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Portugal Situation Report Wednesday 15^th December 2021

Good morning – This morning I would cover the topic of risk, the factors that influence risk and how to reduce the risk of contracting Covid-19, avoiding self-isolation, or worse, during the Christmas period.

In the lead up to Christmas we are undoubtedly planning for the occasion, with additional shopping and deciding what events, family gatherings and other events we will be attending. Compared to last year there are far fewer Covid-19 restrictions in place, so far greater freedom in deciding our activities. However some activities may present greater exposure to contracting Covid-19 than others. It is all to do with risk.

Nearly all the eligible population (except those 11 and under) have already been fully vaccinated and some have received the booster and flu vaccines. There are others, however, who still have no, or limited, protection against Covid-19, due to poor immune system for instance which is not capable to react to the vaccine stimulus.

There are activities and areas of the country that pose greater risk than others. We are learning to live with covid-19 among us. Even with some limitations, you can go to a restaurant, gym or cinema.

However, the emergence of new variants of the virus and current increases in incidence rates again pose a challenge and may force the cancellation of some of this seasons events, as has already happened in some municipalities. For now, the number of admissions, both in intensive care and in wards, remains far from the limit established by experts consulted by the Government and far below the same period last year. The Christmas and New Year periods will be decisive.

The desire for a gradual return to normality does not mean that the virus has disappeared from our lives. Every trip to the restaurant, supermarket, cinema or participation in a social event carries a risk, which varies depending on your health condition, whether you have already been vaccinated, where you live and, of course, how many people will be with you and how they behave.

If you undertake these activities, the above risk factors determine the level to which you may become exposed to contracting Covid-19 and the potential level of seriousness. A major factor is health and if you suffer from: hypertension, diabetes, asthma, kidney disease, heart disease, lung disease or cancer these are the types of conditions that according to DGS increase the risk; plus factors such as being overweight or if you smoke.

A low risk does not mean that you cannot suffer any harm from the disease, just as a high risk does not mean that you will suffer.

Keep in mind that, even if you are not at high individual risk, there is always the risk of infecting others who are more vulnerable and causing them harm (the extent and severity of which you cannot predict or foresee). Precaution in managing the risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection is a collective responsibility.

For example, if you are over 70 years of age, have various diseases and have not fully completed a Covid-19 vaccination and thinking of going to a gathering in a group with others, in a municipality with a high incidence rate, where people may not all be wearing masks all the time and social distancing is not possible, then the risk is likely to be very high.

However, if you are going shopping, in a municipality with a low incidence rate, are younger in age, no health conditions, fully vaccinated and will be wearing a mask all the time then, the risk in comparison is low.

These are just two examples, the purpose being to illustrate when considering what activities you wish to undertake in the lead up to, and over the festive season, to also consider the risk factors together with your potential exposure to others who maybe more vulnerable.

Please have Safe Day

Headlines

Covid-19: Over 50s will receive third dose of vaccine – Government

Lisbon, December 14, 2021 (Lusa) – The third dose of the vaccine against covid-19 will begin to be administered to people aged 50 and over, announced today the Assistant Secretary of State for Health.

“The update of the standard of DGS 002/2021 will be carried out during today, changing the eligibility range from 65 years old or over to 50 years old or more”, said António Lacerda Sales, on the side lines of the ceremony for the taking of possession of the first president of the Order of Physiotherapists, António Lopes.

Thus, he indicated, “people over 50 years old will also be boosted with the vaccine” against covid-19.

2021: Three waves of covid-19, three variants and mass vaccination of Population

Lisbon, December 14, 2021 (Lusa) – Three waves of infections, which put professionals and health services to the test, new variants of the more transmissible coronaviruses and the mass vaccination of the Portuguese marked the covid-19 pandemic in 2021 in Portugal.

Portugal is ending 2021 as it started: a wave of cases that has already led to more measures to contain the growth of infections and the threat of a new variant, despite doubts whether it causes more severe forms of covid-19 and whether its effectiveness is diminished of vaccines.

If in January 2021 the threat was the Alpha variant, associated with the United Kingdom, now the concern is with Omicron, detected in dozens of countries after being reported in southern Africa.

In between, Portugal faced the Delta variant, associated with India, considered 60% more transmissible than the original virus, and responsible for all infections in the country and which in 2021 gained ground to all others in Europe and the world.

But 2021 is also marked by the biggest wave since the beginning of the pandemic, in the first two months of the year, with Portugal surpassing, at the end of January, 300 daily deaths and 16 thousand cases.

With vaccination still in its infancy, the pressure on hospitals has been increasing since the beginning of the year, which most experts attributed to the easing of restrictions during the Christmas period, culminating in a peak of more than 6,600 inpatients and 850 patients in intensive care at the end of January.

Read more here: https://www.safecommunitiesportugal.com/2021-three-waves-of-covid-19-three-variants-and-mass-vaccination-of-the-population/

Covid-19 DGS Situation 14^th December 2021

Confirmed: 1.200.193 (+ 3591 / + 0.30 %)

Admitted: 953 (-41 /-4.12 %)

Admitted to ICU: 142 (-2 /-1.39 %)

Deaths: 18.687 (+ 14 / + 0.07 %)

Recovered: 1.115.749 (+ 6358 / + 0.57 %)

Active cases: 65,757 (-2781 /-4%)

Trends

Deaths (14) decreased compared to yesterday, and is slightly below the average of the last 30 days (14.4 deaths).

Welcome moderate decrease in the number of Covid-19 patients hospitalised

Also reduction of those in ICU

Active cases decrease considerably by 4% after several days of increases.

Very high level of recovered cases for a single day – over six thousand

Health

Vaccination of 10 – 11 year olds – about: “about 27 thousand” appointments have already been made

The self-scheduled vaccination for children was available late yesterday afternoon.

Until 1:30 pm on Tuesday, “about 27 thousand online requests” were made for the vaccination of children between 11 and 10 years old. An option that, it should be noted, was available at the end of the day yesterday on the Online Scheduling Portal for vaccination.

These appointments were set for the next weekend, December 18th and 19th, which will be exclusive to the vaccination of this age group.

Pfizer’s covid-19 drug reduces hospital admissions and deaths by 90%

Pfizer confirmed this Tuesday that its pill against covid-19 reduces hospitalizations and deaths in people at risk by about 90% when taken in the first days of symptoms appear.

The drug maker says, in a statement, that the conclusion about the drug’s effectiveness resulted from clinical trials involving more than 2,200 people, and supports what was announced in early November based on preliminary results.

According to Pfizer, no deaths were recorded among those who received the treatment.

Participants in clinical trials were unvaccinated and were at high risk of developing a severe case of covid-19.

Pfizer also announced that the antiviral treatment, which will be marketed under the name Paxlovid, should maintain effectiveness against the Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, which causes covid-19 disease.

“This underscores the potential of this (drug) candidate to save the lives of patients around the world,” said Albert Bourla, head of Pfizer, quoted in the statement.

“Concerning variants such as Omicron have exacerbated the need for affordable treatment options for those who contract the virus,” he added.

Antivirals work to decrease the ability of a virus to replicate, which also alleviates the disease.

These treatments represent a key complement to vaccines in protecting against covid-19, namely because they are very easy to administer.

69 cases of the Omicron variant in Portugal and possible community circulation

Portugal registers 69 cases of the Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, with the latest data revealing a “trend strongly indicative of the existence of community circulation”, said this Tuesday (December 14) the National Institute of Health Doctor Ricardo Jorge (INSA).

“To date, a total of 69 cases of the Omicron variant have been identified by targeted search for mutations and/or viral genome sequencing,” says the INSA report on the genetic diversity of SARS-CoV-2, which causes covid disease. -19.

According to the institute, within the scope of real-time monitoring of the “failure” in the detection of the S gene, which allows the identification of the Omicron variant, carried out in collaboration with several laboratories, it was possible to gather data for the period from November 25th to 12thDecember.

“This analysis points to an increasing trend in the proportion of positive cases with S gene failure since December 6th, reaching a relative frequency of 9.5% by December 12th,” the report said.

According to INSA, this trend, particularly that observed in the last three days, is “strongly indicative of the existence of community circulation of the Omicron variant in this period, in strong parallel with the scenario observed in other countries” that are using the same approach for surveillance of this variant, the case of Denmark and the United Kingdom.

This new variant, classified as “worrying” by the World Health Organization (WHO), has been detected in southern Africa, but since the South African health authorities raised the alert on 24 November, infections have been reported in more than 60 countries from all continents, including Portugal.

Schools

Government has already updated the school calendar, affected by measures to combat the pandemic

The Government confirmed through a dispatch in Diário da República the school calendar announced by António Costa. The prime minister, when he informed the country that new restrictions would be imposed to contain the advance of covid-19, said that there would be changes to the Christmas and New Year holidays that would have repercussions in the remaining school year.

With the forced closure of schools in the first week of January — motivated by the prevention of contacts after the end-of-year festivities period — the Government had to make changes to the school calendar. These were confirmed through an order in the Diário da República, published this Monday.

According to the document, the Government considers that “it is still possible to accommodate the suspension of in-person teaching and non-teaching activities”, so “it is chosen to adapt the 2nd and 3rd academic periods to the said suspension” – not moving forward, thus, for distance learning.

This order changes the calendar for the functioning of educational and teaching activities in public establishments of pre-school education and basic and secondary education and the school calendar for private establishments of special education”, it reads.

The 1st period ends on December 17th and classes will only resume on January 10th. As a result of this increase in Christmas holidays, the Carnival holidays will be limited to just one day — March 1st — with the 2nd period running until April 8th.

The interruption between the 2nd and 3rd periods will be reduced to one week, between April 11th and April 18th. The end of the school year will be determined by the level of education and whether or not exams are taken:

9th, 11th and 12th grades end on June 7, 2022

5th, 6th, 7th, 8th and 10th grades end on June 15, 2022

Pre-school education and 1st cycle of basic education ends June 30, 2022

Special education follows the same rules as regular education, but with one formal exception, as it can “ensure face-to-face teaching activities in the period between December 27, 2021 and January 7, 2022”, that is, to continue the classes, but only “at the request of the guardians” and “provided that the necessary safety conditions are guaranteed in accordance with the guidelines of the General Directorate of Health”.

Enforcement

Covid-19 GNR closes cafe in Viana do Castelo with around 150 people inside

The GNR closed a cafe in Santa Leocádia de Geraz do Lima, in Viana do Castelo, with about 150 people in the interior, in disregard for measures to prevent the Covid-19 pandemic, the GNR stated on Monday.

In a statement sent to the newsrooms, the Territorial Command of the GNR of Viana do Castelo, said that the operation was initiated following “a complaint of noise in the aforementioned establishment”.

At the site, the GNR military verified that there were about 150 people inside the cafe, which “worked outside the permitted hours, and where a party was also taking place with the use of an unlicensed dance space, in complete disrespect for the measures in force in the scope of the Covid-19 pandemic”.

According to the GNR, “all the interveners were identified in order to proceed with the issue of the respective infraction notices.

To those responsible for the cafe “for failure to comply with the duty to verify the digital certificate or covid-19 test, and to the 137 customers for failure to comply with the duty to present and hold a European Union (EU) digital certificate in the form of proof of test or recovery or laboratory test with negative result”.

The action, which was attended by 32 GNR soldiers, was reinforced by the territorial detachments of Arcos de Valdevez and Valença and the intervention detachment of Viana do Castelo.

Other news

UN validates record temperature of 38°C in June 2020 in the Arctic

A new “Climate Change Warning Sign”.

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) today validated the record temperature of 38° Celsius in the Arctic, recorded in the Russian city of Verkhoyansk in Serbia on June 20, 2020, a new “warning sign on climate change” “.

“This new Arctic record is one of the observations reported to the WMO Extreme Weather Archive, a UN agency, which is sounding the alarm about the changes our climate has undergone,” noted WMO Secretary General Petteri Taalas, noting that in the same year Antarctica also registered a record 18.3°C.

Verkhoyansk lies about 115 kms north of the Arctic Circle and temperatures have been measured there since 1885.

This region of Eastern Siberia has a very dry continental climate, resulting in very cold winters and very hot summers.

“This survey highlights the rise in temperatures in a region that is important to the rest of the world in terms of climate”, so it is important to monitor it continuously, said WMO rapporteur on climate and climate extremes, Randall Cerveny.

WMO researchers are trying to “verify a temperature of 54.4°C recorded in 2020 and 2021 in the hottest place on Earth, Death Valley in California, and also validate a new European heat record of 48.8°C C established in Sicily this summer,” said Taalas.

The group of experts responsible for certifying these records examines the validity of the instruments used for measurement and their consistency with current weather.

 

Portugal Situation Report Wednesday 8^th December 2021

Introduction

Good morning – A reminder to everyone that there are a number of weather warnings in place for today. Of particular note are the orange level rough sea warnings with peak waves that could reach a maximum of 12 meters according to the IPMA. The National Maritime Authority has issued specific safety advice, in particular: advice against walks along the coastal areas close to the sea, “especially along the cliffs and cliff areas on the coastal fronts affected by the breaking waves”, and recommends the reinforcement of boat moorings. Please follow these warnings and advice, if it affects you.

These sorts of warnings, which also include snow warnings for six districts currently in place, are not unusual for this time of the year, but intensity can vary considerably. It is therefore important to monitor the daily weather warnings and general weather conditions. Details can be found on the IPMA website and the various precautions for heavy rain and snow can be found on our website here: https://www.safecommunitiesportugal.com/find-information/environment-and-weather/storms-and-flooding/

On Monday we published the DGS Covid-19 figures together with the weekly averages which our colleague John Cobby produces from the DGS figures. This week we compared the main figures with the same week in 2020. In terms of deaths, hospital admissions and those in ICU, the figures are over 70% lower than for the same period last year.

The daily average of new cases are just 13% lower than a year ago, but with the number of tests at present is three times higher – in fact at an all-time high. The number of tests this week, up to 5th December 2021, is around 683,000 compared to just 220,000 for the same week last year. Last Friday the INSA reported a positivity test rate of 3.9%, and for the same week last year just over 12%.

This shows the value of vaccinations one year on since Margaret Keenan in the UK became the first person in the world to be vaccinated on 8^th December 2020. In Portugal the first person it receive the vaccination was Doctor António Sarmento on 27^thDecember administered by  nurse Isabel Ribeiro

Portugal went from seventh to eighth lowest country in the European Union (EU) this week for new cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection per million inhabitants in seven days, according to the website Our World in Data statistic.

This week the country rose from 286 new daily cases to 338 per million inhabitants, still far from the EU average, which rose from 576 to 595 new daily cases per million inhabitants.

With regard to daily deaths per million inhabitants, Portugal remains the eighth country in the EU with the fewest deaths attributed to covid-19, with an average of 1.69 in the last seven days, higher than the 1.35 registered in the week last.

On Monday the Algarve Regional Health Authority, Ana Cristina Guerreiro, Regional Health Delegate for the Algarve, outlined the current situation, which she considers “worrying”. The incidence rate is 761 cases for 14 days per 100,000 inhabitants, nearly double the national rate with Portimão, Lagoa, Monchique, Loulé and Faro the most affected municipalities. The main age group affected is the 30-39 age group, followed closely by children from zero to nine which in the last 15 days “has grown a lot”.

We are now seeing the cancellation of some Christmas events by municipalities such as in Portimão announced by the municipality yesterday. Without being unduly pessimistic we expect there will be more. Please be particularly careful at gatherings – wearing a facemask, social distancing and following good hygiene practices can reduce the risk considerably.

On a different topic, yesterday the decree-law extending for another year the transitional regime of recognition and exchange of driving licenses issued by the United Kingdom was published in the Diary of the Republic. This was first announced on 19^th November following the Council of Ministers meeting stating that they regime would be extended until 31^st November 2022. The decree-law published in Diário da República guarantees the recognition of driving licenses for British citizens residing in Portugal under the same terms as the titles issued by a Member State of the European Union. Details on the exchange process were published yesterday on Brits in Portugal Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/BritsInPortugal

On the lead up to Christmas there will be various scams around and we will be covering these over the next two weeks on our Facebook site. Remember as far as shopping is concerned if an offer seems too good to be true it normally is.

Please have a Safe Day.

Headlines

Covid-19 vaccines are effective against Omicron, says WHO

The World Health Organization (WHO) today revealed that vaccines are effective against the new Omicron variant of covid-19, detected in South Africa, in protecting those infected from serious illness.

“No there is no reason to doubt” that current vaccines protect Omicron-infected patients against severe forms of covid-19, said WHO Public Health Emergency Response Officer Michael Ryan today in an interview with France-Presse.

We have very effective vaccines that have proved potent against all strains so far, in terms of disease severity and hospitalization, and there’s no reason to believe that’s not the case” with Omicron, said Michael Ryan, noting that he’s in the studies started on a variant detected only on 24 November and which has since been registered in around 40 countries.

 

Covid-19 Statistics from yesterday

Confirmed: 1.172.420 (+ 3417 / + 0.29 %)

Admitted: 936 (-12 /-1.27 %)

Admitted to ICU: 133 (-2 /-1.48 %)

Deaths: 18.572 (+ 21 / + 0.11 %)

Recovered: 1.093.264 (+ 4969 / + 0.46 %)

Active cases: 60,584 (-1573 /-2.53%)

Trends

The number of new cases back over 3 thousand and just above last week’s daily average.

A large number of recoveries – nearly 5 thousand in one day

A welcome decrease in both those in hospital as well as in ICUA welcome decrease in active cases

Overall the figures are fluctuating a great deal on a daily basis

As mentioned yesterday testing levels at present are very high

 

Health

European Medicines Agency approves drug to treat severe cases of covid-19

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) approved this Monday the drug RoActemra, already used in inflammatory diseases, to treat severe cases of covid-19 in adults.

“The EMA Committee for Human Medicines (CHMP) has recommended extending the indication of RoActemra (tocilizumab) to include the treatment of adults with covid-19 who are receiving systemic corticosteroid treatment and need supplemental oxygen or mechanical ventilation,” said the European regulator in a statement.

Following this EMA recommendation, it is now up to the European Commission to issue the final decision on the use of this drug for covid-19 in Member States.

Marketed by Roche Registration GmbH, RoActemra is already approved in the European Union for the treatment of inflammatory diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis.

According to the European regulator, the CHMP evaluated data from a main study involving 4,116 adults hospitalized with severe covid-19 who required oxygen or mechanical ventilation and with elevated levels of C-reactive protein in the blood (indicating inflammation).

The study data showed that treatment with RoActemra, an immunomodulator that alters the activity of the immune system and whose active substance is the monoclonal antibody tocilizumab, reduced the risk of death, as well as the length of hospital stay of patients infected with the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2.

Covid-19: University of Coimbra assesses emotional reactions of health professionals

Coimbra, 07 Dec 2021 – A team of researchers from the University of Coimbra is participating in an international study that aims to better understand the emotional experiences of health professionals who are or have been treating patients with Covid-19.

In order to reach as many health professionals as possible in these conditions in Portugal, the team of researchers from the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences of the University of Coimbra (FPCEUC) is looking for volunteers who wish to participate in the research.

According to the coordinator of this team, Marcela Matos, there is growing evidence that health professionals at the front line in the fight against covid-19 have experienced adverse emotional reactions, which may be associated with an increase in the levels of anxiety symptoms, depression, trauma and ‘burnout’.

“This study aims to expand understanding of the multifaceted nature of the emotional experience of frontline health professionals in caring for covid-19 patients,” he explained.

The researcher at the Center for Research in Neuropsychology and Cognitive-Behavioural Intervention (CINEICC) at FPCEUC added that these professionals have been faced with “prolonged physical and emotional exhaustion and intense sadness, associated with the specificity of this tragic and unprecedented situation that is the pandemic of covid-19, which thus reveals itself as a unique experience, which differs from other forms of personal trauma”.

In his opinion, understanding the emotional experiences of these health professionals “will help to design specific strategies to promote mental health and well-being, in order to try to help them deal with the situation and alleviate some of the difficulties experienced”

Vaccines for children arrive in Portugal on December 13, but the decision of the Technical Commission on Vaccination is still pending

The first 300,000 anti-covid-19 vaccines for children aged 5 to 11, from the BioNTech/Pfizer pharmaceutical consortium, arrive in Portugal on December 13, today announced the Assistant Secretary of State for Health.

“About 300,000 vaccines will arrive on December 13th and then, during the month of January, another 400,000 vaccines will arrive, which, for this population, will be enough”, said António Lacerda Sales in Constância (Santarém), noting that “”is a different vaccination because it is per single dose, 10 micrograms, about a third of the dose of an adult”.

A total of 700,000 vaccines ensure the national needs “to vaccinate all children from 5 to 11 years old”, in an inoculation process that is in the preparation stage and awaits the approval of the Technical Vaccination Commission, noted the government official, on the side lines the opening ceremony of the Montalvo health extension, in the municipality of Constância.

“We are currently awaiting the decision of the Technical Vaccination Commission, which we hope will be a favorable decision, for the vaccination of children up to 11 years of age. What is incumbent on us, as Government, is to have all the planning and all the logistics (…) to be prepared to vaccinate and that is what we are doing”.

Lacerda Sales also highlighted the numbers related to vaccination against covid-19 in Portugal, having underlined the administration of more than 1.5 million booster doses and more than two million of the flu vaccine so far, in a country where “85% of the population has the complete vaccination schedule”. 

Other News

Marcelo enacts a government diploma creating the National Anti-Corruption Mechanism

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa gave the green light to the diploma that establishes the general regime for the prevention of corruption and creates the National Anti-Corruption Mechanism, hoping that it will be an “independent, impartial and effective entity”

The President of the Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, promulgated this Monday the Government diploma that establishes the general regime for the prevention of corruption and creates the National Anti-Corruption Mechanism, hoping that it will be an “independent, impartial and effective entity”.

The announcement is made on the website of the Presidency of the Republic on the Internet, where Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa says he hopes that the National Anti-Corruption Mechanism “constitutes a truly independent, impartial and effective entity, which does not reduce the scope of intervention of the Court of Auditors and other components authorities of justice”.

In June, the Government approved the decree-law creating the National Anti-Corruption Mechanism, “an independent administrative entity, with powers of initiative, control and sanction and with attributions in terms of collecting and processing information and organizing programs of activities between entities public and private entities in the fight against corruption”, according to the Ministry of Justice website.

The same decree-law establishes the general regime for the prevention of corruption, “which obliges private companies, public companies and services integrated in the direct and indirect administration of the State, with 50 or more workers, to adopt risk prevention programs, codes of conduct, reporting channels and appropriate training programs to prevent corruption and related offences” 

Campaign “Zero Alcohol level at the steering wheel”

The Road Safety Campaign “Zero alcohol level at the wheel” included in the 2021 National Plan will take place from December 7th to 13th and aims to alert drivers to the risks of driving under the influence of alcohol.

In Portugal it is prohibited to drive with:

– a blood alcohol level equal to or greater than 0.5 g/l – drivers with a valid driving license for more than 3 years

– a blood alcohol level equal to or greater than 0.2 g/l – new drivers (during the first 3 years of validity of the driving license), drivers of an emergency or urgent service vehicle, of public transport, of children’s transport vehicles, of taxis, of buses or trucks or of transport of dangerous goods and young people (16 years of age).

We remind you that driving under the influence of alcohol is a risk to your safety and that of others:

– With a blood alcohol rate of 0.5 g/l, the risk of suffering a serious or fatal accident doubles;

– Accidents resulting from driving under the influence of alcohol are particularly serious

Reinforcement of Civil Protection Resources for Serra da Estrella

Seia, Guarda, 06 Dec 2021 (Lusa) – The National Civil Protection Authority announced today a reinforcement of around 30% of the workforce in the Serra da Estrela region for the festive seasons to come.

“In this festive season, we have increased our staff by about 30% to provide greater support” to tourists in Serra da Estrela, said the commander of the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority (ANEPC).

André Fernandes specified to journalists, on the day the Serra da Estrela National Operations Plan was presented, which started today, the reinforcement that will go “until Easter” and which has “a greater capacity for mobilization”.

“There are around 80 vehicles that are prepared for prevention in the Serra [da Estrela], with 4×4 capacity, and around 40 are operating in this joint device integrated by different entities”, said the commander.

The device includes elements from the fire brigades in the Serra da Estrela region, from the municipal services of the Municipal Councils of Seia, Gouveia, Covilhã and Manteigas, as well as the special civil protection force and the special aid unit of the GNR.

Units that also integrate elements of the National Institute of Medical Emergency (INEM), the Institute for the Conservation of Nature and Forests (ICNF) and the Infrastructure of Portugal (IP).

“This is what we want, an integrated and coordinated device and, for that, we have not only a dedicated device during the week and then during periods, whether during festive seasons, holidays and weekends, or eventually when there is a larger influx of tourists to the mountains”, he added.

André Fernandes added that, for this purpose, it has “two permanent bases of the Special Civil Protection forces that guarantee this effort dedicated to the mountains”, in Valezim (Seia) and Unhais da Serra (Covilhã).

“There are 40 operational that, depending on the periods, whether they are daytime, night-time, or if there is a need for reinforcement, they are in a state of readiness and move forward if that is the need”, he stressed.

Portugal has the best gender diversity index in the technology sector in Europe, according to a study

According to the Atomico study, women and ethnic minorities experience greater difficulty in attracting investment, compared to white men. Portugal has the lowest proportion of all-male teams that received funding this year (75%)

Portugal has the best gender diversity index in the technology sector in Europe, “with the lowest proportion of all-male teams that received funding” in 2021, according to a study released by Atomico on Tuesday.

In a note that gives an account of the main conclusions of the study, the venture capital fund said that “European technologies are becoming world powers and Portugal is following the growth trend”, with two unicorns (companies valued at more than a thousand million dollars), out of a total of 321 in Europe.

“Portugal stands out as the European country with the best index of gender diversity in the technology sector, with the lowest proportion of all-male teams that received funding this year (75%)”, according to the same statement.

Still with regard to funding, “Portugal stands out with 54% of respondents considering funding as a special challenge for European technology in the next 12 months”, compared to 20% of Italians and 29% of Spaniards who “agree fundraising is still a challenge,” according to the statement.

“Europe is on the verge of reaching a new record of annual investment in the technology industry, with a value of 88 billion euros” in 2021, indicated Atomico, in the study “State of European Technology 2021”.

The report provides “an in-depth analysis of the technology industry landscape in 45 countries across Europe”, highlighting some key trends and providing a diagnosis.

 

 

Portugal Situation Report Wednesday December 1 2021

Introduction

The Situation of Calamity comes into effect today. As usual in advance of this were various government statements, the official announcement by the Prime Minister, the communique of the Council of Ministers and the various laws introduced over the last three days. With all of this, it can be quite confusing especially when trying to communicate this English. The difference between the word “or” and the word “and” can make all the difference.

Since Thursday we have published a total of nine Facebook posts and have updated our air and land travel pages on our website, have published the Communique and Resolution of the Council of Ministers 157/2021 and updated the All Risk Municipalities page. https://www.safecommunitiesportugal.com/major-incidents/all-risk-municipalities/

We have answered as many questions where we can and we have tried our best to simplify as much of the documentation as possible, so please take time to read these. Yesterday the Government announced the following measures concerning measures to be applied at land borders in the fight against Covid-19 and these are contained in this newsletter and on our website Land and Sea travel page.

Remember that all these changes came into effect last night and remain in place over the Christmas period. The Situation of Calamity allows government to introduce further measure or change current ones if it is considered necessary. An example of this being that the President of the Republic Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa promulgated on Monday the decree that empowers the Government to establish the use of masks in the street without the authorization of the Assembly of the Republic – should it consider the need to do so.

We are now seeing the response by Governments overseas to the Omicron variant, even though the WHO is asking governments worldwide to wait until more is known about this especially its likely severity.

However this has not stopped some governments from taking swift action, such as Portugal banning flights from Mozambique, Switzerland placing Portugal on the list of countries where variants are found to be of concern, and Hong Kong to ban visitors from Portugal, together with several other countries due to Omicron concerns.

This coupled with concerns by some countries with low vaccination rates has led them to take more drastic action such as in Greece, which has decided to make vaccination against Covid mandatory for all citizens over 60 years of age. The measure goes into effect on January 16 and citizens who refuse to be vaccinated incur a monthly fine of 100 euros for each month they do not receive the vaccine, advances Bloomberg. The fines will be imposed by the tax authorities on those who are not vaccinated and the proceeds collected will be donated to hospitals in Greece that are fighting the pandemic. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said this “is not a punishment” but rather “a health tax”.

More on measures some other governments in Europe are taking can be read at my colleague Mike Evan’s excellent overseas report published yesterday here. https://www.safecommunitiesportugal.com/type/situation-reports-overseas/

In Portugal the government has stepped up the roll out of the Covid-19 booster and flu vaccines. More than 104,000 people were vaccinated against the flu and covid-19 in the last 24 hours, most of whom received the booster dose of immunization. About 505,000 elderly people aged 80 and over received this booster dose, close to 390,000 in the 70-79 age group and more than 142,000 in the 65-69 age group.

Regarding the flu, data from the DGS indicate that 1,913,731 people have been vaccinated, 42,148 of whom received the vaccine in the last 24 hours.

In the lead up to Christmas there will be a number of Christmas fairs and other events, some indoors and others outdoors. We have heard of some being cancelled due to Covid-19 concerns. When places are likely to be crowded and inevitably therefore close proximity to others, consider whether the risk is worth it. If deciding to attend try and keep to social distancing where possible and where a facemask. Carry hand sanitiser with you and use it after attending as you would do in a supermarket is a sensible precaution.

Simple measures but will help in reducing the risk.

With that please have a Safe Day

 

Covid-19 DGS Situation Tuesday 30^th November 2021

Confirmed: 1.147.249 (+ 2907 / + 0.25 %)

Admitted: 833 (+ 24 / + 2.97 %)

Admitted to ICU: 116 (+ 5 / + 4.50 %)

Deaths: 18.441 (+ 11 / + 0.06 %)

Recovered: 1.075.237 (+ 3693 / + 0.34 %)

Active cases: 54,368 (-797 / -1.46%)

Hospital admissions are on the rise for the 24th consecutive day, the highest since August. You have to go back to August and September, respectively, to find such high values.

The number of cases rose compared to the day before and is slightly below the average of the last seven days (2990)). However, it is noted that infections are on an increasing trend because the number reported today remains well above the cases of the last 30 days (1886 on average).

The daily number of deaths have decreased over the last four days and also below the average of last week (13.6 deaths). However, they remain above the average of the last 30 days (9.5 deaths).

A welcome decrease in active cases after several days of continuing increases.

Headlines

Travel

Yesterday the Government announced the following measures concerning Measures to be applied at land borders in the fight against Covid-19

“As part of the measures to combat the Covid-19 disease pandemic applied to land borders, which will remain open, the Government determined the following restrictions to be in force from 00.00 hrs on December 1, 2021:

1 – All citizens from countries outside the European Union (EU) and from countries considered to have a red or dark red risk level, when they do not have the EU Covid Digital Certificate (CDCUE) in the test or recovery modalities, must present a of two alternatives:

1. a) Laboratory proof of negative PCR test performed in the last 72 hours;
2. b) Laboratory proof of rapid antigen test performed in the last 48 hours and with a negative result.

2 – Citizens from EU countries considered to be at low or moderate risk must have CDCUE, in the form of vaccination, testing or recovery.

3 – Cross-border workers – considered as such for carrying out their professional activity within 30 kilometres of the border – and workers in essential services (such as transport of goods and passengers, emergency and relief, security and emergency services) must present the Digital Certificate in any of the three modalities.

The Republican National Guard (GNR) and the Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF) will carry out random inspection operations at border crossing points. Anyone who does not present one of the aforementioned certificates or evidence is notified to carry out a screening test for the SARS-CoV-2 virus – at the citizen’s own expense – in places indicated by the health authorities, which must be within a radius of 30 kilometres from the inspection site and where citizens must wait for the respective result.

Anyone who does not present proof of testing to Covid-19 or refuses to take one of the aforementioned tests is sanctioned with a fine of 300 to 800 euros. 

EU Council analyses “emergency brake” applied by Portugal

The information was advanced by the spokesman of the European Commission for the area of ​​Justice, Christian Wigand.

Portugal’s decision to limit freedom of movement due to the covid-19 situation will be analysed by the competent bodies of the Council of the European Union (EU), namely the IPCR, which share information, the European Commission said yesterday.

The “emergency brake” is provided for in the EU Council’s recommendation on freedom of movement in the face of the pandemic, and Portugal’s notification of the obligation for all passengers to present a negative test to covid-19 should be debated “in the appropriate instances ” and which include, by way of information sharing, the EU’s integrated mechanism for a political-level reaction in crisis situations (IPCR) of the Council.

The information was advanced by the spokesman of the European Commission for the area of ​​Justice, Christian Wigand, in the daily press conference of the community executive.

As of Wednesday, December 1st, all passengers entering Portugal by land, air and sea – regardless of their origin and whether they are holders of an EU Covid-19 Digital Certificate – must present a negative test to covid-19.

The European Commission is continuing its analysis of the notification received from Portugal, and has not yet taken any position.

Travel

Covid-19: authorities explain test requirement to enter mainland territory

Control at airports should not be seen “as a threat” but as “an opportunity” to break transmission chains.

ANA Aeroportos, Regional Health Administration of Lisbon and Vale do Tejo (ARSLVT), PSP and SEF explained, this Tuesday, the rules for the entry of passengers into mainland territory, highlighting the obligation to present a test in addition to the digital certificate.

“The airport is a sensitive entry point for people in Portugal and, instead of being seen as a threat, it should be seen as an opportunity to control the transmission chains of the virus in Portugal”, said Bruno Castro, a doctor specializing in Public Health ARSLVT, at a press conference held at Humberto Delgado airport, in Lisbon.

Bruno Castro continued to explain the new rules due to the worsening epidemiological situation of covid-19, mainly because of the new Ómicron variant, originally detected in South Africa and which already has 13 cases in Portugal, stressing that “all other procedures already in articulation will be reinforced, for this ultimate goal of not importing new transmission chains” of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

“From 00:00, all citizens will have to present a test at the time of boarding. If this test is not presented, the passenger may not board and airlines will be subject to fines. There is also a recommendation to complete the Passenger Locator Form (passenger location form) for faster and more efficient action by health authorities,” he declared.

In addition to airlines, which can incur a fine of between 20,000 and 40,000 euros per passenger, travellers are also subject to administrative offenses for not presenting a test upon arrival, which can range from 300 to 800 euros.

Health

Portugal is the 7th European country with the fewest new daily cases per million inhabitants

Portugal is the seventh country in the European Union (EU) with the fewest new daily cases of infection by SARS-CoV-2 per million inhabitants in the last seven days, according to the statistical website Our World in Data

With 286 new daily cases per million inhabitants in the last week, Portugal is far from the EU average (576 new daily cases per million inhabitants) and countries with the newest daily cases: Slovakia, with 2040 cases, Czech Republic, with 1830, Belgium (1480), Austria (1370), Netherlands (1310), Croatia (1150), Slovenia (1150) and Hungary (1040).

These numbers of new daily cases per million inhabitants are also the highest in the world among countries with more than one million inhabitants.

In terms of daily deaths per million inhabitants, Portugal is the eighth country in the EU with the fewest deaths attributed to covid-19, with an average of 1.35 in the last seven days.

In this indicator, the European average is 4.03, and the worst numbers, both at European and world level, are located to the east: Bulgaria (17.57), Hungary (16.1), Croatia (15.96) , Latvia (15), Czech Republic (11.32) and Slovakia (10.8).

The world average of new daily cases per million population stands at 71, while globally there were 0.88 new daily deaths per million population attributed to covid-19.

Omicron enforces test reinforcement for all infected contacts

Portugal already has 13 cases of infection with the new variant. To prevent its spread, testing to contacts begins on the first day of diagnosis of the infected case. DGS confirmed to DN that the measure is temporary and that it could end as soon as it learns more about this new variant.

The new variant, Omicron, has already led to changes in testing methodology in Portugal. Until now, the rule was to test an infected persons high-risk contacts on the 5th and 10th day, but the new variant has already caused this to be changed. Testing the contacts of an infected person will be carried out on the first day of diagnosis. It was like that in the players and staff of Belenenses SAD, where yesterday the first positive cases to Omicron were diagnosed in Portugal (13 in total). And so will all contacts infected with this new variant.

As confirmed to the DN source of the communication office of the Directorate-General for Health, “the measure is temporary and applied when cases of a new variant are identified”, and it may “cease as soon as the characteristics of Omicron are better known”.

It should be recalled that the director-general of Health, Graça Freitas, in statements yesterday to TSF radio, warned that this new variant requires more rigorous testing”, thus forcing more tests to be carried out with the aim of breaking it. transmission chains as quickly as possible, as, at this time, all available data indicate that this variant has a higher degree of transmissibility than Delta, although less severe.

Legislation

Use of Facemasks in streets

The President of the Republic Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa promulgated on Monday the decree that empowers the Government to establish the use of masks in the street without the authorization of the Assembly of the Republic

On Monday, the President of the Republic Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa enacted the decree enabling the Government to establish the use of masks in the street without the authorization of the Assembly of the Republic.

In a note released on Monday night on the Presidency’s official website, the promulgation of the “decree that establishes the conditions for determining, exceptionally, the mandatory use of masks for access, circulation or permanence in spaces and public roads”.

On Friday, parliament approved the PS project that enables the Government to decree the use of masks in the street without the authorization of the Assembly of the Republic, a diploma that will expire on March 1, 2022.

The PS law provides for a “transitional regime of mandatory use of masks in public spaces”, the need for which will be decided by the Government.

“If the measure appears necessary, adequate and proportional to the prevention, containment or mitigation of epidemiological infection by covid-19, the Government may, through the Resolution of the Council of Ministers declaring a situation of alert, contingency or calamity, determine the obligation the use of masks by people aged over 10 years for access, circulation or permanence in public spaces and streets whenever the physical distance recommended by the health authorities proves impractical”, states the diploma.

As for the conditions that determine this need, the bill only mentions that it will be “measured based on data on the evolution of the pandemic, namely based on the increase in the number of infections and the rate of disease transmissibility”, without quantifying it.

An article that defines the termination of this initiative on March 1, 2022 was added to the project at the end of the debate.

 

Other news

Ryanair will have 17 more routes from Portugal next summer.

The airline announced on Monday the schedule for next summer and, among the news is that the carrier will start having connections from Lisbon to: Bari, Madeira, Oujda, Venice and Poitiers.

From Faro it will add a route to Luxembourg and from Porto it will have three more connections: Billund, Madeira and Verona.

And from Madeira to have routes to: Brussels, Dublin, Lisbon, London, Manchester, Marseille, Milan, Nuremberg, Paris and Porto.

“With fares starting at just 29.99 euros, Portuguese citizens and other visitors will be able to travel to destinations such as Billund, Dublin and Venice, and enjoy a well-deserved break in 2022. Ryanair leads Portugal’s post-Covid recovery, as it accelerates the growth of traffic and employment in the next 5 years. Having added 560 new routes and inaugurated 15 new bases this year, Ryanair has been growing in the country and, in the summer of 2022, will have 65 new aircraft B737-8200 ‘Gamechanger'”, says Ryanair in a statement.

Ryanair considers that TAP should release more than two hundred slots – slots that allow planes to take off and land – at Lisbon airport, thus allowing for greater competition.

“We think that TAP should release at least 250 slots per week” at Lisbon airport, said Michael O”Leary, CEO of Ryanair, at a press conference in Lisbon. The official accused the Portuguese carrier of blocking these slots, proceeding only the cancellation of flights two to three weeks in advance, preventing other companies from using them. And he gave some numbers.

According to the presentation by Michael O”Leary, between November 15 and November 21, 2019, TAP carried out 1255 flights, and in the same period this year the Portuguese company had 1017 slots, thus having a cut of 31% of the flights. Looking at the period November 22 and November 28, TAP in 2019 carried out 1248 flights. In the same period this year, TAP had 1019 slots, which represents a 30% cut. TAP to free unused slots in Lisbon”, he reiterated.

Minister of National Defence highlights the need for cooperation between the EU and NATO

The Minister of National Defence, João Gomes Cravinho, referred to the need for cooperation between the European Union and NATO, to develop “collective response mechanisms” against phenomena such as “disinformation, the instrumentalisation of migrants or cyberattacks”, which threaten democracy.

João Gomes Cravinho spoke at the opening of the 3rd edition of the Defence seminar, at the National Defence Institute (IDN), in Lisbon, where he also stated that this close cooperation is essential «to develop adequate collective response mechanisms against new methodologies of our adversaries”.

Concerning the “end of the period of unipolar US predominance in the post-Cold War and a harbinger of multi-polarity”, João Gomes Cravinho said that the “partnership between the European Union and NATO is a necessary and vital part of the transatlantic response to this new context’, without the EU losing its strategic autonomy.

The Minister also warned of the existence of “unconventional armed conflicts”, adding that “if the great conventional wars have practically disappeared in recent decades, this fact is far from being synonymous with peace”; on the contrary, “we see an increasing tendency for the proliferation of unconventional threats by non-state armed groups, which are often transnational and well equipped.”

João Gomes Cravinho said that “the use, by some States, of unconventional instruments to fuel indirect conflicts, in the context of so-called hybrid threats”, is equally worrying, and therefore the Armed Forces must “prepare for a more complex battlefield and more unpredictable’.

The Minister also recalled the recent reform in the superior structure of the Armed Forces, approved in 2020, which aimed “precisely to strengthen joint command structures and their capacity for integrated operational response”, namely in the face of hybrid threats, but also “civil emergencies from climate change or pandemics’.