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Portugal Situation Report Wednesday 2^nd June 2021

 

Introduction

Good morning – As you have hopefully noticed, we have been placing some emphasis over the last few days on public safety, especially as regards to the prevention of rural fires. This becomes increasingly important as we head into the summer months, when the risk of such fires increases. To increase awareness on this topic and particularly “risk awareness”, the Algarve Resident in its edition tomorrow will contain a one page feature, which I have written on rural fire prevention. Please take time to read this and by doing so help keep yourself and others safe.

When is a bubble not a bubble? That is the question seemingly contained in the President of the Republic’s statement on Monday where he commented on the lack of adequate arrangements concerning the Champions League final in Porto on Saturday. Clearly the arrangements where not as originally announced and as a result there were large numbers of people gathering in public areas with no social distancing and no wearing of facemasks. It seems that there is little understanding of the behaviour of football supporters when it comes to crowd management, particularly during periods of celebrations.

Talking about crowds we remind visitors to play by the rules here in Portugal, when it comes to social distancing and wearing of masks in outdoor crowded places, as well as complying with the ban on the drinking of alcohol in public areas. Visitors to Portugal are of course welcome, but please realise that everything is not yet back to normal as far as social activities are concerned.

We have seen the images of the events following the match in Porto, as well as reports in some areas that a minority of visitors are not following the laws here, and therefore respecting all that people here have worked so hard to achieve over the last year.

For those planning to travel to Portugal please realise that the laws here maybe different compared with your own country. Respect our laws please.

The emphasis in tackling Covid-19, like rural fires, should be on awareness and prevention and enforcement only as the last resort. The police here are fully stretched dealing with their normal day to day duties and can ill afford to spend time have to deal with those who cannot be bothered to follow the rules in place. We at Safe Communities are, I believe from the considerable feedback we receive from you, doing our part in helping to keep people informed. For example our two posts on WELCOME to Portugal poster reached almost 70,000 people and several hundred shares and our two posts on beach rules over 61,000. Please therefore share these posts widely so as many people as possible are informed.

Yesterday the Head of the Vaccination Task Force stated that there are more than 60,000 people over the age of 50 waiting for confirmation of self-scheduling for vaccination against Covid-19. The number of registrations was so high that the services will need three days to book all orders.

We suggest therefore in light of this, that after these 3 days those who have still not received a confirmation should call the SNS number 808 24 24 24, even if you have done so previously.

Remember dial 9 for English, Listen for option 5 (or enter 5 immediately) If you speak Portuguese do not use option 9 await option 5 – You are given some information including “if you have not received an SMS dial 3”, then “for vaccination issues” dial 1.

Safe Communities Portugal is pleased to answer your questions where we can. We have noticed sometimes, however, that the same questions are asked several times, when the topic has already been fully explained or a link provided to where such information can be found. This places a great deal extra work on our volunteers, at a time when we have so many other priorities to deal with. We encourage people therefore to please read information and advice provided in the first instance. A reminder that we have a new, very comprehensive website and the answers to many questions can be found here. A question often takes time for us to research, and often the same research can be undertaken by the person asking the question.

The use of photographs on Facebook if used properly can help convey the sense and purpose of the information being posted. We take as much care as possible in this respect. Conversely the posting of pictures/videos which are unsourced clearly designed to stir emotions and provoke a negative response are seldom helpful as they can be misleading. Some tabloids are very experienced at this! In the interests of the integrity of our Facebook page and ensuring accuracy, any photos uploaded under comments should state when and where the photo was taken. We reserve the right to remove any that do not.

Please have a Safe day.

 

Headlines

WHO approves emergency use of Chinese vaccine Coronavac.

The World Health Organization approved, on Tuesday, the use of the Chinese vaccine CoronaVac, from the Sinovac laboratory, in the prevention of Covid-19.

The WHO committee of vaccine experts recommended this vaccine, which requires two doses every two to four weeks, for people 18 years of age or older. The CoronaVac vaccine is already applied in 22 countries and territories, according to data collected by AFP. In addition to China, it is used in Brazil, Tunisia, Chile, Indonesia, Mexico, Thailand and Turkey, among others.

This is the second Chinese immunizer approved by the WHO, and from now on it can also be used by the international Covax device for the distribution of vaccines, mainly in disadvantaged countries.

“The world is in desperate need of several anti-vaccine-19 vaccines to address the huge inequalities across the planet,” said Mariangela Simao, WHO’s Deputy Director-General in charge of access to medicines and health products.

CoronaVac’s effectiveness in preventing symptomatic Covid-19 cases is 57%, but it is 100% effective in preventing serious cases and hospitalizations in the populations studied, according to the WHO. Efficacy in people over 60 has not been studied.

 

Covid-19 Data.

On Tuesday Portugal did not record any deaths from Covid-19 in the last 24 hours, but 445 new cases of the disease were registered, according to the daily report of the Directorate-General for Health (DGS).

Confirmed Cases: 849.538 (+ 445 / + 0.05 %)

Number of admitted: 268 (-15 /-5.30 %)

Number of ICU admitted: 50 (-2 /-3.85 %)

Deaths: 17,025 (+ 0 / + 0.00 %)

Recovered: 809.813 (+ 678 / + 0.08 %)

Active cases: 22,700 (- 233 /- 0.97%)

Safe Communities comparisons/trends show that there are three days with zero deaths out of the last 4; new daily cases were slightly above Monday’s figures but below last week’s daily average (491); recoveries were greater than new cases reversing the trend and of the new cases around 55% were in Lisbon and Tejo Valley, similar to yesterday.

In hospitalisations there was a decrease, reversing the previous days increase.  Covid-19 patients reduced by 6580 compared to number in hospital 1st February 2021. In ICU also a decrease, the total being one of the lowest however since September 2020 There was a welcome decrease in active cases, reversing the increasing figures over the last two days. Still over 500 additional active cases since a week ago, however.

 

Health

Private Hospitals cannot charge for personal protection equipment.

The Health Regulatory Authority (ERS) warned, this Tuesday, private hospitals cannot charge for personal protective equipment to users of the National Health Service (SNS) to whom they provide care.

In a statement, the ERS stresses that the private, cooperative and social sectors with conventions with the NHS can only charge moderating fees for the provision of health services to users of the public system.

The charging of amounts for personal protective equipment used because of the Covid-19 pandemic or “any other amount for services provided to users of the NHS” is “a violation of the rules on access to health care, foreseen and punished” by the law, stresses the ERS.

The health regulatory body reinforces that forcing users of the NHS to pay for equipment is “a violation of their right of access to the provision of care” and “a breach of contract” of the convention agreements.

ERS claims to have “knowledge of various user complaints” from the public system who have been charged for equipment and stresses that private individuals can only charge, “and when applicable, the amount due as a moderating fee” for the activities covered by the convention.

 

Vaccinations

Covid-19: About 63 thousand young people between 16 and 24 years old have already been vaccinated in Portugal.

Lisbon, 01 Jun 2021 (Lusa) – About 63,000 young people aged between 16 and 24 have already been vaccinated against Covid-19 in Portugal, where 19% of the population is already immunized with the two doses, reveal data from DGS released today.

According to data from the DGS weekly vaccination report, 1,099 young people between 16 and 17 years of age were vaccinated with the first dose and 323 had the complete vaccination.

“The class of people under the age of 18 includes young people between 16 and 17 years old who have an indication of vaccination according to DGS Standard 2/2021 and who have been given the Comirnaty vaccine (Pfizer-BioNTech)”, says the DGS.

The data also indicates that 38,276 young people between 18 and 24 years of age are already vaccinated with the first dose and 23,158 (3%) with the two doses of the Covid-19 vaccine.

According to DGS, vaccination by decreasing age groups, up to 16 years old, and of people aged 16 or over, applies to those who have diseases with an increased risk of severe Covid-19 or death, such as diabetes, severe obesity, active cancer disease, transplantation and immunosuppression, severe neurological diseases and mental illness.

According to the weekly vaccination report released by the DGS, 3,757,395 people are already vaccinated with the first dose, which corresponds to 37% of the population, and 1,979,425 have the complete vaccination (19%).

 

Tele-consultations skyrocketed with the pandemic and April saw over 138,000.

Lisbon, 01 Jun 2021 (Lusa) – The Minister of Health, Marta Temido, today highlighted the increase in tele-consultations in the National Health Service since the beginning of the pandemic, which went from 15,000 in April last year to more than 138,000 in the same month this year.

“This shows how much this tragic opportunity of the pandemic has done for the development of tele-health”, said Marta Temido, at the opening ceremony of the eHealth Summit, an event on innovation and digital transformation in health organized by the Ministry of Health under the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union (EU).

Marta Temido also stressed that, with the demands imposed by the pandemic, the National Health Service managed to modernize itself, “guaranteeing a panoply of responses that go beyond therapeutic counselling”.

She highlighted the need to take full advantage of the advances achieved in digital health, pointing to tele-monitoring and the work developed with the “Trace Covid” platform, which has allowed the registration and management and clinical surveillance of citizens suspected of Covid-19 by public health teams and family doctors.

“The pandemic was not only predictable, but it was predicted,” said Marta Temido, for whom “shock waves” cannot be converted into “demagogy and populism”.

“So that we can leave with lessons learned and with social and economic development models that are more robust, resilient and cohesive and so that we can not only be better prepared technologically and scientifically for new emergencies, but socially more cohesive to face them,” she said.

 

Recovered people can now schedule a vaccine.

Those who recovered from Covid-19 more than six months ago and are over 50 years old can now schedule a date to be vaccinated. The limitation that existed on the Covid-19 Portal has now been lifted, said Gouveia e Melo, who admitted that it may not be necessary to vaccinate children.

Vice Admiral Gouveia e Melo, responsible for the vaccination task force, assured that health centres are calling people who fell ill with Covid-19 (with a positive test for more than six months) and, in the meantime, recovered. Anyone who wants to, and is over 50, can now go to Covid-19 Portal to sign up.

 

Covid-19: Minister says consultations and surgeries are already close to 2019 levels.

Coimbra, 31 May 2021 (Lusa) – The Minister of Health stressed today that there was an increase of 450,000 consultations and 40,000 surgeries, at the hospital level, in the first four months of the year, numbers already close to the levels of 2019, pre-pandemic.

“At this time of less pressure on health care, recovery is already noticeable. In the first four months of this year, at the hospital level, there was an increase of 450,000 consultations and 40,000 surgeries, compared to the same period”, said Marta Temido, who was speaking during the opening session of the National Congress of the Order of Doctors, which takes place in Coimbra.

The minister stressed that this increase means that the levels are already “very close” to those of 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic.

Also in primary health care, there is an increase compared to 2020, with 12.1 million non-urgent medical consultations, he said.

“We need and count on everyone to continue this path”, stressed Marta Temido.

The Minister of Health also stressed the need to recover the assistance activity, recalling that financial incentive mechanisms were approved for carrying out the postponed assistance activity.

These incentives, at the hospital level, “have already made it possible to recover more than 82,000 first consultations and 30 thousand surgeries”, he pointed out.

According to the official, this inventive regime was extended to primary health care, which may start its activity under this regime in June.

 

Travel

Refunds for cancelled flights are taking an average of 20 days.

The President of the National Civil Aviation Authority (ANAC) rejected this Tuesday that there are “significant delays” in refunds to passengers with flights cancelled due to the pandemic, adding that “they are taking, on average, around 20 days”.

“What we are aware of is that requests for refunds of passengers in cash are taking, on average, around 20 days and that there will be no significant delays in this matter,” said Luís Miguel Ribeiro during a hearing at the Economy Committee, Innovation, Public Works and Housing, in parliament.

According to the President of ANAC, “people started to know and exercise their rights in due time and, therefore, this issue, more or less, was emptied”.

“This matter, as far as we are aware, is being adequately dealt with by the airlines and we have no echoes of large accumulations of debt in this regard,” he reiterated.

Asked by the deputies about the approximately 500 million euros in ticket refunds that TAP will have accumulated between March 2020 and March this year, according to data advanced by Saturday, Luís Miguel Ribeiro said he did not know this amount, but he warned that it was ” probably from a ‘cake’ that includes passengers’ credits that have been turned into vouchers “and that” may or may not be reimbursed or converted into an effective journey “.

“There is a block of passenger rights that keep their claims on the company, but they have the right to travel next, if they want, or to demand reimbursement. This is a set with an expressive value and what we are waiting for. Is that now, with the relaxation of restrictions, many of these so-called ‘vouchers’ are used and that credit is transformed into a trip “, he said.

As he pointed out, in these cases there may be no question of an effective cash refund that will have to be made to passengers.

“If people took advantage of the opportunities presented by the various carriers to, under favourable conditions, transform their credit into the right to travel at a lower price in the future, this, in fact, appears in the companies’ accounts as a right to a refund, but that will be transformed into a service provision “, he said.

“So” – he added – “some caution is needed when interpreting these values, which may not turn into a ‘cash outflow’ for carriers”.

 

Other news

President of the Republic believes that no European country will follow the path of ‘Brexit’.

The President of the Republic said today that no European country will want to leave the European Union after ‘Brexit’, saying that “unity means strength” and that, despite differences, European partners usually agree at the “last minute”.

“I think that any country that observes (…) what happened in the United Kingdom, will say ‘it is better not to experiment, no, we will stay inside’. The EU is very diverse, we are different, but we play together, we discuss, we debate and, at the last minute, we agree. Because we know that unity means strength, and that makes a difference,” said Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa.

The President of the Republic was speaking at a local high school in the city of Kranj, about 30 kilometres from the Slovenian capital, where he gave a class with his Slovenian counterpart, Borut Pahor, on the topic “How do children and young people see and how do they want it? Europe’s future, in terms of values ​​and practical priorities”.

Questioned by a student, if he foresees any further departure from a member state of the European Union, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa who “does not believe”, even “analytically”, that another “problematic scenario” may arise, stating that “there is nothing to see What happened”.

Thus explaining to Slovenian students the “special relationship” that links Portugal to the United Kingdom, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said that many of his British friends consider that the withdrawal from the European Union, as “often happens in referendums”, arose due to a “Negative coalition”.

The President of the Republic also recalled that, in the days following the referendum, he was invited by the former British Prime Minister, Theresa May, to Downing Street, the seat of the British Government in London, where he realized that the British partners did not know “what to do next”.

“And there was [Theresa May], trying to explain that they were not prepared for that, that they had to think about that later, because they had to convert a negative coalition into a positive position, which is very difficult”, pointed out Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa .

Thus referring that “nobody expected” that “Brexit” would be “possible”, the President of the Republic told the students that Europeans are used to considering “normal” to live in “democracy, to have freedom of the press, and political parties”.

 

Regions

Madeira Situation Report 2^nd June 2021

By Daniel Fernandes

Covid-19 update

There were 37 new Covid-19 cases, 73 recoveries and no deaths from Covid-19 in Madeira since the previous Madeira Situation Report.

On Saturday, there were 12 new Covid-19 cases (from 1 passenger who had arrived from France and 11 cases of local transmission) and 25 recoveries. The number of patients in hospital remained 8, 2 of whom were intensive care.

On Sunday, there were 15 new Covid-19 cases (from 1 passenger who had arrived from the Czech Republic and 14 cases of local transmission) and 16 recoveries. The number of patients in hospital increased to 9, 2 of whom were in intensive care.

On Monday, there was 1 new Covid-19 case of local transmission and 16 recoveries. The number of patients in hospital decreased to 7, 2 of whom were in intensive care.

And on Tuesday, there were 9 new Covid-19 cases (from 1 passenger who had arrived from South Africa, 3 passengers who had arrived from Northern Portugal and 5 cases of local transmission) and 16 recoveries. The number of patients in hospital remained 7, 1 of whom was in intensive care.

There were 171 active cases on Tuesday, of which 11 had been imported while the other 160 cases had been a result of local transmission. As of Tuesday, there had been 9,470 cases, 9,227 recoveries and 72 deaths.

On Tuesday, there were 13 patients in isolation in a dedicated hotel, 151 patients in isolation in their own accommodation and 7 patients in hospital, 1 of whom in intensive care.

On the same day, there were 50 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.

There were 19,389 travellers under monitoring by the health authorities. Monitoring is being carried out through the ‘MadeiraSafe’ app. There were also 569 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, 216,446 samples had been collected until Tuesday (at 15h30). By Tuesday, 445,131 samples from RT-PCR tests had been processed and 58,461 antigen rapid tests had been carried out in the Autonomous Region of Madeira.

The SRS 24 helpline (Regional Health Service – 800 24 24 20) received 503 calls from Friday to Tuesday. Overall, it has received 51,194 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 15 calls from Friday to Tuesday. Overall, it has received 3,592 calls.

https://funchalnoticias.net/2021/05/29/12-novos-casos-de-Covid-19-25-recuperados-96-suspeitos/

https://funchalnoticias.net/2021/05/30/15-novos-casos-de-Covid-19-16-recuperados-43-suspeitos/

https://funchalnoticias.net/2021/05/31/hoje-surgiu-apenas-um-novo-caso-de-Covid-19/

https://funchalnoticias.net/2021/06/01/9-novos-casos-de-Covid-19-16-recuperados-50-suspeitos/

 

Covid-19 vaccination update.

As of May 30th, 144,578 Covid-19 vaccine doses (93,879 1st doses & 50,699 2nd doses) had been administered in the Autonomous Region of Madeira since the start of the vaccination campaign on December 31st. This means 37% of the Region’s population has been administered the 1st vaccine dose while 20% have been fully vaccinated.

A total of 12,406 vaccine doses (3,436 1st doses & 8,970 2nd doses) were administered in the previous week. The plan for this week is to continue inoculations of both 1st and 2nd doses throughout the Region.

Pedro Ramos, Madeira’s Health and Civil Protection Secretary, said the Region is expected to have administered 150,000 vaccine doses in the next few days, of which 100,000 will be 1st doses.

He announced that pregnant women who are at a certain stage of their pregnancies are already being inoculated as long as they have medical approval.

He also revealed that among the 50,000 fully vaccinated people in the Region, 315 were infected with Covid-19. Nevertheless, he assured that they remained asymptomatic and had not required hospitalisation. He said these figures highlighted the efficiency of vaccination and were a reminder that vaccination does not provide full immunity against Covid-19.

The Madeira Regional Government would like vaccination of youngsters aged 12-15 to be complete before the start of the next school year. They will be administered the Pfizer vaccine as soon as the Directorate-General of Health (Direção-Geral da Saúde) gives approval to vaccination of this age group.

A shipment of 35,100 Pfizer Covid-19 vaccines arrived in Funchal on Monday morning. And 5,000 doses of the Johnson & Johnson Covid-19 vaccine had been due to arrive in the Region on Tuesday. Administration of the single-dose vaccines will start today on about 1,500 hospital patients who had been selected by SESARAM (Madeira Health Service).

https://www.jm-madeira.pt/regiao/ver/130504/Administradas_mais_de_144_mil_vacinas_contra_a_COVID-19_na_RAM

https://funchalnoticias.net/2021/05/31/madeira-com-mais-35-100-vacinas/

https://www.jm-madeira.pt/regiao/ver/130483/Vacinas_da_Johnson_and_Johnson_chegam_hoje_a_Regiao_

https://observador.pt/2021/05/30/Covid-19-governo-da-madeira-pretende-vacinar-jovens-antes-de-inicio-ano-letivo/

https://www.jm-madeira.pt/regiao/ver/130271/Madeira_ja_tem_50000_pessoas_com_vacinacao_completa

 

CR7 Museum reopened.

CR7 Museum reopened on Monday after being closed for a year. Visitors to this popular museum can learn about Cristiano Ronaldo’s career, the most important moments during his career, the best goals he scored and look at a number of trophies he has won throughout his career.

https://funchalnoticias.net/2021/05/31/museu-cr7-reabre-depois-de-quase-um-ano-encerrado/

 

Increase in the number of Binter flights to the Canary Islands.

The reopening of the Funchal-Tenerife route in July means that Binter will increase the number of flights between Funchal and the Canary Islands. The airline already has flights between Funchal and Gran Canaria on Thursdays and on Sundays.

From July 10th, Binter will have flights between Funchal and Tenerife on Tuesdays and on Saturdays. On Tuesdays, the flight from Tenerife North – Ciudad de La Laguna Airport will depart at 15h40 and land in Funchal at 17h00. The flight from Funchal will depart at 13h30 and land in Tenerife at 14h50. On Saturdays, the flight from Tenerife will depart at 14h40 and land in Funchal at 16h00. The flight from Funchal will depart at 12h30 and land in Tenerife at 13h50.

Bookings can be made on Binter’s website (www.binter.pt), by phone (291 290 129) or through a travel agency.

https://funchalnoticias.net/2021/06/01/binter-vai-aumentar-ligacoes-entre-a-madeira-e-as-canarias/

 

Algarve Situation Report Wednesday 2^nd June 2021

COVID-19: Unilabs and HPA Saúde Group inaugurate laboratory in Faro.

Unilabs Portugal and the HPA Saúde Group, with the collaboration of the Faro City Council, inaugurated, on Monday, May 31, a new Molecular Biology Laboratory.

The new structure, integrated in the «Summer Safe Algarve» operation, will allow to expand the response capacity in quantity and response time to Covid-19 tests, especially at the level of the standard PCR tests.

The Molecular Biology Laboratory will have the capacity to carry out more than 15,000 tests per day and represents an investment of 1.5 million euros, with the creation of 100 jobs in the laboratory and in the testing network to be set up on the ground, throughout the Algarve region.

With the increase in tourism expected for the summer months in the Algarve, and the mandatory testing to enter Portugal and return to the countries of origin, Unilabs, in partnership with the HPA Saúde Group, will thus strengthen the capacity testing facilities in the region, allowing for a quicker response, without the need to transport samples outside the district.

The screening centre is located at Rua Engenheiro Nuno Abecassis, in Faro, parallel to the Decathlon chain store in Faro.

Hand in hand with the installation of this centre, a network of specific locations and routes programmed in hotel units will be created, in order to expand the ease and convenience in accessing these health services.

 

Covid-19: Rolling Loud Portugal Festival that would take place in Portimão is postponed again to 2022.

The North American festival Rolling Loud, which was due to open in July in Europe with an event in Portimão, has been postponed to 2022 because of the pandemic situation, the organization announced today.

“While we see that the world is opening up again and we are encouraged by many positive indicators about European travel, stays and events, we feel that the rescheduling of the festival is the best in the name of the safety of all our fans traveling to Portugal, to the festival “, reads a statement shared on social networks.

The first edition of Rolling Loud Portugal should have already taken place in Portimão in the summer of 2020, next to Praia da Rocha, but it was postponed to July this year, but it is now rescheduled, due to the pandemic, for the days from 06 to 08 July 2022.

The festival, made mainly of hip hop, had on the poster names like Travis Scott, A $ AP Rocky, Future, Wiz Khalifa, A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, Chief Keef, City Girls, Dababy, Gucci Mane, Gunna and Meek Mill.

The organization does not give names for 2022, saying only that it is working “in the biggest hip hop line-up that Europe has ever seen”.

According to the organization, the tickets already purchased are valid for 2022, but a refund will also be possible.

Calling itself the largest hip-hop festival in the world, Rolling Loud only admits those over 18 years of age.

 

One dead and one injured in a vehicle crash into a ravine in Silves.

The falling of an off-road vehicle into a ravine in the area of ​​São Bom Homem, in the municipality of Silves, today caused a death and a person slightly injured a source from Civil Protection told Lusa.

According to the District Relief Operations Centre (CDOS) in Faro, the accident that occurred in the middle of the afternoon on Monday resulted in the death of a 62-year-old man and injuries to a 57-year-old woman, both of German nationality.

“The causes of the accident are being investigated” said the source.

In the rescue operations of the victims, 25 members of the firefighters from Silves, from the National Institute for Medical Emergency (INEM) and from the National Republican Guard, from the Municipal Civil Protection of Silves, were involved, supported by an INEM helicopter.

 

Azores

Azores Situation Report Wednesday 2^nd June 2021

From our colleague in the Azores 

 

Azores Fare.

Passengers, resident in the Azores can travel back and forth between the islands of the archipelago, starting today, for the maximum price of 60 euros.

Reservations related to the so-called ‘Azores Fare’ can be made through the sales channels of SATA Air Azores, which makes inter-island trips, and travel agencies.

Passengers who have already purchased a ticket with the normal resident fare for inter-island travel starting today (and who have not yet started their travels), may request a refund of the differential for the Azores Fare.

 

Azores Bathing Season 

The bathing season started yesterday, Tuesday 1^st June in the Azores. There are 32 zones, and a manual on the use of these spaces is being finalized in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic, which does not provide for fines, but warns users of their responsibility.

82 bathing waters are available for the public to use this year, six of which are for the first time.

 

Covid-19 

29^th May. 

18 new positive cases of Covid-19 were diagnosed in the Azores, all in São Miguel, in the context of community transmission, resulting from 2,197 tests carried out in reference laboratories in the Region.

The municipality of Ribeira Grande registered 10 cases (five in Rabo de Peixe, two in Ribeirinha, two in Lomba de São Pedro and one in Pico da Pedra). In the municipality of Ponta Delgada there were three new cases (one in Capelas, one in Santa Clara and one in Fenais da Luz), in the municipality of Vila Franca do Campo there was a new case in São Miguel and in the municipality of Lagoa there are four new cases, in Cabouco.

Tthere were a total of 19 recoveries. With the recovery of the only positive case on the island of São Jorge, it has no positive cases.

30^th May. 

32 new positive cases of Covid-19 were diagnosed in the Azores, all in São Miguel, in the context of community transmission, resulting from 2,340 tests carried out in reference laboratories in the Region.

The municipality of Ribeira Grande registered 20 cases (14 in Rabo de Peixe, two in Ribeirinha, two in Matriz, one in Conceição and one in Porto Formoso). In the municipality of Ponta Delgada there were 11 new cases: three in Arrifes, three in Fenais da Luz, two in Capelas, two in São José and one in Fajã de Baixo. In the municipality of Vila Franca do Campo there was a new case, in São Pedro.

There was a total of 21 recoveries

31^st May. 

23 new positive cases of Covid-19 were diagnosed in the Azores in, all on the island of São Miguel, in the context of community transmission, following 945 tests carried out in the reference laboratories of the Region.

The municipality of Ribeira Grande registered 11 cases (three in Rabo de Peixe, six in Ribeirinha, one in Matriz and one in Porto Formoso). There were 11 new cases in the municipality of Ponta Delgada (two in Arrifes, two in Capelas, two in Relva, one in São Sebastião, one in São Pedro, one in Santa Clara, one in Fajã de Baixo and one in Fenais da Luz). In the municipality of Vila Franca do Campo, there was a new case in Ponta Garça.

There has been a total of 21 recoveries.

1^st June. 

19 new positive cases of Covid-19 were diagnosed in the Azores, all on the island of São Miguel, following 2,312 tests carried out in the reference laboratories of the Region and two in independent laboratories. One case concerns a traveller, non-resident, who tested positive upon arrival. All the other cases refer to the community transmission.

The municipality of Ribeira Grande registers 10 cases (four in Rabo de Peixe, two in Ribeirinha, two in Matriz, one in Maia and one in Lomba da Maia). In the municipality of Ponta Delgada, there are six new cases (three in São Vincente Ferreira, one in Santo António, one in Fenais da Luz and one in Covoada). In the municipality of Vila Franca do Campo there was a new case in Ponta Garça and in the municipality of Nordeste, there was also a new case in Vila do Nordeste.

There have been a total of 31 recoveries.

As of today, there are 13 patients hospitalised, all in the Divino Espírito Santo Hospital in Ponta Delgada, with three of them in intensive care.

The archipelago currently has 277 active positive cases, all on the island of São Miguel.

There are no active local transmission chains and 203 have been extinguished so far. There are 1,396 people under active surveillance.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, 5,578 positive cases of Covid-19 have been diagnosed in the Azores and 5,138 people recovered from the disease.

There were 33 deaths, 79 people who left the archipelago and 51 cases with history of previous cure. Up to now, 506,949 tests have been carried out in the archipelago for SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes Covid-19 disease.

From December 31st, 2020 until May 28th, 126,130 doses of Covid-19 vaccine were administered in the Azores, corresponding to 79,832 people aged 16 years or more who received the first dose, and 46,298 people who received both doses, under the Regional Vaccination Plan.

Portugal situation Report Saturday 29^th May 2021

Introduction

Good morning – I am sure you will like me have seen an awful lot of items on social media and in the press about covid 19 and we at Safe Communities are doing our best to provide you all with the most up to date information that is both accurate and relevant.

Whilst it is important to keep abreast of what is happening in the world regarding the pandemic, we must also not lose touch with what is happening around us. As we move into a very warm summer period there are issues which could at some point affect us all and we all need to be aware and to be armed with the right information to make the right decisions as the situation dictates.

“Civil Protection” is a phrase which we use a lot on the website and on the Facebook page. It is a very important part of our “raison d’etre” and whilst it may not seem as important as some subjects we know from experience that at some point we could well be impacted. oIt encompasses a wide range of issues which will become relevant to anyone who lives in Portugal and we genuinely believe that it is in your best interest to be fully aware of what is happening with regards to Civil Protection in your area. Our fire warnings two days before the Monchique fires in 2018, one directed to tourists with some 80,000 + views is a case in point.

We do not have a crystal ball at Safe Communities, but we do have the qualifications and vast experience as an organisation to make informed and timely advice.

To further promote this I will be appearing on KissFm Solid Gold Sunday on this Sunday at 0915 hrs to discuss the importance prevention and self- protection measures concerning rural fires as well as Covid-19 topics – so please tune in.

A reminder that the Council of Ministers on Thursday extended the Situation of Calamity law until 13^th June 23.59 hrs. Apart from the movement of various municipalities under the de-confinement plan, we are not aware of any changes in the measures themselves. We await publication of the decree law either today or tomorrow and will inform you accordingly.

We sometimes get feedback from people that they see others often thought to be tourists not wearing masks in public places. So there is no misunderstanding, there is no requirement for people to wear masks outdoors except if social distancing cannot be maintained. It is important to distinguish between circumstances where a mask is required and those which it is not.

As of 27 May, it was reported that 38.5 per cent of new coronavirus infections in the UK were cases of the B.1.617.2 variant of the virus first identified in India, according to data from Public Health England. In Portugal cases of this variant have appeared in 13 municipalities out of a total of 280.counties. Currently there are 37 cases registered with this variant, and the estimate is that the real total is around 160 – a huge difference compared with the UK, but something the authorities here are alert to and monitoring carefully.

Of some concern is the growing number of new daily cases exceeding last week’ average and, according to INSA, the number of new cases of SARS-CoV-2 / COVID-19 infection per 100 000 inhabitants, accumulated in the last 14 days, increasing slightly to 60 in 100,000. Despite this however, only four municipalities out on nearly 280 are not in the final stage of de-confinement with the measures in place effective 1^st May. Around half of these new cases are in the Lisbon area. The good news is however that active cases in the Algarve have decreased over 20% in the last week to 233 cases, despite the considerable increase in tourism. Figures will be monitored closely over the next few weeks.

Yesterday we once again published our Welcome poster to tourists appealing to those visiting Portugal to respect the rules that are in place here, not the country from which they originated.

Today we have re-published the Bathing Rules in the table format, so that people can enjoy the fine weather this weekend in safety. Do not forget to download the Info Praia may so you can see the occupancy levels of your chosen beach to avoid a wasted journey. Please share this information.

With all these arrangements in place please have an enjoyable and Safe weekend.

 

Headlines

Covid-19. European Medicines Agency approves use of Pfizer vaccine from age 12

The European Medicines Agency (EMA) approved on Friday the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine against covid-19 in adolescents aged 12 to 15 years, this Friday was announced.

The announcement was made by the head of the Vaccine and Biological Threats to Health Strategy at EMA, Marco Cavaleri, in a press video conference, broadcast from the agency’s headquarters in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, after the extraordinary meeting of the Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use.

The vaccine should, as recommended for adults, be administered in two doses with an interval of three weeks. EMA experts consider the vaccine to be safe and effective in adolescents aged 12 to 15, whose use in this age group was already authorized in the United States.

EMA experts consider the vaccine to be safe and effective in adolescents aged 12 to 15, whose use in this age group was already authorized in the United States.

The vaccine from the Pfizer / BioNTech consortium was approved in Europe for people aged 16 and over.

Marco Cavaleri underlined that the decision of the EMA will be communicated to the European Commission, which will give the final approval. However, it will be up to each member state of the European Union to decide when and whether to use the vaccine in young people between 12 and 15 years old.

According to the European drug regulator, the vaccine’s effectiveness in this age group was demonstrated in a clinical trial with approximately 2,000 participants, with the immune response proving to be similar, and sometimes better, to that of young adults.

Marco Cavaleri stressed that the results of efficacy and safety of the vaccine in adolescents will have to continue to be monitored after approval of its use and during vaccination campaigns.

 

Vaccination remains the best weapon

The Minister of Health, Marta Temido, said yesterday that “vaccinations remains the best weapon” to control the Covid-19 pandemic.

At the press conference after meeting with experts at Infarmed, the Minister stressed that the vaccination process “continues to run in a favourable way” and underlined that the goal of having 70% of the adult population vaccinated by the end of the summer must be met.

“We are currently moving into a new self-scheduling age group [over 50 years old] and we are very concerned about not leaving anyone behind,” he added.

The vaccination process makes Portugal now in a «transition phase between a period when there were only non-pharmacological measures, such as the use of masks, hand washing and physical distance, and one where we have the expectation of immunity».

“At the moment we are still trying to assert immunity and the reference that was left by the experts was the need to maintain prudence,” he said.

Marta Temido reiterated the “need to maintain the criteria of incidence”, always taking into account other aspects such as the risk of transmission, the control of variants, the positivity of tests and the monitoring of the effective use of hospitals ».

The Minister also stressed the importance of adhering to the measures on the part of the population: “We need to maintain adherence and the awareness that we are facing a disease that requires specific behaviour to prevent transmission until we are protected”.

 

Covid-19: Risk matrix is ​​an alert system that does not impede the path to normality – Minister

Lisbon, May 28, 2021 (Lusa) – The Minister of Health said today that the risk assessment matrix of the covid-19 pandemic is an alert system that does not jeopardize the path to restoring normality.

The risk matrix, which crosses data on the incidence of cases in the population and the risk of transmission, “does not mean that the return to the desired normality is not carried out, always using the risk matrix as an alert,” said Marta Temido at the end of the periodic meeting to analyse the country’s epidemiological situation, which brought together specialists, members of the Government and the President of the Republic at Infarmed, in Lisbon.

The President of the Republic, who proposed a change in the risk matrix two days ago in view of the increasing immunity rate of the population against covid-19, today stressed at the meeting once again “the perception that the risks are falling” and placed the issue of “public legitimation of the adopted health indicators and criteria”.

Questioned by journalists at the end of the meeting, Marta Temido stated that “the risk matrix is ​​above all a set of warning signs” that it is necessary to “keep in mind for an eventuality” if it is necessary to “go back” in the deflation process.

The Minister of Health underlined that the number of new cases of infection with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, which causes the covid-19 disease, is influenced by the vaccination process. “Naturally, we all understand that the life we ​​do today already reflects this process,” he said.

 

Covid-19 Data

On Friday, Portugal registered 598 new cases of Covid-19, and one death, according to the daily report of the Directorate-General for Health (DGS).

The main figures from yesterday were

Confirmed Cases: 847,604 (+ 598 / + 0.07 %)
Number of admitted: 246 (+ 13 / + 5.58 %)
Number of ICU admitted: 52 (-1 /-1.89 %)
Deaths: 17,023 (+ 1 / + 0.01 %)
Recovered: 808,047 (+ 515 / + 0.06 %)
Active cases: 22,534 (+82 /+ 0.36%)

Safe Communities comparisons/trends:

Deaths were lower than last weeks’ daily average; new daily cases were again higher than recoveries and well above last weeks’ daily average. Highest since 21^st April 2021. Nearly half of these once again were in Lisbon and Tejo Valley repeating trends over last few days

In hospital there was an Increase, but still 5th lowest for over a year since 27th March 2020 (then 191). Covid-19 patients are 6602 less compared to number in hospital 1st February 2021. In ICU there was a marginal decrease since yesterday, second lowest since 9th September 2020. Active cases saw another increase – a continuing trend since Tuesday. Unusually there was a large increase of over one thousand under surveillance.

It is important not to let our guard down at this crucial time. This means complying with the rules in place, – wearing face masks, social distancing, hygiene and no social gathering.

 

Health

DGS transmission and incidence rates

The R (t) remains unchanged both on the Continent and in the entire national territory, reveals this Friday’s bulletin from the Directorate-General for Health (DGS), halting the growth trend that had been occurring in the last two weeks. The transmissibility index is, as on Wednesday, 1.07 on the Continent and in the entire national territory.

The incidence, on the other hand, has grown: it is now 59.6 in the national territory and 56 in the continent (it is now closer to half of the red line of 120). The values ​​were 57.8 and 54.4, respectively, on Wednesday, but on March 15, when the publication of these values ​​started, they were much higher: 96 and 84.2.

This Friday, Portugal has 18 counties with an incidence of Covid-19 120 cases per 100 thousand inhabitants in the last 14 days, three fewer than those registered a week ago.

According to data released this Friday in the epidemiological bulletin of the Directorate-General for Health, as in the previous bulletin, there are no municipalities at extreme risk, that is, with an incidence of 14 days exceeding 960 cases per 100 thousand inhabitants.
The municipality of Ribeira Grande (619) remains at a very high risk of contagion, with an accumulated incidence of more than 480 cases per 100 thousand inhabitants and the only one in this group.

Of the 18 counties, six have accumulated, in the last 14 days, more than 240 cases per 100 thousand inhabitants, two more in relation to the previous bulletin: Arganil (272), Golegã (262), Northeast (329), Odemira (364), Vila do Bispo (272) and Vila Franca do Campo (326).

The remaining 11 counties have values ​​between 120 and 239.9 cases per 100 thousand inhabitants. With zero cases in the last 14 days, 61 counties are reported, minus 20 in relation to the previous bulletin.

 

New SNS 24 Branches open in the north of country

Three new SNS 24 branches opened today, two in Vila Real (in the district capital and in Alijó) and one in Barcelos, Braga district, the Northern Regional Health Administration (ARS) said today. North).

In a statement, ARS Norte announces that the new branches cover the inhabitants of the parishes of Vilar de Maçada and Alvelos and União de parish of Constantim and Vale Nogueiras.

At these counters, users can make appointments, make teleconsultations, consult exams, access treatment guides, renew chronic medication, assess and record symptoms caused by covid-19 and ask for exemption from user fees, among other health information.

ARS stresses that with these openings the North region “now has 46 units, in 45 parishes”. The units have digital mediators, “duly qualified” employees, who help citizens through two accesses: easy access (the user has autonomy to access digital services) and mediated access (the user accesses with the help of the mediator).

“The inauguration of the SNS 24 Balcão unit’s results from a network of partnerships between the Northern Regional Health Administration, SPMS, EPE, municipalities, parish councils and the Health Center Groups”, adds ARS.

 

Covid-19 Variants

João Paulo Gomes, from INSA, reported yesterday that the British variant already represents 87.2% of the total cases in Portugal. The one in Manaus (Brazil) fell from 4.3% in April to 3% in May, “and it should remain so”.

The South African variant is at 1.9% in May and the Indian is now at 4.6%, with no case detected a month ago. Cases of this variant in nine districts of 13 counties.

Currently, there are 37 cases registered with this variant, and the estimate is that the real total is around 160. “It is expected” that “there is already community transmission” of this variant, warned João Paulo Gomes.

The virus is adapting to an increasingly immunized population,” said the expert, warning of the appearance of mutations “that somehow manage to deceive our immune system” and “cause some infections”.

 

Ricardo Jorge Institute collaborates with the Lisbon Firefighters Regiment in a simulation exercise

The National Institute of Health Doutor Ricardo Jorge (INSA) and the Sapadores Firefighters Regiment of Lisbon (RSBL) carried out, on May 28, in Lisbon, a simulation exercise in a level 3 biosafety laboratory (BSL-3), in order to to prepare the procedures for the removal of a health professional from the laboratory, in the event of an accident of biological origin. This action had the participation of about 10 operational staff, and took place within the scope of the collaboration between the Emergency Response and Biopreparation Unit (UREB) and the RSBL.

In order for the evacuation of the health professional concerned to be carried out in complete safety, the RSBL is required to comply with a set of steps, with natural primacy for the stabilization of the vital signs of the person concerned, decontamination process and respective hospital transport. At the same time, and taking into account the nature of the operation, the use of specific personal protective equipment and the decontamination of all operational personnel are also fundamental procedures.

UREB is responsible for coordinating the specialized, rapid and integrated laboratory response in situations of cases and outbreaks that may pose a risk to Public Health, particularly in the context of cases of outbreaks of infections by emerging and re-emerging microorganisms of natural or deliberate dissemination. . It has laboratory diagnosis for more than twenty infectious agents, including bacteria, hemorrhagic viruses, orthopoxvirus and toxins.

INSA currently has five level 3 biological safety laboratories, nomenclature applicable to clinical, diagnostic, teaching, research, or production facilities, where work is carried out with very pathogenic agents, which can cause serious or potentially lethal diseases through inhalation or other type of exposure. Two of these laboratories, located in its headquarters building in Lisbon, have recently undergone a rehabilitation and refurbishment intervention that allows INSA to improve its response capacity to emergencies and bio-preparation.

Henrique Barros, from the Public Health Institute of the University of Porto, announced yesterday a report from “From the acute infection to chronic consequences” study.

The expert points out that, in terms of incidence, the values ​​are now slightly higher in the North and in Lisbon compared to the same period in the previous year.

The difference, says Henrique Barros, is in the older age group, now more protected.

Hospitalizations are much lower, which reflects “the learning” done over these 15 months of the pandemic.

In children up to the age of 10 and in the age group of 80, positivity fell sharply compared to the previous year. The specialist also pointed out that, now, “the probability of dying has dropped dramatically”: it became 1 in 5 infected people and went to “1 in 20 infected people”.
The infection has become “endemic”, at least socially, he argued. “The infection circulates much less, but you have to be careful,” he added.

Within a year, the fear of being infected and anxiety about the pandemic have dropped significantly, revealing that the Portuguese population is learning to live with the coronavirus.

Covid-19 survey results – Carla Nunes, from Universidade Nova de Lisboa

She said that, in the last week, Lisbon had 3 times more cases than what was expected.

The behaviour of the Portuguese have “had significant changes, in line with the lack of definition”. The study released by Carla Nunes found that 16.2% of respondents said they had already been in groups of 10 or more people, compared to 1.8% on February 19.

According to the same study, there is a “clear recovery” of confidence in health services. Only 14.1% of respondents remain little or not confident in the treatment of covid-19, against 32.7% in February.

To change the risk matrix or not?

 

Redlines and question of updates

Andreia Leite, from the National School of Public Health at Universidade Nova de Lisboa, spoke about the update of the red lines.

The analysis is done through the cumulative incidence and the transmissibility rate, allowing to understand if the epidemic situation is controlled or not. It is called the risk matrix. With vaccination progressing, explains Andreia Leite, it is questionable whether it makes sense to update this framework.

“Incidence and Rt should remain the main indicators”

The official argues that there are several unknowns regarding vaccination, namely regarding the duration of immunity. For Andreia Leite, at this stage, it is important to continue looking at the incidence as it is the indicator that allows us to act in a timely manner. “It allows us to meet international criteria, to understand if the measurement of measures has effects and to identify if there is any change in the characteristics of the virus”.

Experts continue to propose the maintenance of the current set of indicators, stressing the importance of incidence and Rt as “main indicators”, she said.

Individual protection measures

 Raquel Duarte, from the University of Porto, said it was “almost unanimous” among the experts to “maintain the obligation to maintain individual protection measures”. The use of the mask continues to be encouraged, “especially in closed environments”. She also called for testing to be maintained at relevant levels and for “effective ventilation” to be carried out in the interior spaces.

The specialist said that it is necessary to go back “in the imposing character” of the measures, betting on a more pedagogical approach. The reason is that the improvement in the pandemic situation inevitably generates a greater willingness for the population to take to the streets.

Like João Paulo Gomes, Raquel Duarte also wants to watch the borders and “restrict” travel to and from countries with a significant impact of new variants.

Raquel Duarte proposes the creation of three new levels of restrictions – A, B and C -, in addition to the existing ones. At level C, the capacity of restaurants must be limited to 25%, changing to 50% at B. Level A is the least restrictive and will only require compliance with general protection measures.
As for family life, the specialist proposes to lift restrictions on levels B and A, while maintaining the risk assessment taking into account criteria such as age.

5.2 million Vaccinations administered

Vice Admiral Henrique Gouveia e Melo, coordinator of the Task Force for the Vaccination Plan reported at the Infarmed meeting the latest vaccination roll out progress.

According to the official, in the second quarter of the year 1.5 million vaccines will arrive in Portugal. Until Thursday, 5.2 million vaccines were given nearly 3.5 million first doses and 1.8 million second doses.
If everything goes according to plan, he advanced, on the 6th of June, the 40-year-old age group will start vaccinating and, in the last week of June, the 30-year-old. By the end of this week, more than 85% of people aged 60 to 69 will be vaccinated and about 40% of those aged 50 to 59.

Henrique Gouveia e Melo says he has two concerns: maintaining the rate of vaccination and ensuring that geographically isolated communities have all the necessary health care. “I am concerned about some grants for the elderly who, in this process, are left behind”, he said, also showing concern for the bedridden, the hospitalized people and those with comorbidities.

More than 25,000 patients have moved from hospitals to long-term care

More than 25,000 patients who were admitted to public hospitals have been placed in long-term care units since the pandemic began.

The National Network of Integrated Continuous Care (RNCCI) “extended its offer and it was possible to hospitalize an additional 25,300 patients between March 2020 and March 2021”, said the coordinator, Purificação Gandra, who spoke to Lusa about the Barometer of Social Internments, published by the Portuguese Association of Hospital Administrators (APAH).

According to the barometer, which reports data collected on 17 March from 43 public hospitals, the number of social admissions dropped 45% compared to February 2020, but the 853 beds occupied without clinical justification represented a cost of more than 16 million euros and they were mainly due to the lack of vacancies in social institutions.

Purification Gandra considered that the barometer is “very valuable” and helps to understand “many things”, but noted that the measurement used “is exactly the same” that has happened over the years when there were different situations than the one experienced in the pandemic.

“We really had to have different strategies and measures to help fight the pandemic and to free hospital beds and, therefore, we all know the difficulty that the country experienced in terms of hospitalizations and we have to take this into account,” he declared.

“We are very happy with the results” because there was “a great effort on the part of all the teams” in health and social security to try “as much as possible to get answers to these patients”, he added.