Algarve Situation Report Wednesday 25th August 2021
Number of unemployed in Algarve decreases
The number of unemployed registered in July, in the Algarve, decreased 21.5% compared to the same month in 2020, according to data released this Monday, 23 August, by the Employment and Professional Training Institute (IEFP).
According to these figures, at the end of the seventh month of the year, the Algarve had 17,932 unemployed registered with the IEFP services, which also represents a significant decrease compared to the previous month: 2098 people left the Employment Centers between June and July, which equates to a decrease of 10.5% of subscribers.
The recovery of tourist activity is the main responsible for the absorption of these workers by companies. Although recruitment for this sector started later this year, there was a sharp drop in the number of IEFP applicants from May onwards, which continued into June and, it is now known, continued into July [see graph].
If the number of registered unemployed decreased, the number of job offers increased – and a lot – compared to the same month in 2020. At the end of July, there were 1026 job offers, 659 more (+179.6%) than there are one year.
Compared to other regions, the Algarve was the one that had the biggest drop in the number of unemployed compared to last year (-21.5%). It is followed by Alentejo (-15.5%), the Centre (-13.7%), North (-9.5%) and Lisbon and Vale do Tejo (-6.7%). At the national level, the variation was -9.5%.
In the Algarve region, all municipalities had a decrease in the number of registered in July, and Portimão is now the municipality with the highest number of registered unemployed: 3,124. It is followed by Loulé, with 2,800, and Faro, with 2,410.
Municipality of Portimão has already paid 30,000 euros to the victims of the rural fire on July 17
The Municipality of Portimão said in a statement that it has already started payments to victims of forest fires under the emergency fund in the amount of 50,000 euros, created to support needy residents who were affected by the rural fire of 17 July last, that harassed the parish of Mexilhoeira Grande until the following day.
In all, the fire mowed down more than 1600 hectares of bush, pasture, eucalyptus and pine trees in the Gordeiro and Pereira sites, having destroyed the electricity supply and access to water, since it is done through artesian and dams.
Farmers with limited resources, whose activity has special importance and impact on the prevention of rural fires, were affected by the fire.
As a result, the Parish Council of Mexilhoeira Grande carried out a preliminary and provisional survey of the affected residents, as well as the damages and the costs of repairs, having estimated the amount of 50,000 euros, for which 30,000 euros have been paid so far.
The same document states that the monetary support fund provided by the Municipality of Portimão, “aimed at restoring normality and access to basic conditions for the affected population, including support for the replacement of water supply structures in homes and irrigation systems for subsistence agriculture, and the payment of the invoices presented so far is already underway”.
A commercial ship with seven crew members on board, adrift about 6.5 kilometres from the island of São Jorge, in the Azores, due to a breakdown, was rescued today by elements of the captaincy of the port of Horta, according to the authorities.
We start with Canada, With Ontario seeing more than three straight weeks of growth in daily COVID-19 cases — primarily in people who have not been vaccinated — the province is “most definitely” in a fourth wave, says a top doctor with the government’s science advisory table.
Globally, scientists are studying infection rates among Israel’s vaccinated to understand how the vaccine holds up over time. The findings have not been encouraging, setting off a wave of 
“I understand the concern of all governments to protect their own people from the Delta variant. But we cannot accept countries that have already used most of the global supply of vaccines using even more of it, while the world’s most vulnerable remain protected,” he added. Dr. Tedros also stressed that of the more than 4 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines administered so far globally, more than 80% had gone to high- and upper-middle-income countries, which account for less than half of the global population.
Visitors to Madeira Shopping will be able to try this activity on the ground floor from August 21st to September 5th. Its opening hours will be: 16h00 to 20h00 from Mondays to Fridays & 11h00-15h00 and 16h00-20h00 during weekends. This activity will be free of charge on a first-come basis and is aimed at children and youths aged 3 to 18. Safety equipment will be provided by its staff.
It’s no surprise that a politician’s worst enemy is a vibrant news media. Journalists who stick their noses into the affairs of the powerful and expose their failures are a threat. It’s therefore no great shock that even many leaders of democratic countries are happier when the press is weakened.
Earlier this week, the Polish parliament passed a bill that could mean curtains for the country’s largest independent news channel. TVN24, a broadcaster that is frequently critical of the Polish governing party, is in part owned by the American media group Discovery. Should this new bill become law, non-EU entities will be prohibited from being majority shareholders in Polish media companies, meaning Discovery would have to sell its majority stake.
There were 246 new Covid-19 cases, 187 recoveries and no deaths from Covid-19 in Madeira since the previous Madeira Situation Report. On Wednesday, there were 30 new Covid-19 cases (3 imported cases – 1 from Florida, 1 from the UK and 1 from the Lisbon and Tagus Valley Region & 27 cases of local transmission) and 23 recoveries. The number of patients in hospital increased to 8, 1 of whom was in intensive care.
As for Covid-19 testing on passengers who had arrived at Funchal and Porto Santo airports, 289,959 samples had been collected until Tuesday (at 15h30). By Tuesday, 573,627 samples from RT-PCR tests had been processed in the Autonomous Region of Madeira.
And Miguel Albuquerque, the President of Madeira’s Regional Government, acknowledged the situation on the island is “complicated”. He has asked the Police to reinforce compliance with the rules on distancing, the use of face masks and the curfew, and warned that more fines will be handed out for non-compliance. He fears the Porto Santo population, businesses and businesspeople will be affected if the Covid-19 situation worsens and said Funchal is already being affected by the outbreak in Porto Santo.
Porto Santo Line (a ferry company) announced it will have extra ferry services connecting the islands of Madeira and Porto Santo on September 1st. The aim is to allow passengers to have more time to enjoy their stay in Porto Santo. This will be the timetable on September 1st:
For 10 days, teams from the Algarve Biomedical Center (ABC) will run institutions, «from Vila Real de Santo António to Vila do Bispo, in Algarve, and from Odemira to Portalegre, in Alentejo», to carry out these tests. The serological study is voluntary and free of charge. A little prick on the finger to collect the blood and that’s it.
In the weeks leading up to the Castro Marim fire we have been posting both the normal fire risk map and chart, as well as the rural fire hazard in other words the FWI. With the latter we have drawn comparisons with the Monchique fire of 2018 as the current conditions are similar with the FWI then, which determine how quickly fires can start and spread, at Extreme 64 and above.
The second point I wish to make is that fire fighters may not always be able to reach you quickly should a fire approach your home. This could be due to difficulty of access in isolated areas, with no proper roads, especially at night time, or during a major fire covering a large area with a long perimeter. In the Castro Marim fire yesterday the perimeter was stated at 43 Kms! At some stages yesterday some 600+ fire fighters were deployed. However, not all of those are actively fighting fires! For example the total includes drivers, logistics, those taking a well-deserved rest, meal breaks, change of shift for example – so for all these reasons in a large fire you may find yourself alone for a period of time. Learning about self-protection is therefore vitally import ant.
The Regional Secretariat for Transport, Tourism and Energy clarifies that, during the past weekend, the dredging works of the Porto da Casa were completed, in order to guarantee the necessary conditions for this new operation.
In Bogota, Columbia, Elcy Gomez’s monthly rent cheque has turned into a ticking time bomb. The mother of three was just starting her own herbal medicine business when the coronavirus pandemic hit. As COVID-19 lockdowns in Bogota stretched on, her work evaporated, plunging her family into debt. With a diabetic husband and children in their early 20s just entering the workforce, Gomez shouldered most of the economic burden. For a year and a half, her family has scraped together small sums of money, just enough to pay for their small apartment in the far reaches of the city and put food on the table.
Women also work in sectors – hotels, restaurants and domestic work – disproportionately affected by the pandemic in higher frequencies than men.
She noted that her organisation, based in Veracruz, Mexico, has seen more women who are unable to find work resorting to prostitution and survival sex. Unda also worries the economic hit will continue to fuel domestic violence, which has increased in Colombia — and globally — since the beginning of the pandemic.
For years, she applied for office jobs, but never got calls back, so she cleaned homes without formal contracts. It was only when all of Beltran’s work evaporated and the people she’d worked with for years didn’t pay her during lockdowns that she began to learn she had legal rights to things like severance pay and access to social security. When lockdowns ended and her six longtime clients began to call her again, she asked to receive those benefits.