Azores Situation Report Wednesday 28^th July 2021  

 

From our colleague in the Azores

Herd Immunity 

The target to achieve herd immunity in the Azores has been extended until the end of August, but the regional coordinator of vaccination against Covid-19 said that there is now “a very high degree of predictability”.

15,000 Janssen vaccines have arrived in the region, they will allow a substantial increase in the vaccination cycle here, on the island of São Miguel, one of the great difficulties that was felt in the Azores is the degree of predictability of the arrival of vaccines.

Between the 21st of July and the 17th of August, around 100,000 vaccines will arrive in the Autonomous Region of the Azores, of which 72% will be allocated exclusively to the island of São Miguel.

On the possibility of starting to vaccinate children from 12 years of age, “it will be up to the monitoring committee to make its recommendation to the Regional Government”.

Pedro Monjardino believes that, “at the right time, they will do this, because, in fact, we have the school year to start and this is an issue that will have to be resolved during the month of August, so that the measures that must be taken can be.

For the island of São Miguel, which is currently the priority in vaccination.  We are preparing to vaccinate about 2,500 people a day.

Restaurant opening hours extended 

The Regional Government of the Azores changed the restrictive measures to combat Covid-19, extending the restaurant’s opening hours and reducing the ban on circulation, even in high-risk municipalities, revealed the regional director of Health.

In a press conference, Berto Cabral, who is also the head of the Azores Regional Health Authority, justified the decision because of the advancement of the vaccination process against Covid-19 in the region and the importance that this time of year “is for many sectors of economic activity”.

As of 00:00 on Monday, the municipalities of Ponta Delgada and Lagoa, on the island of São Miguel, and Angra do Heroísmo and Praia da Vitória, on the island of Terceira, with a high risk of transmission of SARS-CoV-2, are in a situation of public calamity.

Even so, the restrictions are lessened: in medium-high and high-risk municipalities, restaurant hours are extended from 22:00 to 23:00, but in high-risk districts, cafes have to close at 20:00.

From 00:00 on Monday, restaurants, drinks and similar establishments in the lower and very low risk counties are no longer obligatory to close at midnight.

In medium-risk municipalities, these spaces can now close at midnight, when they had to close at 10 pm, according to the changes introduced in the resolution of the Council of Government, already published in the Official Journal.

Another change concerns the reduction of the time of prohibition of circulation on public roads in high-risk municipalities, which is now between 00:00 and 5:00, and is no longer between 23:00 and 5:00.

The exceptions provided for by law are maintained.

Commercial establishments in high-risk municipalities are required to close at 23:00, with the exception of pharmacies, clinics and fuel stations.

Also in high-risk councils, wakes can now take place until 22:00, whereas before they could only take place until 20:00.

Gatherings on public roads are limited to 10 people in very low risk municipalities, eight in low risk, six in medium risk and four in medium-high risk.

Restaurants can only occupy a capacity of three quarters in very low risk counties, two thirds at low risk, half at medium risk and one third at medium-high and high risk.

In cultural and sporting events, the maximum capacity allowed is half in municipalities at very low risk, a third in low risk and a quarter in the highest levels.

The new measures will come into effect “exceptional” at 00:00 on Monday and not at 00:00 on Saturday.

This is due, according to Berto Cabral, to the need for logistical preparation for the obligation to carry out screening tests on inter-island trips departing from Terceira Island, where community transmission was declared.

“It requires that both the laboratories, the passengers, and the teams that will be on each of the islands to control these passengers, have the logistics set up so that things work”, he explained.

The resolution states that the current measures are “in effect until 23:59 hours on the 25th of July”, Sunday.

From 00:00 on Monday, on the island of São Miguel, Ribeira Grande and Vila Franca do Campo will be at medium-high risk and in a contingency situation.

The remaining municipalities of the Azores will be on alert, with the measures planned for very low risk municipalities, with the exception of the islands that have already reached 70% vaccination (Corvo, Santa Maria, São Jorge, Pico and Graciosa), where the restrictive measures have already been eased.

The assessment of risk levels in the region is based on a German model of traffic lights and is calculated as a function of the number of new cases of Covid-19 per 100,000 inhabitants in a seven-day period.

There are five risk levels: very low (less than 25 cases per 100,000 inhabitants), low (between 25 and 49 cases per 100,000 inhabitants), medium (between 50 and 74 cases per 100,000 inhabitants), medium high (between 75 and 99 cases per 100,000 inhabitants) and high (more than 100 cases per 100,000 inhabitants).

Covid-19 

Since the last Situation report Azores on the 21^st July there have been 111 new cases of Covid-19

27^th July 2021 

43 new positive cases of covid-19 were diagnosed in the Azores. 29 on the island of São Miguel, 11 on the island of Terceira, two on the island of São Jorge and one on the island of Pico, following 2,123 tests carried out in the reference laboratories of the Region.

On the island of São Miguel, five of the new cases concern travellers: three are residents, one in the parish of Ribeirinha, municipality of Ribeira Grande, and one in the parish of Nossa Senhora do Rosário, municipality of Lagoa, who tested positive on the 6^th day, and one in the parish of São Pedro, municipality of Vila Franca do Campo, who tested positive upon arrival. Two are non-residents, one is a crew member of a vessel that stopped over at Ponta Delgada and the other, in the parish of Santa Cruz, municipality of Lagoa, who tested positive on the 6^th day. All the other cases are related to community transmission. In terms of municipalities, in Lagoa, there were six new cases, in the municipality of Ponta Delgada, 16 new cases were registered, in the municipality of Vila Franca do Campo, there was one new case and in the municipality of Ribeira Grande, there were six new cases.

On the island of Terceira, one of the cases concerns a traveller, resident, who presented symptoms after the 6th negative day test. All other cases are related to community transmission. Thus, two new cases were registered in the municipality of Angra do Heroísmo and in the municipality of Praia da Vitória, there were six new cases.

On the island of Pico, the case now diagnosed was related to a travel from outside the Region and originated a new primary local transmission chain in Madalena.

On the island of São Jorge, one of the cases diagnosed concerns a person with a history of travel from outside the Region, creating a new primary local transmission chain in the municipality of Velas, related to the other case now diagnosed.

66 recoveries were registered.

As of today, 18 patients are hospitalised, with 10 at the Divino Espírito Santo Hospital in Ponta Delgada (with two in intensive care unit), seven at the Santo Espírito Hospital in Angra do Heroísmo (with one in intensive care unit) and one in Horta Hospital.

The archipelago currently has 523 active positive cases: 324 on the island of São Miguel, 169 on the island of Terceira, 11 on the island of Pico, three on the island of Flores, five on the island of Faial, six on the island of São Jorge, three on the island of Graciosa and two on the island of Santa Maria.

With the emergence of two new primary local transmission chains in the last 24 hours, five chains are now active in the archipelago, two on the island of Pico, one on the island of Faial, one between the island of Pico and Flores and one on the island of São Jorge. To date, 218 have been extinguished on all islands. There are 2,005 people under active surveillance today.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, 7,420 positive cases of covid-19 have been diagnosed in the Azores and 6,712 people recovered from the disease. There were 37 deaths, 85 people who left the archipelago and 63 cases with history of previous cure. To date, 631,350 tests have been carried out for SARS-CoV-2, which causes covid-19 disease.

From 31st December 2020 until 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 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.