Portugal Situation Report Wednesday 16th February 2022
Introduction
The attack on the Funky Dogo bar in Vilamoura on Sunday evening, destroying the bar and damaging some neighbouring property, was a reprehensible attack. Customers had been told by the perpetrators, who were wearing hoods, to leave the bar before it was doused in petrol and set alight.
It seems clear from this that the aim was to cause damage rather than loss of life, but they had little regard to the fact that the ensuing fire could have spread to the hotel, in which the bar is an integral part of, had it not been for the prompt action of fire fighters. In other words a callous attack putting the public and firefighters at risk.
However, it is important not to generalise that, as a result of this incident, Portugal is somehow a less safe place than before, as some have done on social media. Portugal including the Algarve is one of the safest places in Europe and enjoys a relatively low crime rate especially in respect of violent crime. This is an extremely rare crime in Portugal and because of its nature it is now being investigated by the Judicial Police. We hope that those responsible will be apprehended and brought to justice and the motive for the attack established. Also the nationality of those involved has yet to be determined. There is little point is speculating without knowing the facts. If anyone has concrete information then this should be reported to the police. PJ contact Faro – 289 804 591 – 24 hr line
We do however live in an increasing unsafe, world as the situation at Russia’s amassing its forces at the Ukraine border spurred fears of an invasion, illustrates. On Tuesday, however, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said that some of the troops stationed along the Ukrainian border are being withdrawn, returning to their bases. Although there is video of troop movements, this withdrawal has yet to be verified. However, and perhaps not surprisingly, Russia failed to attend a meeting of members of the OSCE the world’s largest security body, yesterday, to explain its military build-up near the Ukraine border. Kyiv had requested the meeting with Russia and other members of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe to “discuss the reinforcement and movement of Russian forces along our border” under the so-called Vienna Document.
We hope that diplomacy prevails, as a war would cause considerable loss of life and destruction, destabilise security in the region and have a global impact. Already fuel prices are rising as a result of this crisis.
Some good news is that the DGS Covid-19 new case figures published on Monday were the lowest of the year, and that the transmission rate and incidence levels were deceasing sharply. We will no doubt learn more from the experts at the Infarmed meeting this morning, but it does appear that we are over the peak and that Covid-19 is declining in Portugal. We hope therefore that depending on the analysis presented by various experts, that measures can be further eased accordingly.
Setting the scene for this meeting, the President of the Portuguese Epidemiology Association, Elisabete Ramos., said yesterday , that: “there are three factors that combine so that we are now in a different phase of the pandemic: we are witnessing a sustained decrease in cases, even if part of the reduction may have to do with the closing of the Germano de Sousa laboratories; we have a huge number of people protected and with immunity, either through vaccination or through contact with the virus; and even when this protection does not prevent infection, the manifestations of the disease are no longer as serious as they used to be”.
According to Gustavo Tato Borges, president of the National Association of Public Health Physicians, the relief must be “phased”, with restrictions that can be lifted now and others that must be maintained for a few more weeks.
We will be reporting on the meeting during today and tomorrow some of these issues are expected to be debated by the council of Ministers who are expected to meet.
A reminder that the self-scheduling for the administration of the first dose of the vaccine against covid-19 in children aged 5 to 11 years was opened this Tuesday. Vaccination will take place on Saturday, February 19th. Please see our post yesterday.
With that please have a Safe Day.
Headlines
Climate change: “The situation has never been so serious”, warns IPPC president
With more than a century and a half of economic development devoted to fossil energies, the average global temperature has increased by 1.1 degrees Celsius (ºC) compared to the pre-industrial era
“The need (for this document) has never been greater, because the situation has never been more serious,” said Hoesung Lee, during a teleconference that opened a discussion period, behind closed doors, which will last for two weeks.
With the warming of the planet accelerating, the devastating impacts of climate change follow one another, with heatwaves, droughts, storms or floods, which will now motivate that IPCC report.
With more than a century and a half of economic development devoted to fossil energies, the average global temperature has increased by 1.1 degrees Celsius (ºC), compared to the pre-industrial era.
Last August, in another IPCC document, scientists estimated that the rise in mercury would reach around 2030 – ten years earlier than anticipated – the 1.5°C target set in the Paris Agreement.
Ahead of a third publication, expected in April, on solutions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, this second, whose discussion began today, deals with the impacts of warming and adaptation.
“About 4.5 billion people have suffered a catastrophe associated with a meteorological event in the last 20 years”, added the director of the World Meteorological Organization, Petteri Taalas, pointing out the responsibility of fossil energies.
This new IPCC document will be presented on February 28, after the 195 member states have analysed, line by line, the ‘summary for decision-makers’, a politically sensitive summary of the thousands of pages of the scientific report, prepared by 270 scientists. The focus of the publication is adaptation.
Covid-19 DGS Situation Report 15th February
Confirmed: 3,111,858 (+18,135 / +0.59%)
Admitted: 2,270 (-94 / -3.98%)
Admitted to ICU: 147 (-1 / -0.68%)
Deaths: 20,620 (+55 / +0.27%)
Recovered: 2,554,403 (+30112 / +1.19%)
Active cases: 536,835 (-12,032 / – 2.1%)
TRENDS
The 55 deaths represents the highest since 2nd February and 20 more than yesterday.
The number of infections in 24 hours is around 10,000 more than yesterday, but well below last week’s daily average. Tuesday of last week, 30,757 new cases were confirmed – a drop of 41%
A further decrease in those in ICU bringing the total to further below the average of around 150 – 160 over last 5 weeks
A large decrease in hospitalisations after 2 days of increases.
A welcome 5th consecutive day with a decrease in active cases similar in number to the previous days.
Health
Covid-19. Open self-scheduling for children from 5 to 11 years old
Vaccination will take place on Saturday, February 19th.
The self-scheduling for the administration of the first dose of the vaccine against covid-19 in children aged 5 to 11 years was opened this Tuesday, announced the Shared Services of the Ministry of Health (SPMS).
The vaccination process will take place “on Saturday, February 19, in the morning, in the most convenient place, according to the availability and installed capacity of the existing vaccination posts”, the SPMS said in a statement.
At the same time, second doses will be administered to eligible children who were unable to administer the vaccine on the 5th and 6th of February, in which case the scheduling is done centrally via SMS (2424), he adds. Self-scheduling link here: https://covid19.min-saude.pt/pedido-de-agendamento
Portugal has already administered 22 million vaccines against COVID-19
More than 22 million vaccines against COVID-19 have already been administered in Portugal since the vaccination campaign started.
According to data recorded until the end of yesterday, February 12, about 22,055,400 vaccines have already been administered, with more than 5,647,500 Portuguese receiving the booster dose.
On January 15th, Portugal had achieved the administration of 20 million doses of the vaccine against COVID-19, which means that, in less than a month, approximately two million inoculations were registered.
As vaccination is the best form of protection against serious illness, hospitalizations and death, the Directorate-General for Health reinforces the appeal for people, over 18 years of age, who are not yet vaccinated with the booster dose and are eligible. , schedule an appointment at https://covid19.min-saude.pt/pedido-de-agendamento .
Thousands of patients still awaiting results after computer attack on Germano de Sousa laboratories
José Germano de Sousa, administrator of the Germano de Sousa group, in an interview with SIC Notícias that it is reopening its laboratories this Tuesday in the north of the country and that by the end of the week it is expected that the normal operation of the laboratories will be restored.
The administrator of the Germano de Sousa group, José Germano de Sousa, in an interview on Monday with the Evening Edition of SIC Notícias, explained that since Thursday they have been rebuilding the computer system of laboratories across the country after the “cyberattack” executed by cowards and criminals”.
As of this Tuesday, a gradual opening of laboratories in the North zone begins, extending between Thursday and Friday to the Lisbon region. In the South zone, the reopening should take place on Thursday.
As for the purpose of the attack, José Germano de Sousa says they cannot understand it, but believe it is a process of attacking a business.
“There are many thousands of patients who have not yet received the test result”, only on Thursday there were around 12,000 patients who did not receive a result, says José Germano de Sousa. Since Friday, the activity in the laboratories has been suspended and the group administrator considers that when the system is lifted, “between 24 and 48 hours”, there are conditions to send the results on hold.
In an interview with SIC Notícias, he clarifies how they detected the attack and how they acted, reinforcing that customer data was not compromised.
Covid-19: WHO warns that Omicron is spreading in Eastern Europe due to lower vaccination
The World Health Organization (WHO) warned today that the Ómicron variant of covid 19 is spreading in Eastern Europe, where in the last two weeks the number of new infections has doubled and there is a lower level of vaccination.
“In the last two weeks, cases of covid-19 more than doubled in six countries in this part of the region (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Russian Federation and Ukraine). As predicted, the Omicron wave is moving eastward: 10 member states have already detected this variant,” said the organization’s European director, Hans Kluge.
In a statement presented at a virtual meeting with the media in these countries, Hans Kluge recalled that “vaccination remains the best defence against serious illness and death for all current variants of the covid-19 virus that are circulating”.
“However, many people most at risk remain unprotected: less than 40% of people over the age of 60 in Bosnia Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Kyrgyzstan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan have completed the covid-19 vaccination plan,” he recalled.
Hans Kluge added that Bulgaria, Georgia and North Macedonia are also among the countries where less than 40% of healthcare workers have received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.
“I urge governments, health authorities and relevant partners to closely examine the local reasons behind lower vaccine demand and uptake and design tailored interventions to urgently increase vaccination rates, based on context-specific evidence.” added.
The official said that in the WHO European region there have been “more than 165 million cases of covid-19 to date. This is still a deadly disease: 1.8 million people lost their lives, 25,000 of them in the last week”.
Other News
GNR fire-fighting deployment – 2021
In the Safe Forest Campaign 2021 the Emergency Protection and Relief Unit (UEPS) of the GNR carried out, between January 01 and December 31, 2021, 3,347 missions to combat Rural Fires, of which 3207 were undertaken in the Initial Attack phase.
The national success and effectiveness rate in Initial Attacks on Rural Fire missions was 95.53%.
Under the terms of Decree-Law n 113/2018, of December 18, the UEPS is the specialized unit of the Guard that has a specific mission to execute prevention and intervention actions, throughout the national territory, in situations of serious accidents and catastrophe, specifically in the rural fires, hazardous materials, from floods, earthquakes, search, rescue and rescue in different environments, as well as other emergency situations of protection and relief, including judicial inspection in water and underwater.
GNR recorded 1,105 crimes of dating violence in 2021
The National Republican Guard (GNR) started on Monday a campaign to prevent and raise awareness of dating violence, having recorded 1,105 crimes in all age groups last year, 332 aged up to 24 years.
In a statement, the GNR also indicates that during the year 2020, 1,110 crimes of dating violence were recorded in all age groups. Of these crimes, 365 victims were aged up to 24 years.
The #VaisParar campaign, which begins today, Valentine’s Day, and ends on February 20, aims to encourage all young people to denounce and not accept any type of psychological, emotional, physical, social or sexual violence.
During the campaign, the GNR will carry out prevention and awareness-raising actions, aiming to combat “violent behaviour and all existing forms of aggression, especially in dating between young people, where these behaviours are precocious”.
The GNR highlights the importance of alerting young people to the importance of healthy relationships based on principles and values such as respect, tolerance and self-esteem.
“The Guard continues to direct and prioritize the Criminal Prevention and Community Policing Sections for schools and for the education of our young people”, says the GNR.
In the note, the guard also says that it has been reinforcing its awareness campaigns and investing in training actions for its staff.
Safer Internet Day was therefore somewhat overshadowed by the above event – which is a pity, as it is important that youngsters are fully aware of how to use the internet safely. There is plenty of material available and we encourage parents to help guide their children, particularly the dangers of cyberbullying and sextortion for instance. This is a very good site in many languages. 
According to the DGS daily bulletin, the dose to reinforce immunization against the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus has already been administered to 616,043 elderly people aged 80 and over, who represent 93% of this age group, as well as 923,778 between 70 and 70 years old. 79 years (96%).
In a joint statement, the ministries of Economy and Digital Transition, Internal Administration, Health and Infrastructure and Housing state that the passenger location form (PLF) must be completed by all passengers on flights to or from mainland Portugal, including passengers on flights from the Autonomous Regions of the Azores and Madeira.
The largest of these fires occurred in the Montesinho mountain range, in the district of Bragança, where firefighters, land and air resources were sent at 0800 hrs on Friday, and it was only subdued in the afternoon of the following day. This fire broke out in the Lama Grande area and was the most worrying due to the extent and difficulty in controlling it confirmed the ANEPC. The estimate points to the possible destruction of 2000 hectares in Portugal and Spain, where the fire spread.
A study by the Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra (CHUC) confirmed that the immune response is stronger in people who have recovered from covid-19, after a dose of vaccine, than after taking two doses by those who have never been infected.
The airline’s profile image was modified, with a photograph of a man with a beard and moustache surrounded by white rays and a name: Micheal Sayloor. The hackers also added several tweets with the word “awesome”.
Although this puts Covid-19 into second place, it is not good news as far as this subject is concerned. Last Friday’s bulletin from the Directorate-General for Health (DGS) showed that 303 municipalities are at extreme risk of infection, that is, with more than 960 cases of covid-19 per 100 thousand inhabitants in 14 days.
Lastly the Instituto do Sangue da Transplantação (IPST) yesterday appealed for the contribution of all potential blood donors, at a “particularly demanding time” due to the covid-19 pandemic and in the face of “a great difficulty in maintaining stable blood and blood component supply reserves”. The current situation has “caused a large reduction in the number of donors and the postponement of previously scheduled collection sessions”.
“It is plausible that the region is reaching the end of the pandemic”, said the main official of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Europe, still urging caution, due to the unpredictability of the virus.
In 2021, the Portuguese Armed Forces accounted for a total of 27,741 effectives, excluding military personnel in the reserve situation out of service effectiveness. This number represents an increase of 1,007 employees compared to 2020, whose consolidated data recorded a total of 26,734 employees in that year, reinforcing the increase already seen in 2019 (26,569 employees). Considering this universe, the available numbers reveal a sustained growth in the last three years.