of Madeira.

The SRS 24 helpline (Regional Health Service – 800 24 24 20) received 2,649 calls in the last 7 days. Overall, it had received 75,140 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 11 calls in the last 7 days. Overall, it has received 3,973 calls.

https://funchalnoticias.net/2021/12/15/mais-uma-morte-156-novos-casos-de-covid-19-hoje-987-activos-na-ram/

https://funchalnoticias.net/2021/12/16/morreu-mais-uma-pessoa-com-covid-19-na-ram/

https://funchalnoticias.net/2021/12/16/ram-ultrapassou-os-mil-casos-activos-de-covid-19-o-numero-oficial-e-1081/

https://funchalnoticias.net/2021/12/17/103-casos-de-covid-19-hoje-numero-de-infeccoes-activas-na-ram-e-de-1078/

https://funchalnoticias.net/2021/12/18/recorde-de-246-novos-casos-de-covid-19-na-madeira-nas-ultimas-24-horas/

https://funchalnoticias.net/2021/12/19/163-novos-casos-de-covid-19-1300-casos-activos-na-ram/

https://funchalnoticias.net/2021/12/20/morreu-mais-um-homem-com-covid-19-na-ram-ja-sao-123-pessoas/

https://funchalnoticias.net/2021/12/20/165-novos-casos-de-covid-19-1353-casos-activos-na-regiao/

https://funchalnoticias.net/2021/12/21/189-novos-casos-de-covid-19-hoje-sao-agora-1445-os-casos-activos-entre-nos/

https://www.jm-madeira.pt/regiao/ver/152742/Populacao_nao_esta_a_cumprir_com_as_recomendacoes_no_Porto_Santo

https://www.jm-madeira.pt/regiao/ver/152740/Pedro_Ramos_contundente_Tem_havido_imprudencia_tem_havido_irresponsabilidade

Mandatory use of face masks in public spaces

The use of face masks in public spaces is mandatory for people aged 6 or older (unless there is a medical exemption). Face masks must be worn to enter, to move around and to remain in public spaces. Failure to comply may result in fines. This policy will be in place until March 1st.

https://funchalnoticias.net/2021/12/16/coimas-para-quem-nao-usar-mascara-em-espacos-e-vias-publicas-a-partir-dos-10-anos/

https://www.jm-madeira.pt/regiao/ver/152875/Representante_da_Republica_manda_publicar_Decreto_que_obriga_uso_de_mascara_em_espacos_e_vias_publicas

Covid-19 vaccination update

By December 12th, 85% (212,005) of the Madeira population had been fully vaccinated and 87% (217,544) had started the vaccination process.

https://www.jm-madeira.pt/regiao/ver/152735/Pedro_Ramos_85_da_vacinacao_na_Madeira_esta_completa_

List of rapid antigen test sites

The following website has a list of places where rapid antigen Covid-19 testing is available. The list has an English translation.

https://iasaude.pt/attachments/article/8716/Lista_Locais_Aderentes_17_12_2021.pdf

New Navy patrol vessel arrived in Madeira

NRP Mondego, a Tejo-class patrol vessel, arrived in the Region on Friday. She is replacing NRP Sines, which has returned to Lisbon after the deployment. NRP Mondego’s commanding officer is First-Lieutenant Tiago Emanuel Lopes Monteiro. The vessel has a crew of 29 sailors. This deployment will reinforce the Navy’s presence in the Region, and strengthen sea patrols and safeguard human life at sea.

https://funchalnoticias.net/2021/12/16/navio-patrulha-mondego-substitui-sines-em-missao-na-ram/

Bad weather in Madeira

There were 11 incidents as a result of the bad weather that the Region has been facing. They were small floods in urban areas, fallen rocks and fallen trees. The authorities have advised the population to pay attention to the weather forecast and to the following guidance issued by the Regional Civil Protection Service:

Ensure the water draining systems are not obstructed and remove objects that may be dragged or obstruct the free flowing of water

Keep doors and windows closed and remove loose objects that are on balconies and window frames.

Whenever possible, avoid going to areas that are usually affected by bad weather

Do not remain in areas that have derelict buildings due to the risk of collapses

Pay attention to structures such as scaffolding, tents, roofs that may be affected by stronger winds

Beware of possible fallen trees

Pay special attention to obstructed roads due to fallen objects (as a result of strong winds)

Adopt defensive driving, reducing the speed and watching out for possible flooded roads

Hiking and car tours, particularly in mountain areas and in coastal areas is not recommended

https://funchalnoticias.net/2021/12/20/11-ocorrencias-registadas-nas-ultimas-24-horas-por-causa-do-mau-tempo/

Power cut

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

CANIÇO

December 23rd – 09h30 to 10h00

– Tendeira

– Porto Novo

– Estrada do Aeroporto

– Rua Sidónio Serôdio

– Vereda Mestre Neves

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 number (Serviço de Apoio ao Cliente): 800 221 187.

https://funchalnoticias.net/2021/12/21/publicidade-o-fornecimento-de-energia-sera-interrompido-nos-dias-horas-e-locais-abaixo-indicados-anuncio-110-2021/

 

Portugal Situation Report Wednesday 22nd December 2021

Introduction

Good morning- Yesterday evening the Prime Minister António Costa announced the main measures that will be in place to help contain the further spread of Covid-19, with the main focus being the Christmas and New Year periods.

He explained that the strategies adopted about a month ago are showing results. He added that the Government had decided to move forward with a new package of measures, among them the extension of free tests from four to six per person each month. The Government has decided to bring forward the special measures planned for January 2nd-9th. According to the new rules, this period will start at 00h00 on 25th December (namely midnight 24th/25th).

The prime minister announced that the containment period scheduled for January 2 to 9 will be brought forward to December 25, which in practice determines the early closure of clubs, bars, day care centers and ATL, and mandatory telecommuting. Tests will be needed for almost everything, except stores, but these are also reduced in capacity. On New Year’s Eve, gatherings are prohibited. Government has stated that they are expanding test capacity which will certainly be required to meet the heavy demand.

The official Communique of the Council of ministers was published overnight and as is normal we await the decree with full details. This will provide the information many of you are asking at present, and as soon as it is available we will produce an Informal English translation highlighting the main details.  This will need to be published before these changes are implemented, so this could be as early as today or tomorrow. COM here: https://www.safecommunitiesportugal.com/council-of-ministers-communique-21st-december-2021/

As with similar announcements in the past (nearly always made at dinner times) my thanks go to our volunteers Eliana Taveras and Fernanda Gonçalves for preparing this. Trust me it is not easy, and certainly I compliment Fernanda in all the work she undertakes in answering many of the questions that you have.

In that respect I would like to emphasise a point that when we say “more details will be available later”, there is little point in asking detailed questions as the answers are not there – all hopefully will be revealed very soon – thank you for your understanding.

Clearly as some of you have commented the restriction could have been a lot worse. For instance no travel restricts have been announced during Christmas nor New Year’s Eve. There will be some disappointment, and a loss of income to some businesses affected, but when we see the situation elsewhere in Europe I am thankful that I am here in Portugal. The Prime Minister has guaranteed that the companies will be supported through “the layoff and the Apoiar program”. In the first case, support is 100% of the salary of employees and employers with the business closed due to the measures.  If everyone follows the measures and limits gatherings during the festive season we should be much better placed in the New Year.

Some advice that will help reduce the risk of infection are whenever possible, ventilate the house and have the windows open. It is a cold night, but the ventilation of closed spaces is of the utmost importance to avoid the concentration of viruses and reduce the risk of contamination. It is also important to wear masks whenever possible, even indoors, during the Christmas dinner (except when eating or drinking) and advice from Government is for everyone to test themselves before gathering for the Christmas Eve meal or lunches. This is particularly important before visiting relatives, who themselves maybe vulnerable.

The Covid-19 Digital Certificate of the European Union (EU) is, as of yesterday is valid for 270 days for travel within the community and includes information on booster doses of vaccines, it was announced yesterday by Brussels. The statement includes “Today, the Commission adopted rules relating to the EU Digital COVID Certificate, establishing a binding acceptance period of 9 months (precisely 270 days) of vaccination certificates for the purposes of intra-EU travel”.

As far as we can see for this this extension is ONLY for travel within the EU.

As many of you have experience we are in for a week of bad weather (not unusual for this time of the year) so please take care especially when driving. We are posting Safe Driving information on our Facebook page to remind drivers accordingly. Please monitor the weather reports over the next days as more rain some heavy at times is expected.

Our team at Safe Communities wish you a very safe and Happy Christmas and New Year

Headlines

WHO says 2022 should be the one in which “the pandemic ends“

The year 2022 should be the year in which “the pandemic is put to an end”, stressed this Monday, December 20, the leader of the World Health Organization (WHO), calling for prudence at the festivities.

“We are all fed up with this pandemic. We all want to be with our families, but to better protect them and protect ourselves, in some cases, this means cancelling an event,” said WHO Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Speaking at a press conference at the UN in Geneva (Switzerland), the WHO official recommended that families and people who intend to be together during the end of the year to think twice: “a cancelled event is better than live less».

On the other hand, next year, “WHO is committed to doing everything in its power to end the pandemic,” he said.

As the fifth wave of the covid-19 pandemic hits many countries in force and the emergence of the Omicron variant puts the planet back in emergency, the leader of the WHO, now one of the most familiar faces in the fight against the coronavirus, declared: “2022 must be the year we end the pandemic”.

Again, he called for better access to vaccines in disadvantaged countries.

“If we want to end the pandemic next year, we must end inequality, ensuring that 70% of the population in each country is vaccinated by mid-year,” he said.

The director of WHO considered that countries that administer booster doses to adults or children in perfect health would do better to share these vaccines or convince unvaccinated people to adhere.

“We are faced with a very harsh reality, but we must be solidary,” he insisted.

Covid-19 DGS Situation reported on 21st December 2021

Confirmed: 1.233.608 (+ 5754 / + 0.47 %)

Admitted: 904 (-39 /-4.14 %)

Admitted to ICU: 153 (+ 1 / + 0.66 %)

Deaths: 18.812 (+ 16 / + 0.09 %)

Recovered: 1.141.909 (+ 6551 / + 0.58 %)

Active cases: 72,887 (-813 / -1.1%)

Trends

Deaths marginally below last week’s daily average (17)

New cases above last week’s daily average (4402). Yesterday’s figure was well below

A moderate reduction in hospitalisation compared to yesterday and a marginal increase in ICU

On the same day in 2020 there were: 57 deaths, 3158 in hospital, and 502 in ICU, which shows the considerable importance in vaccinations in saving life, reducing serious illness and reducing the tremendous pressure on the health services. 

Health

Omicron already represents almost 50% of new infections in Portugal

The Omicron variant represented 46.9% of cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection in Portugal this Monday. This is the value of the estimated proportion for advanced Omicron in the most recent report on the situation of the genetic diversity of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus in Portugal, released this Tuesday by the National Institute of Health Doctor Ricardo Jorge (Insa).

 “Since December 6, there has been an exponential growth in the proportion of probable cases of the Ómicron variant, having reached an estimated proportion of 46.9% on December 20”, refers to the Insa report, which adds that data obtained since last Wednesday (December 15) – the day on which the growth trend was projected until the end of the year – “has a large overlap with the projection”. This means that there is a consolidation for the analysis that Ómicron will be dominant in the country during this week. The prevalence of the variant will thus exceed 50% in the week of Christmas this week.

At a press conference, the Minister of Health, Marta Temido, announced that this variant represented 20% of new SARS-CoV-2 infections in Portugal. It also announced that in the week of Christmas – this week – the prevalence of Ómicron should increase to 50% and that it would rise to 80% in the week of the end of the year.

The “sudden increase” of Ómicron’s community circulation is parallel to the scenario observed in other countries, such as Denmark and the United Kingdom, according to the report. 

Vaccination update

Lisbon, December 21, 2021 (Lusa) – More than 88,000 people were vaccinated in the last 24 hours against covid-19 (complete primary scheme and booster) and against influenza, says today’s vaccination report released by the General Directorate of Health (DGS).

In the last 24 hours, more than 68,064 people were vaccinated with the booster against covid-19, which makes a total of 2,393,088 booster vaccines against the new coronavirus so far.

Today’s data from the DGS further indicates that 8,657,229 people have completed primary vaccination against covid-19, and 2,323,632 have been vaccinated against the flu.

According to DGS data, 86% of people aged 80 and over have already received a booster dose of the covid-19 vaccine, 83% of people aged between 70 and 79, 45% of people aged between 60 and those aged 69, and 15% of people aged between 50 and 59 years.

Hotels and restaurants worried about cancellations for Christmas and New Years

The tourism sector in Portugal, which in the summer saw signs of recovery, is worried about cancellations for the next few days. They were counting on Christmas and New Year to have a little oxygen to withstand the first trimester, hoping that Easter 2022 was already normal. But, for the second year, the Christmas season and New Year will be lived all over Europe with renewed fears about the pandemic. If in 2020, vaccination was not a widespread reality, which raised concerns about the spread of the virus and generation of serious disease, in 2021 the emergence of a new variant, Ómicron, once again sounded the warning bells. Several governments decided to implement measures to try to control the pandemic, discouraging the gathering of people and mobility.

Cristina Siza Vieira, executive vice president of the Hotel Association of Portugal (AHP), recognizes to DN/Dinheiro Vivo that hotels in Portugal are feeling “a lot” of the effects of both the spread of Ómicron and the restrictions applied by the Portuguese government upon entry into the country. The effects are being felt “especially with foreign tourists. We were feeling a return of these tourists, especially in large urban centers, however the new measures are now in force, not only in Portugal, but throughout Europe, and in the world , plus the mandatory presentation of tests when entering and leaving Portugal and in various places, including hotels and restaurants, interrupted this principle of recovery”.

The operations of the hotel units have already been affected, confirming the person in charge that “there have already been cancellations, especially at Christmas dinners and lunches, whether by families or companies. Furthermore, demand for this period has also decreased and there has been a drop in reservations”.

The Portuguese Hotel, Catering and Similar Association (AHRESP) is also receiving the same reaction. Still listening to the members and, therefore, with no numbers yet to allow for a faithful portrait, Ana Jacinto, secretary general of AHRESP, assumes that “as soon as new health rules were announced on December 1, we immediately had reports of cancellations of group dinners and Christmas. “Trust” and “predictability” are crucial and whenever there are more restrictive rules,

Covid-19: Lisbon closes two homeless centers due to lack of conditions

Lisbon, December 21, 2021 (Lusa) – Two of the four homeless emergency shelters that opened during the pandemic in Lisbon will be closed, for lack of “dignified conditions”, announced today the mayor, Carlos Moedas.

“We had two centers without decent conditions that have to be deactivated”, said Carlos Moedas (PSD), who guaranteed that the people who were installed in these spaces are being “accompanied and forwarded”.

The mayor was speaking this afternoon at the Municipal Assembly of Lisbon and thus confirmed an information put forward by the deputy of People-Animals-Nature (PAN) Isabel Castro.

According to a source from the PAN parliamentary group to Lusa, the municipal emergency accommodation centers (CAEM) Pousada da Juventude, in Moscavide, and the Casa dos Direitos Sociais, in Marvila, are in the “closing phase”.

Carlos Moedas defended, in the same answer to the PAN deputy, that the homeless problem is “very serious” and that “Lisbon must change this strategy” of a response based on reception centers where more than 100 people gather in a same space.

For the new mayor of Lisbon, elected in September 2021, the city should adopt in the future a “more Nordic model” and have “smaller” solutions, in terms of spaces for people living on the streets.

Isabel Castro had stated, in her speech, that there is an increase in the number of homeless people in Lisbon and regretted that in the winter season, in a pandemic situation and when there are no more vacancies in the reception responses, the Lisbon City Council (CML) is closing two of the four emergency centers created in the city to support this population in the context of covid-19 

WHO lists 10th COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use : Nuvaxovid

The World Health Organization issued an emergency use listing (EUL) for NuvaxovidTM, following its assessment and approval by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) earlier today.

The new vaccine was developed by Novavax and the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), and is the originator product for the CovovaxTM vaccine that received WHO emergency use listing on 17 December.

Both vaccines are made using the same technologies. They require two doses and are stable at 2 to 8 °C refrigerated temperatures.

WHO’s Strategic Advisory Group of Experts on Immunization has also issued policy recommendations for NuvaxovidTM / CovovaxTM.

The emergency use listing (EUL) procedure assesses the suitability of novel health products during public health emergencies. The objective is to make medicines, vaccines and diagnostics available as rapidly as possible to address the emergency while adhering to stringent criteria of safety, efficacy and quality. The assessment weighs the threat posed by the emergency as well as the benefit that would accrue from the use of the product against any potential risks.

The EUL pathway involves a rigorous assessment of late phase II and phase III clinical trial data, as well as substantial additional data on safety, efficacy, quality and a risk management plan. These data are reviewed by independent experts and WHO teams who consider the current body of evidence on the vaccine under consideration, the plans for monitoring its use, and plans for further studies.

As part of the EUL process, the company producing the vaccine must commit to continue to generate data to enable full licensure and WHO prequalification of the vaccine. The WHO prequalification process will assess additional clinical data generated from vaccine trials and deployment on a rolling basis to ensure the vaccine meets the necessary standards of quality, safety and efficacy for broader availability. 

Tourism unemployed grow 9% in November

Despite complaints about the lack of manpower, the shortage of workers is not reflected in last month’s IEFP data, which follow the usual trend of rising unemployment in this sector at the start of the autumn.

The number of unemployed people in the tourist sector with active enrollment in job centers increased by 9% in November compared to the previous month, interrupting a cycle of seven consecutive months of improvements in data from the Employment and Vocational Training Institute (IEFP) for accommodation workers, catering and other similar activities such as cafeterias.

Last month, unemployment registered in this sector rose by 2,723 individuals, to a total of 32,916 in the mainland regions (the breakdown by activities of origin of unemployment does not include data for the Azores or Madeira), according to statistics released yesterday.

Tourism was, in fact, one of the few sectors with an increase in unemployment in a month that marked a new minimum of active unemployment records, at 345 884, in continuous decline since March of this year. In addition to this sector, agriculture increased unemployment registrations by 1.4% (over 167) and the sector of electricity, gas, water, sanitation and waste by 1.1% (over 11).

The rise in tourism unemployed in November is in line with the behavior of previous years, with and without a pandemic, given the strong seasonality of employment in the sector. A year ago, for example, registered unemployment globally also fell, but accommodation and catering accounted for another 8% of unemployed. Agriculture, another highly seasonal activity, also accounted for over 1.1% of the unemployed.

Other news

CARRIS changes services until 7th January and Lisbon Metro closes earlier on Christmas Eve

December 21, 2021 (Lusa) – CARRIS will make service changes between December 24th and January 7th and the Metropolitano de Lisboa will close earlier on Christmas night due to the reduction in demand, the companies reported today.

In a statement, Metropolitano de Lisboa said that it would close the service at 22:00 on 24th December and will resume circulation at 08:00 on 25 December.

“As in previous years, given the sharp reduction in demand usually seen on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, Metropolitano de Lisboa will close its operating service at 22:00 on December 24th and will resume operating at 08: 00 on December 25th”, indicates the company.

CARRIS also said, in a statement, that it was going to make changes to the service between December 24th and January 7th to adapt the offer to the expected reduction in demand during the Christmas and New Year period.

Schedules and changes here:

https://www.carris.pt/descubra/noticias/horarios-natal-e-fim-de-ano/?fbclid=IwAR0H6aTdtO4Vos8L6lp7314JW1Wq-mq3EgSuxk-_J1wfyfdveQ0op4jle2I

 

 

Algarve Situation report Wednesday 22nd December 2021

Algarve reinforces the regional strategy to combat COVID-19 for the coming months.

The Secretary of State Coordinator of the Calamity situation for the Algarve Region, Jorge Botelho, meets this week by sector with each intervention zone (Barlavento, Central and Sotavento), involving mayors, authorities and health services for a full articulation with the structure Civil Protection, with a view to designing the line of action for the coming months.

 Meetings are scheduled for Monday and Tuesday with each of the intervention sectors provided for in the organization implemented in the region, resulting from the activation of the Civil Protection Emergency Plan, which coincide with the areas of influence of each Health Center Group (ACES) of the Regional Health Administration (ARS) of the Algarve.

The first sector coordination meeting took place on December 20, and was dedicated to the ACES Barlavento sector, in which, in addition to the president of the Regional Health Administration Paulo Morgado, the Regional Emergency and Civil Protection Commander Vítor Vaz Pinto and the regional health delegate Ana Cristina Guerreiro, the mayors, as municipal authorities for Civil Protection, from the municipalities of Aljezur, Lagoa, Lagos, Monchique, Portimão, Silves and Vila do Bispo, the executive director of ACES Algarve II – Barlavento and respective Health Delegates.

The main objective of the working day is, based on an epidemiological situation and predictable evolution, to anticipate measures and adjust the support that has been materialized by the civil protection structures to the bodies of the National Health Service (NHS) that are committed to combating this international public health emergency.

Vaccination will also be a dominant theme due to the important phase in which it is now and the recently known designs in its planning.

Tomorrow, Tuesday, will follow the sectorial coordination meetings of ACES Central in which the mayors of Albufeira, Faro, Loulé, Olhão and São Brás de Alportel and ACES Sotavento participate, which will count on the participation of the mayors of Alcoutim, Castro Marim, Tavira and Vila Real de Santo António.

This Christmas, 350 families from São Brás de Alportel receive solidarity baskets

This Christmas marked again by the pandemic and the crisis, the “Cabaz Solidário da Consoada” is reaching three and a half hundred homes in São Brás de Alportel, integrating in this edition a greater number of families.

The Consoada Solidarity Basket is an initiative promoted, in partnership, by the Municipality and the Parish Council of São Brás de Alportel, coordinating entities of the Local Platform for Food Aid, which is headquartered in the Social Store of São Brás de Alportel, with collaboration from all platform partners – local nucleus of Cáritas, Salvation Army, CCD – Center for Culture and Sports of Workers of the City Council and Parish Council and Santa Casa da Misericórdia of São Brás de Alportel.

Through the “Natal Solidário” program, in addition to food and essential goods, families also receive gifts for the little ones. In a press release, the Chamber explains that this solidarity action is made possible “by hosting the “Anjinhos de Natal” project, made possible thanks to the committed collaboration of the local Salvation Army nucleus, which counts on the generosity of a group of Algarvian groups from social beneficence’.

 

 

Azores Situation Report Wednesday 22nd December 2021

From our colleague in the Azores

Omicron 

The Regional Health Authority informs that two positive cases of infection by SARS-CoV-2 with SGTP (S Gene Target Failure) profile were identified in the Autonomous Region of the Azores, with molecular profiles compatible with strain B.1.1.529 (Omicron) and that the samples have already been sent for genomic sequencing and confirmation at the INSA – Doctor Ricardo Jorge National Health Institute.

These positive cases were identified yesterday on the island of Terceira and today on the island of São Miguel, respectively by the Specialized Service of Epidemiology and Molecular Biology of the Hospital de Santo Espírito da Ilha Terceira and by the Genetics and Molecular Pathology Unit of the Hospital do Divino Espírito Santo de Ponta Delgada.

15th December 

37 new positive cases of covid-19 were diagnosed, 34 in São Miguel, one in Faial, one in Pico and one in Terceira, resulting from 873 tests performed.

In São Miguel, 16 new positive cases were registered in the municipality of Ponta Delgada, six in the municipality of Lagoa, six in the municipality of Ribeira Grande, three in the municipality of Povoação, two in the municipality of Vila Franca do Campo and one in the municipality of Nordeste.

In Terceira, a positive case was registered in the municipality of Angra do Heroísmo, in Pico there is also a new positive case in the municipality of Lajes and in Faial there is also a new positive case corresponding to the municipality of Horta.

Admissions:

On the 15th December there were six inpatients, five at the Divino Espírito Santo Hospital, in Ponta Delgada (with two in the Intensive Care Unit) and one at the Santo Espírito Hospital, in Angra do Heroísmo.

Recoveries:

42 recoveries were registered.

16th December 

34 new positive cases of covid-19 were diagnosed, 32 in São Miguel and two in Santa Maria, resulting from 724 tests performed.

In São Miguel, 19 new positive cases were registered in the municipality of Ponta Delgada, eight in the municipality of Ribeira Grande and five in the municipality of Lagoa.

In Santa Maria, two new positive cases were registered, corresponding to the municipality of Vila do Porto.

Admissions:

On the 16th December there were nine inpatients, eight at the Divino Espírito Santo Hospital, in Ponta Delgada (two at the Intensive Care Unit) and one at the Santo Espírito Hospital, in Angra do Heroísmo.

Recoveries:

23 recoveries were registered.

17th December 

53 new positive cases of covid-19 were diagnosed, 49 in São Miguel, two in Terceira, one in Faial and one in Santa Maria, resulting from 954 tests performed.

In São Miguel, 31 new positive cases were registered in the municipality of Ponta Delgada, eight in the municipality of Ribeira Grande, eight in the municipality of Lagoa and two in the municipality of Vila Franca do Campo

In Terceira, a new case was registered in the municipality of Angra do Heroísmo and another in the municipality of Praia da Vitória. In Santa Maria, a new positive case was registered, corresponding to the municipality of Vila do Porto, and in Faial, a new positive case was also registered, corresponding to the municipality of Horta.

Admissions:

On the 17th December there were 10 inpatients, nine at the Divino Espírito Santo Hospital, in Ponta Delgada (three in the Intensive Care Unit) and one at the Santo Espírito Hospital, in Angra do Heroísmo.

Recoveries:

17 recoveries were registered.

18th December 

36 new positive cases of covid-19 were diagnosed, 30 in São Miguel, two in Terceira, two in Santa Maria, one in Faial and one in São Jorge, resulting from 1,060 tests performed.

In São Miguel, 21 new positive cases were registered in the municipality of Ponta Delgada, four in the municipality of Ribeira Grande, two in the municipality of Lagoa, two in the municipality of Povoação and one in the municipality of Vila Franca do Campo.

In Terceira, two new cases were diagnosed, both in the municipality of Angra do Heroísmo.

In Santa Maria, in the municipality of Vila do Porto, two cases were registered. Faial has a new positive case corresponding to the municipality of Horta and São Jorge has an active case again, in the municipality of Calheta.

Admissions:

On the 18th December there were nine inpatients, eight at the Divino Espírito Santo Hospital, in Ponta Delgada (two at the Intensive Care Unit) and one at the Santo Espírito Hospital, in Angra do Heroísmo.

Recoveries:

34 recoveries were registered.

19th December 

66 new positive cases of covid-19 were diagnosed, 57 in São Miguel, six in Santa Maria and three in Terceira, resulting from 1,026 tests performed.

In São Miguel, 32 new positive cases were registered in the municipality of Ponta Delgada, nine in the municipality of Ribeira Grande, nine in the municipality of Lagoa, six in the municipality of Povoação and one in the municipality of Vila Franca do Campo.

In Santa Maria, in the municipality of Vila do Porto, six cases were registered.

In Terceira, three new cases were diagnosed, two in the municipality of Angra do Heroísmo and one in the municipality of Praia da Vitória.

Admissions:

On the 19th December there were eleven inpatients, ten at the Divino Espírito Santo Hospital, in Ponta Delgada (two in the Intensive Care Unit) and one at the Santo Espírito Hospital, in Angra do Heroísmo.

Recoveries:

37 recoveries were registered.

20th December 

62 new positive cases of covid-19 were diagnosed, 45 in São Miguel, six in Terceira, five in Santa Maria, four in Graciosa and two in Flores, resulting from 587 tests performed.

In São Miguel, 31 new positive cases were registered in the municipality of Ponta Delgada, six in the municipality of Lagoa, five in the municipality of Vila Franca do Campo and three in the municipality of Ribeira Grande.

In Terceira, six new positive cases were diagnosed, five in the municipality of Angra do Heroísmo and one in the municipality of Praia da Vitória.

In Santa Maria, five positive cases were registered corresponding to the municipality of Vila do Porto.

In Graciosa there are four new cases corresponding to the municipality of Santa Cruz and in Flores there are two new positive cases in the municipality of Santa Cruz.

Admissions: 

On the 20th December there were eleven inpatients, ten at the Divino Espírito Santo Hospital, in Ponta Delgada (two in the Intensive Care Unit) and one at the Santo Espírito Hospital, in Angra do Heroísmo.

Recoveries: 

20 recoveries were recorded.

21st December 

Sixty new positive cases of covid-19 were diagnosed, 33 in São Miguel, eight in Santa Maria, eight in Graciosa, five in Terceira, three in Faial, two in Pico and one in Flores, resulting from 976 tests performed.

In São Miguel, 24 new positive cases were registered in the municipality of Ponta Delgada, five in the municipality of Lagoa, two in the municipality of Vila Franca do Campo, one in the municipality of Ribeira Grande and one in the municipality of Povoação.

In Santa Maria, eight positive cases were registered corresponding to the municipality of Vila do Porto, and in Graciosa there are also eight new cases corresponding to the municipality of Santa Cruz.

In Terceira, five new positive cases were registered, all in the municipality of Angra do Heroísmo

In Faial there are three new positive cases that correspond to the municipality of Horta and in Pico there are two new positive cases, one in the municipality of Lajes and the other in the municipality of Madalena. In Flores, there is a new positive case registered in the municipality of Lajes.

Admissions: 

On the 21st of December there were eleven inpatients, ten at the Divino Espírito Santo Hospital, in Ponta Delgada (two in the Intensive Care Unit) and one at the Santo Espírito Hospital, in Angra do Heroísmo.

Recoveries: 

six recoveries have been recorded.

Current situation:   

The archipelago currently has 449 active positive cases, 373 in São Miguel, 28 in Terceira, 23 in Santa Maria, 12 in Graciosa, six in Faial, four in Flores and three in Pico.

From December 31st, 2020 to December 7th, 197,309 people completed the primary vaccination course (83.4 percent) and 27,316 received the vaccine booster (3rd dose).

There have been 49 deaths from Covid in the region.

Vaccinations for children 

In January of next year, the vaccination of children against covid-19 starts in the Azores, the Regional Secretary for Health and Sports said today in Angra do Heroísmo.

“In early January, the vaccination of children will become available, for those that parents understand and that doctors understand, as we said, after we have made significant progress in vaccinating the most vulnerable”, said Clélio Meneses.

The government official also announced a mass testing of schools in the archipelago, also in early January.

“A massive testing operation is also being prepared, using saliva tests for all students, at all levels of education, with priority for those from Terceira and São Miguel, right at the beginning of the next school term”, he stated.

Faced with the entry of the new variant of the virus in the Azores, the Regional Secretary for Health and Sports reiterates the call for vaccination: “this variant is entering intensely”, he said, without specifying the numbers, but justifying the appeal with the fact that most of those admitted to Azorean hospitals are “unvaccinated”.

Clélio Meneses announced that the vaccination centre at Pavilhão do Mar, in Ponta Delgada, will reopen.

“The vaccination centre at Portas do Mar is once again operational so that the booster dose is applied to as many people as possible,” he said.

“Right now, we are approaching 30,000 people with the booster dose. We are already in the 50s age group. Therefore, any Azorean, aged 50 or over, who has not yet been called for the booster dose, can go to the respective health unit to, if given the opportunity at the time, take the vaccine, or schedule it”, he said.

As part of the fight against the pandemicalso announced that rapid antigen tests will now be available at the archipelago’s airports, for those who want to carry out screening on their return to the islands, regardless of the presentation of the digital vaccination certificate, or other documents required. Also, according to Clélio Meneses, the bureaucratic and administrative process of holding conventions with laboratories for carrying out rapid tests is in its final phase.

Clélio Meneses said, on the other hand, that the regional government will meet in council this week “to, if necessary, take some more measures in this period and impose some type of control”.

The Overseas Situation Report Tuesday 21 December 2021

by Mike Evans

“Don’t give up! It’s not over. The universe is balanced. Every set-back bears with it the seeds of a come-back”  

– Steve Maraboli

With the holidays drawing even closer this report is looking at the latest situation in many parts of the world with the surge in new infections with the Omicron variant. The World Health Organization reported Saturday that the Omicron variant of the coronavirus has been detected in 89 countries, and Covid cases involving the variant are doubling every 1.5 to 3 days in places with community transmission and not just infections acquired abroad. This variant seems to be spreading a lot faster than the previous strains and it is for this reason that many countries are looking to close their borders as well as put their citizens under a lock down during the Christmas period.

Nations across Europe moved to reimpose tougher measures to stem a new wave of Covid infections spurred by the highly transmissible Omicron variant, with the Netherlands leading the way by imposing a nationwide lockdown.

All non-essential stores, bars and restaurants in the Netherlands have closed until 14 January 2022, caretaker prime minister Mark Rutte said at a hastily arranged press conference Saturday night. Schools and universities will shut until 9 January, he said.

In what is surely to prove a major disappointment, the lockdown terms also rein in private holiday celebrations. Residents only will be permitted two visitors except for Christmas and New Year’s, when four will be allowed, according to Rutte. The Netherlands is going into lockdown again from tomorrow,” he said, adding that the move was “unavoidable because of the fifth wave caused by the Omicron variant that is bearing down on us. “In the Netherlands, shoppers fearing the worst swarmed to commercial areas of Dutch cities earlier Saturday, thinking it might be their last chance to buy Christmas gifts.

Rotterdam municipality tweeted that it was “too busy in the centre” of the port city and told people: “Don’t come to the city.” Amsterdam also warned that the city’s main shopping street was busy and urged people to stick to coronavirus rules. “I can hear the whole of the Netherlands sighing,” Rutte said in his lockdown announcement.

“All this, exactly one week before Christmas. Another Christmas that is completely different from what we want. Very bad news again for all those businesses and cultural institutions that rely on the holidays.”

It wasn’t just the Dutch seeking to slow the spread of Omicron. Alarmed ministers in France and Austria tightened travel restrictions. France, having already banned UK travellers, banned concerts and fireworks displays on New Year’s Eve.

Prime Minister Jean Castex called on people to limit the size of holiday gatherings this Christmas during a news conference in a bid to curb rising “fifth wave” infections. Paris cancelled its New Year’s Eve fireworks.

Denmark has closed theatres, concert halls, amusement parks and museums. Ireland imposed an 8 pm curfew on pubs and bars and limited attendance at indoor and outdoor events.

Germany is the latest country after France to impose a ban on UK arrivals into the country, and it is not just in Europe where countries are banning travellers.  As the omicron coronavirus variant takes hold across the world, Israel has placed a ban on all travel to the United States. Germany has also been added to the “no-fly” list. Israel announced on Monday that its citizens would be banned from traveling to the US without special permission as of midnight local time on Wednesday (22:00 UTC Tuesday).

A statement issued by Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s office cited concerns over the spread of the omicron variant of the coronavirus as the reason for the ban, which also now includes Germany, Italy, Belgium, Hungary, Morocco, Portugal, Canada, Switzerland and Turkey.

The statement said Cabinet ministers had voted to instate the ban on these countries on Monday following advice from the Health Ministry.

Israeli citizens are now banned from traveling to more than 50 countries. Israeli citizens and permanent residents will not be able to travel to the US unless they have special permission.

All travellers, including those who are vaccinated or recovered and carry a valid COVID-19 certificate, will have to go into isolation for 14 days upon their return from the US. Those who are not vaccinated or recovered will have to isolate in a managed facility unless they have a negative result from a PCR test taken on arrival. In that case, they will be permitted to complete their isolation period at home if they declare that no one other than them lives or stays where they are isolating.

Non-Israeli citizens coming from the US will not be allowed to enter Israel unless they have special permission. The same rules apply to all the countries on Israel’s “red list” of countries considered to pose a high coronavirus risk.

In Germany, German Health Minister Karl Lauterbach warned on Friday of a “massive fifth wave” of the coronavirus the country is facing with the arrival of the omicron variant. At a press conference in Hanover, Lauterbach said, “We must prepare for a challenge that we have not yet had in this form.”

Although omicron may be milder than other variants, this might “keep deaths low for two to three weeks, before the growth of the virus would eat up this advantage,” Lauterbach said, underlining that a difficult period ahead was “inevitable.” With an eye toward the approaching Christmas holiday, Lauterbach appealed to those traveling this holiday season to get tested frequently.

Germany has reimposed health restrictions following high case numbers, barring unvaccinated individuals from restaurants and non-essential commerce. The government has also placed an advance order for 80 million doses of omicron-specific vaccines being developed by Pfizer and BioNTech.

All of this comes on the back of a drop in new cases in the past week according to the Robert Koch Institute. The Institute registered a continuing decline in infections. On Friday, 50,968 new infections were reported, making that over 10,000 less than one week ago.

The nationwide seven-day incidence rate also dropped further to 331.8 from 340.1 the previous day. Germany recently implemented several new restrictions, particularly applying to unvaccinated people.

Germany also registered neighbouring France and Denmark as well as Andorra, Lebanon, and Norway as “high-risk” areas. The classification means people who are not vaccinated or have not recently recovered from a COVID-19 infection are required to quarantine for a minimum of five days.

In Austria, the health ministry said it was tightening rules on entry to the country. As of Monday, only those with proof they have received three jabs or recovered from COVID-19 will be permitted to enter the country.

Those lacking a third booster will have to show negative PCR test results or quarantine for five days on arrival in Austria.

Denmark announced it will close all cinemas, theatres and concert halls, and restrict restaurant opening hours over a record number of daily cases. The government also plans to close other gathering places such as amusement parks and museums.

“Theatres, cinemas and concert halls, they will have to close,” Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen told a press conference. “We need to limit our activity. We all need to limit our social contacts,” she added.

Meanwhile on the other side of the World, The Australian state of New South Wales reported a record 2,213 new infections on Friday, the highest number since the pandemic began. However, state Premier Dominic Perrottet said he had no plans to return to the lockdowns and restrictions that were previously imposed to keep the spread of the virus in check, now that 93.3% of the eligible population is vaccinated.

The new peak followed the 1,742 cases reported in New South Wales state on Thursday, which had topped the previous record set in September. The state government is using hospital admissions, particularly the number of patients in intensive care, as a gauge of the pandemic’s severity. There were 24 people in ICUs on Friday. New South Wales on Wednesday eased rules on mask-wearing and the need to provide proof of vaccination at some venues, allowing the unvaccinated to participate more fully in social events.

Finally, to end this report we look at the USA, where infections are also on the increase due to the Omicron variant. Following the Federal mandate on vaccinations for the armed forces, all US military services have now begun taking disciplinary action and discharging troops who have refused to get the mandated coronavirus vaccine, officials said, with as many as 20,000 unvaccinated forces at risk of being removed from service.

On Thursday, the Marine Corps said it had discharged 103 Marines so far for refusing the vaccine, and the Army said it had reprimanded more than 2,700 soldiers and will begin discharge proceedings in January. The Air Force said earlier this week that 27 airmen had been discharged for refusing the vaccine order.

According to the services, at least 30,000 service members are not yet vaccinated, but several thousand of those have gotten temporary or permanent medical or administrative exemptions approved.

Until the next time Stay Safe.

Total Cases Worldwide – 275,137,925

Total Deaths Worldwide – 5,372,873

Total Recovered Worldwide – 246,910,593 

Total Active Cases Worldwide – 22,854,459 (8.3% of the total cases) 

Total Closed Cases Worldwide – 252,283,466

Information and Resources:

https://www.worldometer.info/coronavirus/

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/19/netherlands

https://www.dw.com/en/coronavirus

https://who.it

 

 

 

The Overseas Situation Report Friday 17 December 2021

by Mike Evans

“Stay safe, stay healthy and above all, stay positive!”

– Anonymous

With the Christmas holidays getting ever closer this report is bringing you the latest news on travel around Europe and even further afield.

We start with the latest news from France where the fear of the Omicron variant has forced the Government to impose new restrictions on travellers from the United Kingdom from midnight tomorrow. (18 December 2021). All non-essential travel between the two countries has been banned, so anyone looking to visit friends or take a skiing holiday in France over Christmas are going to be unlucky.

Currently only French or EU citizens will be allowed to enter France from the UK from Saturday. According to a list on the French Government website the only Britons allowed in are those with registered homes in France plus Transport workers and students. These new rules apply to both vaccinated and non-vaccinated people. Anyone able to make the journey from the UK are required to register prior to travelling on a digital platform to record their address in France where they will have to be isolated for 7 days. This isolation requirement may be lifted to 48 hours subject to being able to justify a negative PCR or TAG (antigen) test.

Meanwhile in Italy, the number of hospitalisations dropping in Italy and with the vaccination rates increasing each day, the COVID-19 situation has somewhat improved in the country. However, the country is currently in an emergency state as it emerged from a lockdown that lasted for a couple of months after battling with a third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Even though the country has shown positive figures, it’s unclear whether the emergency state will end anytime soon as the new COVID-19 Omicron variant has already reached Italy.

To keep the Coronavirus situation under control, Italy launched its EU COVID-19 Passport on June 15, which means that the country has long ago started to issue and accept proof of vaccination, proof of recovery, or negative COVID test certificates.

Nonetheless, due to the widespread of the virus and the detection of the new Omicron variant, the country has made several modifications regarding the entry rules as well as the documents that are required to be permitted entry to the country.

European Union nationals travelling to Italy will have to test for COVID-19 before their trip and present negative test results upon arrival in Italy, regardless of their vaccination and recovery status.

The move was taken on Tuesday, December 14, in a meeting of the Italian Council of Ministers, who also agreed that travellers from other EU and Schengen Area countries should be subject to the obligation of quarantine in cases when they haven’t been vaccinated or recovered from COVID-19.

“For those who also come from EU countries but are not vaccinated, it will not be enough to show the negative swab to circulate in Italy, but they will incur the obligation of quarantine.  The vaccinated will also be asked to show a negative swab result,” the Ministers agreed.

Through a provision of the decree approved by the Council, the obligation to carry a super Green pass in the white zone has been extended until March 31 as well. The same was set to expire on January 15. Italy permits entry to most European countries, more precisely to Austria, Andorra, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, France, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Poland, Czech Republic, Romania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.

All persons arriving in Italy from any country mentioned above can enter Italy for non-essential purposes if they have not stayed in South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Namibia, Eswatini and Malawi in the last 14 days before entering Italy.

Travellers from countries that are permitted entry to Italy need to present the COVID-19 Certificate, which proves whether the travellers have been vaccinated, recovered, or have e negative COVID-19 test result.

All people entering Greece must present a PCR test taken 48 hours before entry, authorities in the Hellenic Republic have announced. The measure, which applies to vaccinated and unvaccinated travellers, will enter into force on December 19 and has been introduced in an effort to keep the COVID-19 situation under control, SchengenVisaInfo.com reports.

“As part of the Covid-19 pandemic control effort, our country will receive visitors from all countries with the demonstration of negative molecular control (PCR) for 48 hours. Excluded from the measure are travellers who have stayed in the countries for less than 48 hours,” the Greek Ministry of Health announced.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), earlier this week, 4,801 positive cases with COVID-19 have been reported in Greece, in addition to 77 deaths and 683 hospitalised patients. In comparison, the report of the National Public Health Organization EODY published on Tuesday showed that there were reported 5,736 cases COVID-19 cases, the second-highest death toll ever of 130, and 700 hospitalised, with 80.97 per cent of them being unvaccinated or partially vaccinated and the remaining patients (130, or 19.03 per cent) being fully vaccinated.

The highest number of infections, 1,486 of those, was registered in Attica, which represents the country’s most populated region, with the northern port city of Thessaloniki reporting 817. According to the World Health Organisation (WHO) data, 34,257 positive cases with COVID-19 have been registered in the country during the last seven days, in addition to 660 deaths.

Furthermore, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) shows that five positive cases with the Omicron variant have been confirmed in Greece. Presently, Denmark (310), France (170) and Germany (102) hold the highest records of Omicron cases in the EU.

Across the Atlantic in Canada, people thinking of travelling overseas for the Christmas holidays have been given a bleak reminder by the Government, and that is “don’t travel”. Since early November, Canada has seen a steady rebound in coronavirus cases, according to a Dec. 10 epidemiology report published by the country’s public health agency. Now, with the rise of the Omicron variant — which spurred travel restrictions around the globe connected to several countries in southern Africa — the Canadian government has issued an advisory against all nonessential travel just over a week before Christmas.

“To those who were planning to travel, I say very clearly, now is not the time to travel,” the country’s health minister, Jean-Yves Duclos, said at a news conference on Wednesday afternoon. The advisory will be in effect for four weeks and will then be re-evaluated. The government also plans to increase testing at the border, Mr. Duclos said, and will provide more detail in future announcements.

The December 10 epidemiology report also shows that fewer than 1 percent of Covid-19 infections were contracted during international travel and that fewer than 1 percent were linked to an exposure to someone who had travelled.

Yet Mr. Duclos said avoiding travel was smart because Canadians abroad may not be able to gain access to health care if they get sick during travel.

“The situation abroad is already dire in many places,” Mr. Duclos said. “Once they have left Canada, there is very little we can do to help them.”

Fully vaccinated Canadians traveling by air or land for less than 72 hours will still be able to return home without providing proof of a negative coronavirus test, the country’s transportation minister, Omar Alghabra, said.

Over 76 percent of Canadians are fully vaccinated, according to federal data, with unvaccinated patients accounting for more than three-quarters of hospitalizations and deaths reported to the public health agency as of November. As the holidays near, the country’s most populated province, Ontario, is recommending that personal gatherings be limited to 25 people as cases mount, fuelled in part by the spread of new variants, including Omicron, which is estimated to infect 7.7 times as many people as the Delta variant, provincial health experts reported.

Provinces are racing to offer booster doses and free rapid antigen tests to Canadians through the holiday season, with an inventory of 16 million booster doses currently available and 35 million rapid tests scheduled for distribution by the federal government.

As the Omicron variant moves around the world many places will start to close their borders; the situation can, as we have highlighted here, change rapidly. Anyone thinking of travelling over the Christmas period should always contact their airline or the Embassy of the country they are travelling to in advance to get the latest advice.

Until the next time Stay Safe.

Total Cases Worldwide – 272,845,615

Total Deaths Worldwide – 5,349,796

Total Recovered Worldwide – 245,120,593 

Total Active Cases Worldwide – 22,375,226 (8.2% of the total cases)

Total Closed Cases Worldwide – 250,470,389

Information and Resources:

https://www.worldometer.info/coronavirus/

Madeira Sitiation Report Wednesday 15th December 2021 

By Daniel Fernandes

Covid-19 update

There were 1,343 new Covid-19 cases, 1,167 recoveries and 15 deaths from Covid-19 in Madeira since the previous Madeira Situation Report, which was published two weeks ago. Once again, there was a vast increase in the number of new cases, most of which were cases of local transmission. For the first time, there was information on the Covid-19 vaccination status of most patients who had died from Covid-19 in the last two weeks.

On December 1st, there were 73 new Covid-19 cases (1 imported case & 72 cases of local transmission), 80 recoveries and 2 deaths. An 83-year-old female patient and a 75-year-old male patient died from Covid-19 at Hospital Dr. Nélio Mendonça. They had pre-existing conditions. The number of patients in hospital increased to 42, 2 of whom in intensive care.

On December 2nd, there were 88 new Covid-19 cases (9 imported cases & 79 cases of local transmission) and 74recoveries and 1 death. A 94-year-old female patient, who had pre-existing conditions, died from Covid-19 at Hospital Dr. Nélio Mendonça. The number of patients in hospital and in intensive care remained the same as the day before. 

On December 3rd, there were 79 new Covid-19 cases (1 imported case & 78 cases of local transmission), 79recoveries and 4 deaths. Three male patients (aged 88, 84 and 60) and a male patient (aged 77), who had pre-existing conditions, died from Covid-19 at Hospital Dr. Nélio Mendonça. The number of patients in hospital decreased to 36, 1 of whom was in intensive care. 

On December 4th, there were 87 new Covid-19 cases (2 imported cases & 85 cases of local transmission), 86recoveries and 2 deaths. Two female patients, aged 49 and 88, died from Covid-19 at Hospital Dr. Nélio Mendonça. Both patients had pre-existing conditions. The number of patients in hospital increased to 37, 1 of whom was in intensive care.

On December 5th, there were 120 new Covid-19 cases (4 imported cases & 116 cases of local transmission) and 89 recoveries. The number of patients in hospital decreased to 35, 1 of whom was in intensive care. 

On December 6th, there were 85 new Covid-19 cases (1 imported case & 84 cases of local transmission), 72 recoveries and 2 deaths. A 79-year-old female patient and a 74-year-old male patient died from Covid-19 at Hospital Dr. Nélio Mendonça. They were vaccinated against Covid-19 but also had pre-existing conditions. The number of patients in hospital decreased to 30, 1 of whom was intensive care. 

On December 7th, there were 65 new Covid-19 cases (8 imported cases & 57 cases of local transmission), 100 recoveries and 1 death. An 85-year-old female patient, who was vaccinated against Covid-19 and had pre-existing conditions, died from Covid-19 at Hospital Dr. Nélio Mendonça. The number of patients in hospital decreased to 25, 2 of whom were in intensive care. 

On December 8th, there were 88 new Covid-19 cases (4 imported cases & 84 cases of local transmission) and 75 recoveries. The number of patients in hospital decreased to 23, 1 of whom was in intensive care. 

On December 9th, there were 90 new Covid-19 cases (5 imported cases & 85 cases of local transmission) and 86 recoveries. The number of patients in hospital increased to 25, 2 of whom were in intensive care.

On December 10th, there were 58 new Covid-19 cases (1 imported case & 57 cases of local transmission), 52 recoveries and 1 death. An 80-year-old female patient, who was not vaccinated against Covid-19 and had pre-existing conditions, died from Covid-19 at Hospital Dr. Nélio Mendonça. The number of patients in hospital increased to 26, 2 of whom were in intensive care.

On December 11th, there were 169 new Covid-19 cases (10 imported cases & 159 cases of local transmission) and 120 recoveries. The number of patients in hospital increased to 29, 2 of whom were in intensive care.

On December 12th, there were 118 new Covid-19 cases (8 imported cases & 111 cases of local transmission), 88 recoveries and 1 death. A 44-year-old female patient, who was vaccinated against Covid-19 and had pre-existing conditions, died from Covid-19 at Hospital Dr. Nélio Mendonça. The number of patients in hospital increased to 31, 2 of whom were in intensive care.

On December 13th, there were 112 new Covid-19 cases (2 imported cases & 110 cases of local transmission), 83 recoveries and 1 death. A 48-year-old male patient, who was vaccinated against Covid-19 and had pre-existing conditions, died from Covid-19 at Hospital Dr. Nélio Mendonça. The number of patients in hospital increased to 33, 4 of whom were in intensive care.

And on December 14th, there were 111 new Covid-19 cases (7 imported cases & 104 cases of local transmission) and 83 recoveries. The number of patients in hospital increased to 34, 4 of whom were in intensive care.

There were 937 active cases on Tuesday, of which 47 had been imported while the other 890 cases had been a result of local transmission. As of Tuesday, there had been 15,199 cases, 14,142 recoveries and 120 deaths.

As of Tuesday, there were 39 patients in isolation in a dedicated hotel, 864 patients in isolation in their own accommodation and 34 patients in hospital, 4 of whom in intensive care. On Sunday, half to the hospitalised patients had not been inoculated. 

On the same day, there were 350 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. 

,

Also on the same day, there were 25,186 travellers under monitoring by the health authorities. Monitoring is being carried out through the ‘MadeiraSafe’ app. There were also 384 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, 321,315 samples had been collected until Tuesday (at 15h30).

As for Covid-19 rapid antigen tests, a total of 590,769 tests had been carried out by November 28th, 516,558 of which as part of mass testing campaigns.

By Tuesday, 744,540 samples from RT-PCR tests had been processed in the Autonomous Region of Madeira.

The SRS 24 helpline (Regional Health Service – 800 24 24 20) received 2,242 calls in the last 2 weeks. Overall, it had received 72,491 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 10 calls in the last 2 weeks. Overall, it has received 3,962 calls. 

https://funchalnoticias.net/2021/12/01/73-novos-casos-de-covid-19-767-casos-activos-entre-nos/

https://funchalnoticias.net/2021/12/01/morreram-mais-duas-pessoas-na-ram-com-covid-19/

https://funchalnoticias.net/2021/12/02/88-novos-casos-de-covid-19-74-recuperados-780-activos-275-suspeitos/

https://funchalnoticias.net/2021/12/02/morreu-mais-uma-pessoa-com-covid-19-uma-mulher-de-94-anos/

https://funchalnoticias.net/2021/12/03/79-novos-casos-de-sars-cov-2-776-casos-activos/ 

https://funchalnoticias.net/2021/12/03/mais-quatro-mortos-com-covid-19-na-ram/ 

https://funchalnoticias.net/2021/12/04/87-novos-casos-de-covid-19-775-casos-activos-na-ram/

https://funchalnoticias.net/2021/12/04/madeira-com-mais-duas-mortes-com-covid-19/ 

https://funchalnoticias.net/2021/12/05/120-novos-casos-de-covid-19-806-casos-activos/

https://funchalnoticias.net/2021/12/06/85-novos-casos-de-coronavirus-817-casos-activos-entre-nos/

https://funchalnoticias.net/2021/12/06/mais-dois-mortos-com-covid-19-estavam-vacinados-mas-tinham-comorbilidades/

https://funchalnoticias.net/2021/12/07/65-novos-casos-de-sars-cov-2-781-casos-activos-na-ram-actualmente/

https://funchalnoticias.net/2021/12/07/mulher-de-85-anos-vacinada-e-a-117-a-vitima-mortal-com-covid-19-na-madeira/ 

https://funchalnoticias.net/2021/12/08/88-novos-casos-de-covid-19-ha-794-casos-activos-na-regiao/ 

https://funchalnoticias.net/2021/12/09/90-casos-de-covid-19-hoje-798-activos-330-suspeitos/

https://funchalnoticias.net/2021/12/10/58-novos-casos-de-covid-19-803-casos-activos/

https://funchalnoticias.net/2021/12/10/madeira-ja-vai-nas-118-mortes-hoje-faleceu-mais-uma-doente-com-covid-19/

https://funchalnoticias.net/2021/12/11/169-novos-casos-de-covid-19-hoje-852-activos-entre-nos/ 

https://funchalnoticias.net/2021/12/12/118-novos-casos-de-covid-19-casos-activos-na-comunidade-sao-881/

https://funchalnoticias.net/2021/12/12/mulher-de-44-anos-e-a-119-vitima-mortal-com-covid-19-na-madeira/

https://funchalnoticias.net/2021/12/13/909-casos-activos-na-ram-275-casos-suspeitos/

https://funchalnoticias.net/2021/12/13/ja-morreram-120-pessoas-na-ram-com-covid-19/

https://funchalnoticias.net/2021/12/14/111-novos-casos-de-covid-19-hoje-937-casos-activos-no-arquipelago/

Covid-19 vaccination for children aged 5 to 11

The schedule of Covid-19 vaccination for children (aged 5 to 11) has been published: 

Centro de Vacinação do Funchal (Funchal Vaccination Centre) – December 15th (14h00-18h00), 18th (09h00–18h00), 19th (09h00–18h00), 23rd (09h00–18h00) & 30th (09h00–18h00) 

Centro de Vacinação do Porto Santo (Porto Santo Vaccination Centre) – December 17th (09h00-13h00)

Centro de Vacinação de Câmara de Lobos (Câmara de Lobos Vaccination Centre) – December 21st (09h00-12h00)

Centro de Vacinação da Ribeira Brava-Centro de Saúde (Ribeira Brava Vaccination Centre-Health Centre) – December 21st (14h00-18h00)

Centro de Vacinação do Machico (Machico Vaccination Centre) – December 22nd (09h00-12h00 

Centro de Vacinação de Santa Cruz (Santa Cruz Vaccination Centre) – December 22nd (14h00-18h00)

Centro de Vacinação da Ponta de Sol (Ponta de Sol Vaccination Centre) – December 27th (09h00-12h00)

Centro de Vacinação da Calheta-Centro de Saúde (Calheta Vaccination Centre-Health Centre) – December 27th (14h00-18h00) 

Centro de Vacinação de São Vicente-Centro de Saúde (São Vicente Vaccination Centre-Health Centre) – December 28th (09h00-12h00)

Centro de Vacinação do Porto Moniz-Centro de Saúde (Porto Moniz Vaccination Centre-Health Centre) – December 28th (14h00-18h00)

Centro de Vacinação de Santana (Santana Vaccination Centre) – December 29th (09h00-12h00) 

All vaccination centres will be closed on December 24th, 25th, 26th, 31st and on January 1st.  

More information can be obtained by calling the Region’s Vaccine Hotline (SRS Vacina Covid-19 – 800 210 263) or the children’s support hotline (Linha de Apoio à Criança – 96 931 97 32

https://funchalnoticias.net/2021/12/13/srspc-divulga-calendario-de-vacinacao-de-criancas-dos-5-aos-11-anos/

Covid-19 vaccination update

As of December 9th, 85% of the Region’s population had been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 and 87% had started the Covid-19 vaccination process.  

Among the resident population aged 50 or older, 99% had been vaccinated, while more than 82% of those aged 12-17 had been vaccinated.

As for the municipalities, 80% the residents of the Municipalities of Câmara de Lobos and Santa Cruz had been fully vaccinated, while the remaining municipalities had a full vaccination rate of over 84%.

A total of 436,878 Covid-19 vaccine doses (216,978 1st doses & 209,937 2nd doses & 36,293 booster shots/3rd doses) had been administered 

On Sunday (December 12th), a shipment of 12,000 Pfizer Covid-19 vaccines arrived in Funchal. This shipment will be used to vaccinate children against Covid-19.

Martinha Garcia, the Director of Pharmaceutical Group the Madeira Health Service (Directora do Núcleo Farmacêutico do SESARAM), explained that the dosage of Covid-19 vaccine for children is different than that for adults. Children will be inoculated with a dose of 10 micrograms of the vaccine. Children will receive 2 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, with the 2nd dose being administered 21 days after administration of the 1st dose.

https://funchalnoticias.net/2021/12/09/85-da-populacao-da-regiao-ja-tem-a-vacinacao-completa/

https://funchalnoticias.net/2021/12/12/sesaram-ja-recebeu-12-mil-vacinas-para-aplicacao-em-criancas-duas-doses/

Korean Ambassador wants to deepen Korea-Madeira ties 

Song Oh, the Ambassador of the Republic of Korea in Portugal, was hosted by José Manuel Rodrigues (President of the Madeira Legislative Assembly) on December 2nd. This was the first visit of a Korean ambassador to the Autonomous Region of Madeira. The visit took place on the 60th year of diplomatic relations between Korea and Portugal.

The aim of the visit was to promote Korean culture to the Madeiran people and to advertise the Madeira archipelago in Korea, in order to increase tourism and commercial ties between both regions.

Ambassador Song Oh highlighted that on January 18th, it will be 15 years since Madeira and Jeju Province became sister provinces. He wants this relationship to deepen.

https://funchalnoticias.net/2021/12/04/embaixador-da-coreia-quer-aprofundar-cooperacao-com-a-madeira/

Power cut

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

FUNCHAL

December 16th – 09h00 to 11h30 & 14h00 to 16h00 

– Estrada Monumental (numbers 245 to 249)

– Rua da Ponta da Cruz (number 66)

– Rua do Cabrestante (number 43)

December 16th – 14h00 to 15h00

– Terreiro da Luta

– Cabeço dos Louros

– Ribeira das Cales

– Miradouro do Pico Alto

FAJÃ DA OVELHA

December 16th – 13h00 to 13h10 & 15h50 to 16h00

– Raposeira (including the school)

December 16th – 13h00 to 16h00

– São Lourenço (including the Health Centre)

– Lombo dos Cedros

PAUL DO MAR

December 17th – 10h00 to 13h00

– Estrada Regional 223 (Tunnel)

FAJÃ DA OVELHA

December 17th – 10h00 to 13h00

– São Lourenço

– Precipício

– Massapee 

– Falcões

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 number (Serviço de Apoio ao Cliente): 800 221 187.

https://funchalnoticias.net/2021/12/15/publicidade-o-fornecimento-de-energia-sera-interrompido-nos-dias-horas-e-locais-abaixo-indicados-anuncio-109-2021/

 

 

Azores Situation Report Wednesday 15th December 2021 

From our colleague in the Azores

Covid -19 

Since the last Situation Report a week ago on the 8th of December there have been 161 new cases of Covid-19 registered, 9 fewer than last week, and 151 recoveries, 28 more than last week.

Admissions:

As of today, there are four inpatients, three at the Divino Espírito Santo Hospital, in Ponta Delgada, and one at the Santo Espírito Hospital, in Angra do Heroísmo, none of them in intensive care.

Current situation: 

As of yesterday, the archipelago currently has 284 active positive cases, 232 in São Miguel, 40 in Terceira, four in Faial, three in Pico, two in Corvo, two in Flores and one in Santa Maria.

From 31st December 2020 until 7th December, 175,830 people were vaccinated in the Azores with the first dose (74.3 percent) and 197,309 with full vaccination (83.4 percent), under the Regional Vaccination Plan. To date, 18,244 users have received a booster of the vaccine (3rd dose).

Azores Airlines will link New York to the Azores from June 2022 

Azores Airlines will start connecting, from June 4th to October 28th, 2022, New York to the Azores, with connections on Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, between Ponta Delgada and the North American city.

Departures from Ponta Delgada, on the island of São Miguel, are scheduled for the end of the day, at 18:00, with arrival in New York at 19:55 local time.

Returning flights will leave New York at 21:20 and arrive in Ponta Delgada the following day, at 06:25.

SATA has said that reservations are already available and can be made through the airline (‘online’ or at any point of sale) or through travel agencies.

 Vaccinating Children 

The Regional Government of the Azores has not yet taken a decision on the vaccination of children against covid-19, revealed today the Secretary of Health, reiterating that the priority is the completion of the booster dose.

The decision would not be taken until the process of vaccinating the most vulnerable with the booster dose has been concluded.

Information for travellers wanting to go to the Azores can find useful information for travellers who wat to go there can be found, here: –

https://destinoseguro.azores.gov.pt/?page_id=8908