Azores Situation Report Wednesday 21st July 2021 

 

From our colleague in the Azores

Missing Youth

The PSP of Ponta Delgada, together with the Ponta Delgada Firefighters Volunteers, were carrying out an operation to search for a missing young man from the parish of Relva.

The young man has been missing for about a week and the case was reported to the Public Ministry, so that the procedures to be followed in the investigation can be started.

The last information communicated to the police was that the young man had been seen in Rocha da Relva, a narrow path cut into the cliff which descends to the sea.

The PSP, with the support of the Fire Department, was there looking for the young man. A drone was even used by a team from the Special Police Unit, but the missing person could not be located.

According to the information transmitted by the police, the disappeared young man did not use a mobile phone, having been without contact with any friend or family member for eight days.

 Victim Support

The Government is studying the expansion of victim support offices in the Departments of Investigation and Criminal Action to Madeira and the Azores, said the secretary of State for Equality, in a review of the measures implemented for two years.

Two years after the approval of measures to strengthen responses to prevent and combat domestic violence, the Secretary of State for Citizenship and Equality highlighted the intervention model of victim support offices (GAV) in the Departments of Investigation and Criminal Action (DIAP), which is now being evaluated, and which started with offices in Braga, Aveiro, Coimbra, Lisbon West, Lisbon North and Faro, but should be expanded.

 Covid-19 update

17^th July 2021

43 new Covid-19 positive cases were diagnosed in the Azores, 29 in São Miguel, 12 in Terceira and two in Faial, resulting from 2,175 tests carried out in reference laboratories in the Region.

In São Miguel, three of the new cases correspond to travellers, two non-residents (one with screening on the 6th day and one with screening for symptoms) and one resident with a positive analysis in the screening on arrival. The remaining cases stem from community transmission. Thus, in the municipality of Lagoa there were 16 new cases, in the municipality of Ponta Delgada six new cases were registered, in the municipality of Ribeira Grande there were five new cases and in the municipality of Vila Franca do Campo there were two new cases.

In Terceira, the new cases now diagnosed correspond to two travellers, non-residents, with screening for symptoms and another case, resulting from screening for a resident, originated a new chain of primary local transmission in Praia da Vitória. The remaining nine are part of the previously identified chains. Thus, in the municipality of Angra do Heroísmo there were two new cases and in the municipality of Praia da Vitória 10 new cases were registered.

In Faial there were two new cases, one resulting from screening a non-resident traveler, with a positive result on the 6th day and the other resulting from a positive analysis in the screening of residents, which is now part of the active chain on this island.

38 recoveries were recorded.

18^th July 2021

38 new Covid-19 positive cases were diagnosed in the Azores, 25 in São Miguel, eight in Terceira, three in São Jorge, one in Graciosa and one in Flores, resulting from 1,891 tests carried out in the reference laboratories of the Region and two in non-agreed laboratories.

In São Miguel, eight of the new cases correspond to non-resident travellers – one in the 6th day screening, four with positive screening for symptoms and three with positive screening before the start of the inter-island trip. The remaining cases stem from community transmission.

Thus, in the municipality of Lagoa there were eight new cases, in the municipality of Ponta Delgada 15 new cases were registered, in the municipality of Ribeira Grande there were two new cases.

In Terceira, a resident traveller tested positive on the 6th day, the rest are from one of the active chains on the island. Thus, in the municipality of Angra do Heroísmo there were three new cases and in the municipality of Praia da Vitória five new cases were registered.

In São Jorge, three new cases were registered, of three travellers, two non-residents and one resident, all with a positive analysis in the 6th day screening.

In Flores there was a new case, of a traveller, non-resident, with positive screening, after other members of the group tested positive.

Graciosa also registered a new case, of a traveller, resident, with a positive analysis on the 6th day.

30 recoveries were recorded.

19^th July 2021

35 new positive cases of Covid-19 were diagnosed in the Azores, 24 in São Miguel, 10 in Terceira and one in Pico, resulting from 913 tests carried out in reference laboratories in the Region and two in pharmacies and non-conventional laboratories.

In São Miguel, one of the cases corresponds to a traveller, a resident, with positive screening on arrival. The remaining cases stem from community transmission. Thus, in the municipality of Lagoa there were six new cases, in the municipality of Ponta Delgada 11 new cases were registered, in the municipality of Ribeira Grande there were five new cases, in the municipality of Vila Franca do Campo there was a new case, and in the municipality of Nordeste there was also diagnosed a new case.

On Terceira, two of the new cases correspond to two non-resident travellers, one with positive screening on arrival and the other on the 6th day. Two positive cases gave rise to two new strands of primary local transmission. One case remains to be assessed and five new cases are part of active chains. Thus, in the municipality of Angra do Heroísmo there were three new cases and in the municipality of Praia da Vitória seven new cases were registered.

In Pico, there was a new case, of a non-resident traveller, with a positive screening on the 6th day.

Three recoveries were recorded, two in Terceira (one in the Sé and the other in Santa Bárbara, in the municipality of Angra do Heroísmo) and one in Flores, parish of Fajã Grande, in the municipality of Lajes.

20^th July 2021

26 new Covid-19 positive cases were diagnosed in the Azores, 11 in São Miguel, 11 in Terceira, two in Faial and two in Pico, resulting from 2,223 tests carried out in reference laboratories in the Region and two in pharmacies and non-agreed laboratories.

In São Miguel, one of the cases corresponds to a traveller, non-resident, with positive screening, after another traveller from the same group had tested positive. The remaining cases stem from community transmission. Thus, in the municipality of Lagoa there were three new cases, in the municipality of Ponta Delgada six new cases were registered, in the municipality of Ribeira Grande there was a new case, and in the municipality of Vila Franca do Campo there was also a new case.

In Terceira, 10 of the new cases are linked to previous primary local transmission chains and one case is yet to be assessed. Thus, in the municipality of Angra do Heroísmo there were four new cases and in the municipality of Praia da Vitória seven new cases were registered.

In Pico, there were two, new cases, of two travellers, non-residents, with positive screening on the 6th day. In Faial there were also two new cases of two travellers, non-residents, with screening for the 6th positive day.

87 recoveries were recorded.

As of today, 12 patients are hospitalized, 11 in the Hospital do Divino Espírito Santo, in Ponta Delgada (with three in the ICU) and one in the Hospital de Santo Espírito da Ilha Terceira.

The archipelago currently has 412 active positive cases, 310 in São Miguel, 60 in Terceira, 17 in Pico, 10 in São Jorge, seven in Flores, seven in Faial and one in Graciosa. Two local primary transmission chains on Terceira have been extinguished, and 11 chains of primary local transmission are now active in the archipelago, six on Terceira, two on Pico, one on São Jorge, one on Faial and one on São Miguel/Flores. So far 207 have died on all the islands. There are currently 742 people under active surveillance.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, 7,042 positive cases of Covid-19 have been diagnosed in the Azores, with 6,452 people having recovered from the disease. 34 died, 84 left the archipelago and 60 presented proof of previous cure. To date, 616,6003 tests have been carried out to screen for the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes Covid-19 disease.

From December 31st, 2020 to July 8th, 250,705 doses of vaccines against Covid-19 were administered in the Azores, with 129,190 people with at least one dose (53.21% of the population) and 121,515 people with full vaccination (50.05%), under the Regional Vaccination Plan.

 

 

Azores Situation Report- Saturday 17th July 2021

 

From our colleague in the Azores  

TUI 

As part of the ongoing process of recovery of the Tourism sector in the Autonomous Region of the Azores, and particularly in terms of air access, an essential pillar for this purpose, TUI Holanda, through its air operator TUI FLY, today resumed air connections to the Azores.

It is a circular flight from Amsterdam to Terceira, with the final destination, Ponta Delgada, a connection that had been suspended in 2020 due to the covid-19 pandemic.

The air operation resumed yesterday, with flight OR699, and with its usual configuration, the tourist flows of one of the relevant strategic markets for the Azores destination, which is the Dutch market.

In 2019, this market had a total of 93,768 overnight stays in the Azores – ion Terceira Island, from 2014 to 2019 there was a 10.2% growth in Dutch tourists.

The operation runs until September 29th, 2021, always on Wednesdays, in a total of 12 flights, operated by a Boeing 737 and with an estimated total number of 1,800 seats.

14^th July 2021 

47 new positive cases of covid-19 were diagnosed in the Azores, with 41 on the island of São Miguel, two on the island of Terceira, two on the island of Pico and two on the island of Faial, following 2,576 tests carried out in the reference laboratories of the Region and one in an independent laboratory.

On the island of São Miguel, four of the new cases concern non-resident travellers who tested positive on the 6^th day. Two non-resident travelers in the parish of Santo António de Nordestinho, municipality of Nordeste, tested positive on the 6^th day. A non-resident traveller in the parish of Candelária, municipality of Ponta Delgada, tested positive on the 6^th day. A non-resident traveler in the parish of Ginetes, municipality of Ponta Delgada, tested positive on the 6^th day. The other cases are related to community transmission.

Thus, in the municipality of Lagoa there were five new cases (two in Santa Cruz, two in Rosário and one in Água de Pau). In the municipality of Ponta Delgada, 26 new cases were registered (seven in Arrifes, seven in Rosto do Cão — São Roque —, four in Rosto do Cão — Livramento —, three in São José, two in São Sebastião, one in Capelas, one in Candelária and one in Ginetes). There were five new cases in the municipality of Ribeira Grande (two in Rabo de Peixe, one in Pico da Pedra, one in Calheta and one in Ribeira Seca). There were three new cases in the municipality of Vila Franca do Campo (one in Ponta Garça, one in São Pedro and one in São Miguel). In the municipality of Nordeste, there were two new cases in Santo António de Nordestinho.

On the island of Terceira, there were two new cases in the municipality of Praia da Vitoria (one in Fontinhas and one in Fonte do Bastardo), related to interisland travelers from São Miguel, who tested positive upon arrival.

On the island of Pico, there were two new cases, one in São Mateus, municipality of Madalena, of a resident, who tested positive upon arrival from São Miguel. There was also a positive case in Vila de São Roque, municipality of São Roque, of a non-resident, who tested positive on the 6^th day, related to inter-island travel from São Miguel.

On the island of Faial, there were two new cases in Angústias, one of which is a resident traveller who tested positive on the 6^th day, originating a new primary transmission chain. The other case concerns a resident.

42 recoveries have been registered.

15^th July 2021 

51 new positive cases of covid-19 were diagnosed in the Azores, with 38 on the island of São Miguel, seven on the island of Terceira, four on the island of Pico, one on the island of São Jorge and one on the island of Flores, following 2,249 tests carried out in the reference laboratories of the Region and one in an independent laboratory.

On the island of São Miguel, all cases are related to community transmission. Thus, 24 new cases were registered in the municipality of Ponta Delgada. There were seven new cases in the municipality of Ribeira Grande and in the municipality of Vila Franca do Campo there was one case.  On the island of Terceira, there were four new cases in the municipality of Praia da Vitória. In the municipality of Angra do Heroísmo, three cases were registered, one of which concerns a traveller, resident in the parish of Terra Chã, who tested positive on the 6^th day. It is also verified that a primary local transmission chain has emerged between the municipalities of Praia da Vitoria and Angra do Heroísmo, which origin remains to be assessed.

On the island of Pico there were four new cases in the municipality of Madalena (four travelers, two non-residents, in Vila da Madalena and two residents, one in the parish of Criação Velha and the other in Vila da Madalena, in the municipality of Madalena, who tested positive on the 6^th day).

On the island of Flores, there was a new case in the parish of Fajã Grande, municipality of Lajes.

On the island of São Jorge a new case was also registered in Norte Grande (Neves), concerning a resident traveller, who tested positive on the 6^th day.

26 recoveries were registered.

16^th July 2021 

39 new positive cases of covid-19 were diagnosed in the Azores, with 28 on the island of São Miguel, seven on the island of Terceira, three on the island of Flores and one on the island of São Jorge, following 1,923 tests carried out in the reference laboratories of the Region.

On the island of São Miguel, two non-resident travelers tested positive on the 6^th day (one in the parish of Ponta Garça, municipality of Vila Franca do Campo and one in the parish of Cabouco, municipality of Lagoa). The other cases are related to community transmission.

Thus, in the municipality of Ponta Delgada, there were 13 new cases, in the municipality of Lagoa, there were eight new cases, in the municipality of Ribeira Grande, there were three new cases and in the municipality of Vila Franca do Campo, there were four new cases.

On the island of Terceira, there were seven new cases in the municipality of Praia da Vitoria. Two new primary local transmission chains have emerged on this island, one being shared between the parishes of Cinco Ribeiras in the municipality of Angra do Heroísmo and the parish of Santa Cruz, municipality of Praia da Vitoria, as result of the presentation of symptomatology of the 1st element of the chain. The other chain, in the parish of Lajes, municipality of Praia da Vitoria, is related to a resident traveler who obtained a positive result on the 6^th day. For the remaining positive cases, four are linked to previous chains and one is still to be assessed.

On the island of Flores, there were three new cases concerning travelers, non-residents, in the parish and municipality of Lajes da Flores, who tested positive on the 6^th day.

On the island of São Jorge, a new case was also registered in the Vila and municipality of Velas, a non-resident traveller, who tested positive on the 6^th day.

22 recoveries were registered.

As of today, 10 patients are hospitalised, nine at the Divino Espírito Santo Hospital in Ponta Delgada and one at the Santo Espírito Hospital in Angra do Heroísmo.

The archipelago currently has 428 active positive cases: 366 on the island of São Miguel, 30 on the island of Terceira, 14 on the island of Pico, seven on the island of São Jorge, eight on the island of Flores and three on the island of Faial. 10 primary local transmission chains are active in the archipelago, five on the island of Terceira, two on the island of Pico, one on the island of Faial, one on the island of São Jorge and one between the island of São Miguel and Flores. To date, 205 have been extinguished on all islands. There are 775 people under active surveillance today.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, 6,900 positive cases of covid-19 have been diagnosed in the Azores and 6,294 people recovered from the disease. There were 34 deaths, 84 people who left the archipelago and 60 cases with history of previous cure. To date, 599,203 tests have been carried out for SARS-CoV-2, which causes covid-19 disease.

From 31st December 2020 to July 8th, 250,705 doses of covid-19 vaccine have been administered in the Azores, with 129.190 people receiving the first dose (53.21 % of the population) and 121.515 people with complete vaccination (50.05 %), under the Regional Vaccination Plan.

 

 

 

Azores Situation Report Wednesday 14^th July 2021

 

By our colleague in the Azores

Group Immunity.

Pedro Monjardino, reiterated the intention put forward, on Thursday, by the regional secretary for Health and Sports, saying that the objective of group immunity in the region “will be reached between July 31st and August 15th” (with a delay of 15 days in relation to the initial target).

“Right now, we’re more focused on the island of São Miguel and Terceira, but more on the island of São Miguel and, if we have a delay of 15 days, it’s not disappointing for us. Our goal is to make the island of São Miguel, as quickly as possible, to reach 70% immunization”, said the regional co-ordinator.

This was said on the eve of the end of “Operation Periphery”, which, with the support of the ‘task-force’ and a military team provided by the Ministry of National Defence, vaccinated 70% of the population of the islands without a hospital, except do Corvo, which was the first island to achieve group immunity, in March.

About this process, which ends on Sunday, at the vaccination centre of São Roque do Pico, he added that, “at this moment, with the exception of the island of Flores, the percentage of immunization that [will] be achieved will be higher than 70%”.

Thus, the islands of Santa Maria, Graciosa, São Jorge and Pico, which join the island of Corvo, reach this goal.

The island of Flores will have an inoculation rate of around 63%, said the official, due to “cases of refusals and absences”.

“But the island of Flores has always been characterized, in the past, for having higher rates of refusals than in other islands”, he continued.

Pedro Monjardino down-played the issue and insisted again on the priority of this team: “The refusal rates, at this moment, do not worry me. What worries me is our priority and our priority is to immunize 70% of the population of the island of São Miguel right now”.

A booster of 25 thousand doses of vaccines against Covid-19 will arrive in the region for the month of July.

This 25,000 shot booster joins the 7,000 Janssen shots that arrived on June 30th, as well as the 40,950 shots from Pfizer and 4,000 shots from Janssen this month.

“We also know that, right on August 2nd, 40,950 [doses] arrive, which means that, with those that are already here, and with those that will arrive in the near future, we are talking about, in a space of one month, we can, in fact, reach the number of vaccines necessary for this immunization”, stressed the government official.

On the islands of São Miguel and Terceira, age groups between 40 and 50 are currently being vaccinated, and anyone over 50 years old and has not been invited should contact their health centre.

10^th July 2021 

49 new Covid-19 positive cases were diagnosed in the Azores, 46 in São Miguel, two in Terceira, and one in Flores, resulting from 2,107 tests carried out in reference laboratories in the Region.

In São Miguel, three new cases refer to travellers, non-residents, with positive tests on the 6th day screening: one in Maia and another in Rabo de Peixe, in the municipality of Ribeira Grande, and one in Algarvia, in the county of the Northeast. All other registered cases are due to community transmission.

Thus, in the municipality of Lagoa there were 15 new cases (eight in Rosário, four in Água de Pau, two in Santa Cruz and one in Cabouco). In the municipality of Ponta Delgada 22 new cases were registered (six in Arrifes, three in Pilar da Brittany, two in São Sebastião, two in Fajã de Cima, two in Relva, two in Livramento, two in Capelas, one in São Roque, one in Mosteiros and one in Fenais da Luz).

In the municipality of Ribeira Grande there were six new cases (two in Matriz, one in Rabo de Peixe, one in Conceição, one in Santa Bárbara and one in Maia). In the municipality of Vila Franca do Campo there was a new case in São Miguel, and in the Northeast there were two cases in the parish of Algarvia.

In Terceira, there were two new cases in the municipality of Angra do Heroísmo, parish of São Pedro, of two non-resident travellers, with positive tests on the 6th day screening.

In Flores, there was a new case in the municipality of Lajes, parish of Fajã Grande, of a traveller who revealed a positive analysis during the screening on the 6th day.

24 recoveries were recorded.

11^th July 2021 

30 new positive cases of Covid-19 were diagnosed in the Azores, 28 in São Miguel and two in São Jorge resulting from 1,884 tests carried out in reference laboratories in the Region and one in a non-conventional laboratory.

In São Miguel, seven new cases refer to travellers, five non-residents, in the parish of Santa Cruz, municipality of Lagoa, and one non-resident, in the parish of São Pedro, municipality of Ponta Delgada. In the parish of Santa Clara, municipality of Ponta Delgada, a non-resident traveller obtained a positive result on arrival.

All other registered cases are due to community transmission.

Thus, in the municipality of Lagoa there were 12 new cases (10 in Santa Cruz, one in Rosário and one in Ribeira Chã). In the municipality of Ponta Delgada, nine new cases were registered (two in Arrifes, two in São Pedro, two in Livramento, one in São José, one in São Roque and one in Santa Clara). In the municipality of Ribeira Grande there were five new cases (two in Rabo de Peixe, one in Matriz, one in Conceição, one in Maia). In the municipality of Vila Franca do Campo there were two new cases in São Miguel.

In São Jorge there were two new cases, one in the municipality of Velas, parish of Norte Grande and one in the municipality of Calheta, parish of Ribeira Seca.

28 recoveries were recorded.

12^th July 2021 

42 new positive cases of Covid-19 were diagnosed in the Azores, with 40 on the island of São Miguel, one on the island of Terceira and one on the island of Pico, following 1,003 tests carried out in the reference laboratories of the Region.

On the island of São Miguel, one of the new cases concerns a traveller, non-resident, in the parish of the Fajã de Baixo, municipality of Ponta Delgada, who tested positive upon arrival. The other cases are related to community transmission.

Thus, there were 23 new cases in the municipality of Lagoa (12 in Santa Cruz, six in Cabouco, two in Rosário, two in Água de Pau and one in Ribeira Chã). In the municipality of Ponta Delgada, 11 new cases were registered (two in Arrifes, two in Livramento, two in Fajã de Baixo, two in Capelas, one in São José, one in Covoada and one in Mosteiros). There were four new cases in the municipality of Ribeira Grande (three in Rabo de Peixe and one in Matriz). In the municipality of Vila Franca do Campo there were two new cases (one in the Água de Alto and one in São Miguel).

On the island of Terceira, there was a new case in Cabo da Praia of a non-resident traveller, who tested positive on the 6^th day.

On the island of Pico, there was another case in Bandeiras, municipality of Madalena, related to the chain identified previously.

No recoveries were registered.

13^th July 2021 

11 new positive cases of Covid-19 were diagnosed in the Azores, five on the island of São Miguel, two on the island of Flores, one on the island of Terceira, one on the island of Pico, one on the island of São Jorge and one on the island of Faial, following 1,847 tests carried out in the reference laboratories of the Region.

On the island of São Miguel, all cases were related to community transmission. Thus, in the municipality of Lagoa there were three new cases, in the parish of Cabouco; in the municipality of Ponta Delgada, a new case was registered in the parish of Capelas and in the municipality of Ribeira Grande, there was a new case in Ribeira Seca.

A positive case identified in yesterday’s communiqué in the parish of Fajã de Baixo, municipality of Ponta Delgada, submitted documentation demonstrating a previous infection and its recovery, thus is not considered an active case in the Azores.

On the island of Terceira, there is a new case in Lajes, municipality of Praia da Vitoria, of a traveller, resident, who tested positive upon arrival. Also, it was verified that a positive case, a non-resident citizen who was in the parish of Cabo da Praia, municipality of Praia da Vitoria, left the archipelago and is no longer considered an active case in the Azores.

On the island of Pico, there is one case in Vila da Madalena, on the same municipality, concerning a traveller, non-resident, who tested positive on the 6^th day.

On the island of Flores, two cases were diagnosed in Fajã Grande, municipality of Lajes das Flores. One of these cases, an inter-island traveller from São Miguel, originated a new primary local transmission chain.

On the island of São Jorge, there is a new positive case in Vila das Velas, a non-resident traveller, who tested positive on the 6^th day, originating a new primary local transmission chain.

On the island of Faial, a new case was registered in the parish of Angústias, municipality of Horta, of a traveller, resident, who tested positive on the 6^th day.

In the last 24 hours, 34 recoveries have been registered and as of today 12 patients are hospitalised, 11 at the Divino Espírito Santo Hospital in Ponta Delgada (one in intensive care unit) and one in the Santo Espírito Hospital of Terceira Island.

The archipelago currently has 381 active positive cases: 343 on the island of São Miguel, 18 on the island of Terceira, eight on the island of Pico, five on the island of São Jorge, five on the island of Flores and two on the island of Faial. Six primary local transmission chains are active in the archipelago, two on the island of Pico, two on the island of Terceira, one on the island of Flores and one on the island of São Jorge. To date, 205 have been extinguished on all islands. There are 1,776 people under active surveillance today.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, 6,763 positive cases of Covid-19 have been diagnosed in the Azores and 6,204 people recovered from the disease.

There were 34 deaths, 84 people who left the archipelago and 60 cases with history of previous cure. To date, 600,206 tests have been carried out for SARS-CoV-2, which causes Covid-19 disease.

From 31st December 2020 to July 8th, 250,705 doses of Covid-19 vaccines have been administered in the Azores, with 129.190 people who received the first dose (53.21 % of the population) and 121,515 people with complete vaccination (50.05 %), under the Regional Vaccination Plan.

 

 

Azores Situation Report Saturday 10th July 2021 

 

From our colleague in the Azores 

Public Events 

Public cultural and sporting events can take place in every municipality in the Azores from today and, at weddings and christenings, tests for SARS-CoV-2 will be required, announced the Secretary of Health.

“Public, cultural or sporting events can exist and with audiences at any risk level, only with limited capacity”, said the head of the Health in the Azores, Clélio Meneses.

Until now, in the Azores, the holding of “public events promoted by the regional administration, including public institutes and companies of the regional business public sector” was suspended in municipalities with medium, medium-high and high risk of transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, which provokes Covid-19, with the recommendation that autarchies and private sector entities follow the same measure.

From 00:01 on Saturday, it is possible to hold public events in all municipalities, but the maximum capacity depends on the level of risk.

“In very low-risk municipalities, there is a capacity limitation of half of the respective capacity. In low-risk municipalities, it is a third of the respective capacity and, in medium-risk or higher municipalities, a quarter of the respective capacity and subject to a plan of contingency”.

As for private events that involve a greater concentration of people, such as weddings or other religious festivals, they can also be held in all municipalities, regardless of the level of risk, but participants will have to undergo screening tests.

“Considering that there is evidence of a greater risk of contamination in festivities and gatherings, including weddings, baptisms and similar events, it is defined that they can take place at any risk level. However, with capacity limits, in accordance with the regulations. levels of risk, but also with mandatory testing to participate in this type of events,” said the regional secretary of Health.

“if they are PCR tests, they must be performed at most 72 hours in advance of the event”, if they are antigen tests, they must be performed 48 hours in advance and “self-tests can be performed at the time”.

The event organizer “will be responsible for identifying all those present and ensuring that the tests have been carried out”, so that, in the event of any type of contagion, it will be possible to identify the contacts.

He justified these measures with the inexistence of deaths by covid-19 in the Azores, claiming that the last recorded case was due to comorbidities, and to the reduction in the number of hospitalizations with this disease.

“In April 2020 we had 40 inpatients in one day, in January this year we had 28 inpatients. We have only four hospitalized currently with fewer hospitalizations and no deaths, it demonstrates that we are in a different time, our protection is being guaranteed by the ongoing vaccination process”.

From midnight on Saturday, on the island of São Miguel, the municipalities of Ribeira Grande and Lagoa will be at high risk, Ponta Delgada at medium high risk, Vila Franca do Campo at low risk and Nordeste and Povoação at very low risk.

Also the municipalities of the other islands of the Azores, where no community transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is identified, will be at very low risk.

7^th July 2021 

45 new positive cases of covid-19 were diagnosed in the Azores , one on the island of Santa Maria, two on the island of Pico, one on the island of Terceira and 41 on the island of São Miguel, following 1,723 tests carried out in the reference laboratories of the Region.

On the island of Pico, two cases were diagnosed in the parish of Bandeiras, municipality of Madalena, resulting from tests upon arrival to non-residents.

On the island of Santa Maria, there was a new case in Vila do Porto of a non-resident, who tested positive on the 6^th day.

A new case was also registered on the island of Terceira, in the parish of Porto Judeu, municipality of Angra do Heroísmo, of a resident, with a positive result on the 6^th day test.

On the island of São Miguel, all cases are related to community transmission. Thus, there were seven new cases in the municipality of Ribeira Grande (two in Ribeirinha and one in each of the parishes of Pico da Pedra, Rabo de Peixe, Matriz, Conceição and Santa Bárbara). There were 10 new cases in the municipality of Ponta Delgada (five in Arrifes, two in Covoada, two in São Sebastião and one in Sete Cidades).  There were 24 new cases in the municipality of Lagoa (six in Água de Pau, eight in Rosário, nine in Santa Cruz and one in Ribeira Chã).

33 recoveries have been registered.

8^th July 2021 

36 new positive cases of covid-19 were diagnosed in the Azores, one on the island of Pico, three on the island of Terceira and 32 on the island of São Miguel, following 2,953 tests carried out in the reference laboratories of the Region and three in an independent laboratory.

On the island of Pico, a new case was diagnosed in Bandeiras, municipality of Madalena, leading to a new primary local transmission chain.

On the island of Terceira, three cases were registered, one in the municipality of Praia da Vitoria, parish of Santa Cruz, and two in the municipality of Angra do Heroísmo (one in Sé and the other in Conceição). Of the total, one case remains to be assessed and two others are related to travellers, non-residents, one who tested positive on the 6^th day and the other who was tested due to the appearance of symptoms. Since this new case now confirmed in the municipality of Praia da Vitória is a close contact to another positive case reported in previous press releases, a primary local transmission chain is now formed on the island of Terceira.

On the island of São Miguel, two cases concern travellers, residents, one who tested positive upon arrival and the other on the 6^th day. All the other cases are the result of community transmission. Thus, in the municipality of Ribeira Grande there were six new cases (three in Ribeirinha, one in São Brás, one in Matriz and one in Conceição). In the municipality of Ponta Delgada, there were 15 new cases (three in Fajã de Baixo, three in São José, two in Arrifes, and one in each of the parishes of São Pedro, Santa Clara, Relva, Livramento, Fajã de Cima, São Sebastião and Remédios). There were 19 new cases in the municipality of Lagoa (11 in Água de Pau, four in Santa Cruz, three in Rosário and one in Cabouco). In the municipality of Nordeste, there was a new case in Vila de Nordeste.

41 recoveries were registered.

9^th July 2021 

51 new positive cases of covid-19 were diagnosed in the Azores, with 44 on the island of São Miguel, six on the island of Terceira and one on the island of Flores, following 2,487 tests carried out in the reference laboratories of the Region and five in an independent laboratory.

On the island of São Miguel, six new cases concern travellers, non-residents (four who tested positive on the 6^th day and two who tested positive upon arrival). All other cases are related to community transmission. Thus, there were 20 new cases in the municipality of Lagoa (13 in Santa Cruz, four in Rosário, two in Água de Pau and one in Cabouco). In the municipality of Ponta Delgada, 12 new cases were registered (three in Fajã de Baixo, two in São José, two in Arrifes and one in each of the parishes of São Pedro, São Sebastião, Capelas, Remédios and Pilar da Bretanha). There were eight new cases in the municipality of Ribeira Grande (two in Pico da Pedra, two in Rabo de Peixe, two in Conceição, one in Matriz and one in Maia). In the municipality of Vila Franca do Campo there were four new cases (three in Água de Alto and one in São Miguel).

On the island of Terceira, three of the six new cases concern travellers (one resident and one non-resident who tested d positive on the 6^th day and one resident who tested positive upon arrival). One of the positive cases now diagnosed on the island has led to a new primary local transmission chain in Praia da Vitoria and two others are related to a previously identified chain. Thus, three new cases were registered in the municipality of Angra do Heroísmo (one in Sé, one in São Pedro and one in Santa Bárbara). There were three new cases in the municipality of Praia da Vitoria (two in Cabo da Praia and one in Lajes).

On the island of Flores, the new diagnosed case concerned an interisland traveller from São Miguel to Flores who tested d positive on the 6^th day.

19 recoveries have been registered and six patients are hospitalised, five at the Divino Espírito Santo Hospital in Ponta Delgada and one at the Santo Espírito Hospital of Terceira Island. None of these patients are in intensive care unit.

The archipelago currently has 338 active positive cases: 311 on the island of São Miguel, 15 on the island of Terceira, six on the island of Pico, two on the island of Faial, two on the island of São Jorge and two on the island of Flores. Five primary local transmission chains are active in the archipelago, one on the island of Faial, two on the island of Pico and two on the island of Terceira. To date, 204 have been extinguished on all islands. There were 2,032 people under active surveillance yesterday.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, 6,631 positive cases of covid-19 have been diagnosed in the Azores and 6,118 people recovered from the disease. There were 34 deaths, 83 people who left the archipelago and 58 cases with history of previous cure. To date, 595,212 tests have been carried out for SARS-CoV-2, which causes covid-19 disease.

From 31st December 2020 to July 8th, 250,705 doses of covid-19 vaccines have been administered in the Azores, with 129.190 people who received the first dose (53.21 % of the population) and 121.515 people with complete vaccination (50.05 %), under the Regional Vaccination Plan.