Portugal Situation report Wednesday 3rd March 2021

Introduction

Good morning, yesterday was one year since the first two cases of Covid-19 were recorded in Portugal. Inevitably there was much reflection on the events over the last year with the President of the Republic leading, by thanking the population by the way they organized and committed themselves in responding to this pandemic, with a particular word of appreciation for the work and commitment of health professionals, thanking all concerned.

He stated that “it was desirable that, more than learning from what went well, we all have the ability to learn lessons from what went less well. Improving the ability to plan and anticipate scenarios and responses, reacting more quickly and being more adapting to circumstances, are examples of areas that should be the focus of current and future attention from all of us”

This is not, of course, confined to Portugal. After any major crisis, and this is arguably the largest for many years, it is necessary to reflect on what went well and what did not – in other words, lessons learned as well as best practices. By doing this improvements can be made in facing major challenges for the future – and there will be more.

In our report this morning we also include the work of two major hospitals in Portugal in dealing with Covid-19, the Hospital Curry Cabral (part of the Centro Hospitalar Universitário Lisboa Central Group, (CHULC)) and Hospital Santa Maria. From these two reports it can be seen the considerable pressure these hospitals and all the doctors, nurses and all staff would have been under over the last year. We thank you all for your tremendous work operating in the most dangerous of conditions.

The national average Covid-19 infection rates per 100,000 people have improved considerably, which is clearly reflected at the local level. At extremely high-risk level there are now only 3 municipalities, according to the DGS report published on Monday, compared with 234 municipalities on 1st February 2021. This is a remarkable achievement.

When analysing yesterday’s DGS daily figures, this showed: the second lowest number of daily deaths since 29th October; in terms of new cases – 3rd lowest since 6th October; that the number of recovered patients exceeds that of new infections consecutively for 30 days; the lowest number in hospital since 31st October; lowest numbers in ICU since 18th November; number of active cases lowest since 30th December, decreasing for 29th consecutive day and over 115,000 (67.3%) since 31st January (in 26 days) and those under surveillance the lowest since mid-October.

With the improving situation, it would be easy to let our guard down, but to do so now would increase the risk of contagion and jeopardize the sacrifice that people have made during the latest period on confinement and again put pressure on hospitals and the health service, which cannot happen.

The Prime Minister stated yesterday: “It is the way we behave out there that will help us stop this pandemic. Here [in hospitals] they treat patients and save lives, but it is out there that the pandemic is stopped, each one of us, with our behaviour, with the use of a mask, with hand hygiene, with physical distance and with the deprivation of social contact”, he said.

A reminder that the deadline for land cleaning for those living in rural areas still remains 15th March. The GNR began on 22nd February the Monitoring and Awareness phase by visiting those living in high-risk areas to raise fuel management awareness in order to ensure the safety of the population. This phase, will take place until March 31. The full details of land cleaning can be found on our website. Remember if your land includes holm oak trees then special permission is required before pruning or cutting down such trees. Failure to make the application will incur a large fine.

When undertaking the burning of debris, whereas in the past it was necessary to call the local Bombeiros to register the burn, this has now changed. The procedure now is to make an on-line application either through the ICNF website or by calling the central number. To make an on-line application visit the ICNF website here. Here you can also find the ICNF manual which Safe Communities Portugal has translated into English.

If you are considering burning debris or land to dispose of pasture, we stress the need to ensure that you are physically able to do this whilst at the same time ensuring adequate safety measures to avoid the burn becoming out of control. Last year over half of rural fires were caused this way. More details are in this week’s Algarve Resident in a SCP feature available tomorrow 4th March.

So with that advice, Stay Safe.

Headline

Prime Minister calls for civic sense for confinement to be maintained strictly.

Prime Minister António Costa appealed to all Portuguese people to maintain the strictness of the confinement rules and reiterated that the pandemic can only be stopped by containing any risky behaviour.

During the visit to Curry Cabral Hospital, which marked the first year of the Covid-19 pandemic in Portugal, António Costa reiterated the need to maintain confinement to ensure control of the pandemic, and that the risk of unemployment and the closure of companies is increasing. But we cannot repeat what happened in the first wave, nor what happened in the second wave, nor what happened in this tragic month of January”.

“We cannot forget what happened because the idea that tragedies are not repeated is a false idea. Tragedies are repeated when the mistakes that resulted in these tragedies are repeated. It is good to keep your memory well because it is the best way to support excellent health professionals”, he added.

António Costa praised the “excellence of all health professionals” for the work they have done during the last twelve months and reiterated that the best way to support those inside hospitals “to do their best to save the life of those lives at risk” is a huge discipline in containment.

“It is the way we behave out there that will help us stop this pandemic. Here [in hospitals] they treat patients and save lives, but it is out there that the pandemic is stopped, each one of us, with our behaviour, with the use of a mask, with hand hygiene, with physical distance and with the deprivation of social contact”, he said.

Covid-19

This Tuesday Portugal recorded 38 more deaths and 691 new cases of Covid-19, according to the daily report of the Directorate-General for Health (DGS). The keys figures in the report were as follows:

Confirmed Cases: 805.647 (+ 691 / + 0.09 %)

Number of admitted: 1.997 (-170 /-7.84 %)

Number of ICU admitted: 446 (-23 /-4.90 %)

Deaths: 16.389 (+ 38 / + 0.23 %)

Recovered: 723.465 (+ 3230 / + 0.45 %)

Active cases: 68,370 (-898 / -1.19%)

Health

Covid-19: Centro Hospitalar Lisboa Central received the first of 3,316 treated patients a year ago.

Lisbon, 03 March 2021 (Lusa) – Centro Hospitalar Universitário Lisboa Central (CHULC) received the first patient with Covid-19 a year ago and has since treated 3,316 patients, 313 of whom are children and young people, according to data released today to the agency Lusa.

On March 3rd, 2020, Hospital Curry Cabral, one of six hospitals that are part of CHULC, received the first patient diagnosed with Covid-19, one day after the first two cases were diagnosed in Porto, one at the Hospital of Santo António and the other at Hospital São João.

The first was a 38-year-old man who entered the Curry Cabral at 8:20 am and had to wait 10 hours until he knew the result of the analysis confirmed as positive by the National Institute of Health Ricardo Jorge (INSA), a source told Lusa from the hospital centre.

He left the hospital 10 days later, but still tested positive for Covid-19, having stayed at home in isolation until the test was negative, which happened in April.

Of the 3,316 patients who were followed up at the hospital until the 28th of February, 656 were admitted to intensive care units, including three children who received this care at the paediatric hospital D. Estefânia.

During this period 629 people died, including a child, victims of infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, 222 of whom were in intensive care units (ICU).

The maximum number of patients hospitalized with Covid-19 was recorded on February 7th, totalling 346, and the maximum number of open beds was reached the following day.

The data states that the maximum number of infirmary beds for adults was 274 and that of ICU level 3 beds were 60, and in paediatrics, there were 17 and two beds, respectively.

Covid-19 – One year: Hospital Santa Maria treated around 2,500 infected patients.

Lisbon, 02 Mar 2021 (Lusa) – About 2,500 patients with Covid-19 were treated this past year at Hospital Santa Maria, 450 of which in intensive care, where the survival rate is 78%, according to data from the Centro Hospitalar Universitário Lisboa North released today.

Of the 450 patients who needed to be admitted to intensive care, around fifty needed ECMO, an extracorporeal circulation device that allows them to temporarily replace the function of the heart and lungs.

According to the Centro Hospitalar Universitário Lisboa Norte (CHULN), they were “the highest numbers in the Lisbon region and the highest in the whole country”.

In recent weeks, the hospital centre has had eight intensive care units exclusively dedicated to Covid patients, of which five are new, totalling 69 beds, the Hospital Centre says in a note sent to the Lusa agency, on the day that marks a year the appearance of the first two cases of Covid-19 in Portugal.

“This plan is now beginning to be reconverted in a phased manner to non-Covid activity, which has already resumed the priority surgeries and resumes the outpatient surgery this week”, he stresses.

In the balance sheet of a year of pandemic, the Centro Hospitalar Universitário Lisboa Norte says that the emergency department dedicated to respiratory diseases attended about 31 thousand patients in the last year, more than half (55%) coming from outside the reference area of ​​CHULN .

“The urgency of the Hospital de Santa Maria did not end a single day and responded to suspected Covid patients from the Metropolitan Area of ​​Lisbon and the West region, but also to users from Leiria, Santarém, Alentejo or the Algarve”, he stresses.

Nearly a third (29%) of the consultations resulted from referrals from the National Institute for Medical Emergency (INEM).

“The rate of positivity in CHULN Covid urgency was 13%, while 75% of patients tested negative for Sars-Cov-2. Eleven percent of the patients did not need to be tested and only 1% of the cases were inconclusive”, reveals the hospital centre, which includes the Santa Maria and Pulido Valente hospitals.

In total, the CHULN Clinical Pathology laboratory carried out more than 155 thousand tests for screening

Teachers and non-teaching staff to be included as a priority for vaccinations.

The Minister of Health admitted today that teachers and non-teaching staff can be included as priorities for vaccination against Covid-19, considering that schools are an “essential service”.

“When we talk about essential services – and schools are in some way in our social approach an essential service – it may make sense that adults who work in these places have a differentiated vaccination,” said Marta Temido in an interview with Jornal da Noite da SIC.

On the day that marks a year of the first cases of infection with the new coronavirus diagnosed in the country, the official considered that the inclusion of teachers and non-teachers, including those who are not at risk groups, in the first phase of vaccination that is being carried out, taking place is a “hypothesis that is being analysed, not only in Portugal, but also in other countries”.

“When we look around us and see what the processes of deflation are, we see the very intense presence of two realities: vaccination and testing”, stressed Marta Temido, adding that the experts’ opinion “is quite comprehensive in relation to those that will be the various options that can be taken”.

“This is, in fact, one of the difficulties that we have even had in communication: the fact that there is a variety of opinions on the same subject, which makes the decision process very difficult”, admitted the minister.

Schools

Marta Temido: there are no “conditions” to talk about returning to school.

Minister of Health stressed yesterday, that although there has been a decrease in cases of infection and deaths by Covid-19 in the last few days in Portugal, the situation is not yet ideal and refers more clarifications on the reopening of schools on 11th March.

Asked about returning to face-to-face education, in an interview with Antena 1, Marta Temido replied: “We are not in a position to talk about this topic yet. We have chosen to keep this information conditional on a set of circumstances, a set of hearings and specifically a calendar that has already been announced by the Prime Minister and which states that on 11th March we will report on a set of rules that, if determined assumptions remain, then they will apply.””

The Minister of Health points out that, although there has been a decrease in cases of infection and deaths by Covid-19 in the last few days in Portugal, the situation is not yet ideal. “When, in August, we had a maximum of 29 patients admitted to intensive care on a given day, yesterday we had 469. When, in August, we had 270 patients admitted to the infirmary, yesterday [Monday] we had 2167 . When, in August, we had a positive rate [from tests to Covid-19] of just over 1%, we are now still above 4%. Therefore, there are many things that, although today – because we are already used to it – seem to us to be calm, they are far from being”, he said.

According to Marta Temido, with regard to the reopening of schools and restrictions planned for Easter, the Government intends to adopt the best possible balance, despite criticism. The minister also highlights the pressure on hospitals and the contact surveillance system.

European Union Health Ministers underline need to speed up vaccinations.

The Minister of Health, Marta Temido, stated that the implementation of the National Vaccination Plans was one of the three main themes addressed during the informal meeting of the Ministers of Health of the European Union, which also counted on the presence of the European Centre for the Prevention and Control of Diseases and the European Medicines Agency.

At the press conference after the meeting, at the Centro Cultural de Belém, in Lisbon, the Minister stressed that the Member States “identified the need to accelerate, together, the alignment between the response of science and the response of industry in the sense of the contracts concluded by the Commission can be fulfilled, guaranteeing the implementation of the National Vaccination Plans as soon as possible”.

Marta Temido reiterated the objectives proposed by the European Union to vaccinate 80% of people over 80 by the end of March, as well as health professionals and professionals supporting health professionals, in addition to reaching 70% of the entire population of the European Union by the end of the summer.

During the meeting, two other key themes were also addressed, said the Minister. “Circulating variants and the various strategies essential for early detection, genetic sequencing and containment, and testing strategies, underlining the importance of uniform and coordinated guidance at Member State level”.

The Minister of Health also referred that the Ministers of Health discussed the possibility of implementing “vaccination certificates and other documents useful for the mutual recognition of the health status of each citizen of the European Union”.

Covid-19: Vaccination of about 15,000 firefighters completed.

The vaccination process for the 15,000 firefighters began on February 11th and was completed last week, a source from MAI told Lusa.

Firefighters were considered a priority in this first phase of the vaccination process, taking into account the essential role of the State they perform and due to the operational dimension of the pre-hospital transport they perform.

According to MAI, the order of vaccination of these firefighters was defined by the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority “based on operational criteria and covered the universe of volunteers, sappers and municipalities”.

In this first phase, which lasted two weeks, about 50% of the total number of firefighters was vaccinated against the Covid-19.

Covid-19: Disposal of 78 doses of vaccines at the Hospital das Caldas da Rainha under investigation.

The Centro Hospitalar do Oeste confirmed today the opening of an investigation to investigate the circumstances in which 78 doses of vaccines against Covid-19 were rendered useless, allegedly due to a failure of the cold system in the Hospital of Caldas da Rainha.

Questioned by the Lusa agency, the Centro Hospitalar do Oeste (CHO) confirmed “the destruction of 13 vials of vaccine against Covid-19”, equivalent to 78 doses, intended for vaccination of professionals.

According to the CHO board of directors, the vaccines were discarded after on the 19th it was detected, at the Hospital das Caldas da Rainha, in the district of Leiria, “an abnormal temperature record inside the cold equipment used for the condition, due to an apparent failure of the refrigerator”.

In an email sent to the newsrooms, the board of directors states that it has already been decided to open an “investigation process to ascertain what happened”, waiting for the conclusion of the same to provide more concrete information about the vaccine’s destruction.

The Centro Hospitalar do Oeste integrates the hospitals of Caldas da Rainha, Torres Vedras and Peniche, having an area of ​​influence constituted by the populations of the municipalities of Caldas da Rainha, Óbidos, Peniche, Bombarral, Torres Vedras, Cadaval and Lourinhã and part of the municipalities Alcobaça and Mafra. These counties are divided between the districts of Lisbon and Leiria.

Enforcement

Lisbon, 01 March 2021 (Lusa) – Three citizens with false documents were detected on Sunday at Lisbon airport by the Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF), this criminal and border police body announced today.

In a statement, SEF said that two of these citizens were detected during the flight departure to the Republic of Ireland, in possession of other documents.

The third, however, was detained at the health control on arrival of a flight from Vienna, Austria, having identified himself with counterfeit documentation.

At the Francisco Sá Carneiro Airport, in Porto, SEF also held a citizen from Paris, France, on Sunday, for having presented a falsified proof of test of Covid-19.

The citizen then carried out the Covid-19 test at his own expense, inside the airport, says the SEF.

EU travel certificate does not provide for data exchange nor is it limited to vaccines.

European Commissioner for Justice, Didier Reynders, guaranteed today that the digital certificate for Covid-19 that will allow travel within the European Union does not provide for any data sharing between Member States.

“We want to avoid fundamental rights problems and violation of data protection and also discrimination between citizens”, Reynders said today in a press conference, adding that “it will be a very simple verification of data and that it will be coordinated through a legislative instrument.”

“It will be a certificate, not a passport that will give an account of the situation of each person in relation to the disease: if he was ill, if he was vaccinated or if he had a PCR test”, he underlined.

The European Commission is preparing “a legislative instrument on the data that will appear on a digital numeric certificate” that allows the vaccinated persons who have developed antibodies or who have a negative PCR test to circulate in the European Union (EU).

“We will continue to work on a way to organize free movement,” said the commissioner, guaranteeing that “there will be no discrimination in these certificates”.

“We want a legislative instrument that allows the same data to be collected on the same certificates issued through the EU. Then we will see what are the possible uses for the certificates”, he clarified.

The commissioner also said he was waiting for a response from the six Member States that banned non-essential travel, stressing that they should limit themselves to following the recommendations of the EU Council itself.

“We wrote [on 23 February] to six Member States and gave ten days for a detailed response and contacts continue with the countries,” said Reynders, stressing that the countries concerned have nothing more than to correctly implement the recommendations adopted by the Council of the United Nations. EU, a body that brings together the 27.

Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary and Sweden are the countries targeted.

These recommendations, he stressed, are aimed at allowing travel restrictions, through the presentation of tests or the imposition of quarantine, but avoiding prohibitions.

Portugal Situation Report Saturday 27th February 2021

Introduction

On March 2nd, one year ago, the first case of Covid-19 in Portugal was diagnosed. A study by Instituto Doctor Ricardo Jorge (INSA) published yesterday shows that the virus had been circulating in the country since February 2020. It is important to understand how the new coronavirus entered Portugal and the report gives some insight into this. Safe Communities Portugal first reported the new coronavirus on 26th January 2020, one month earlier.

We start the day with the continuing good news concerning the key Covid-19 Statistics.

Yesterday there was the 3rd lowest in terms of daily deaths since 21st December; new cases – 2nd lowest number since 7th October 2020; those recovered cases were double new cases; lowest number in hospital since 5th November; lowest in ICU since 7th January and a decrease of 39.6% since 1st February; the number of active cases lowest since 30th December, decreasing for 26th consecutive day and over 100,000 (61.4%) since 31st January (in 26 days) and those under surveillance. the lowest since mid-October.

Although these are indeed very encouraging figures, the Government has decided, rightly in our view, to retain the existing State of Emergency measures until 23:59 hrs on 16th March. The Prime Minister explained the rational for this, namely that although there is now “clear improvement” in the European context, the country just two weeks ago was the worst in the EU.

He warned, “all improvements are relative”, this being “the second reason for maintaining the measures “. The number of new cases in the last 24 hours (1027) is still more than four times higher than that registered on 4th May 2020 (242), with similar relationships in the number of hospitalized and hospitalized in Intensive Care Units.

In other words it is too early to make changes with the risk of reversing the downward trend.

“He emphasised that we must remain confined for the next 15 days. This is the message, nothing should change” and “We must avoid confusing citizens with messages that end up inducing wrong behaviour.” So in other words however optimistic the figures, it is important to ensure the basic rules of compliance and in particular the wearing of face masks, avoiding social gatherings, maintaining social distancing hygiene.

In these respects we cannot relax.

Importantly he stated that he will present the de-confinement plan on March 11th.

Also important was his emphasis that we are living in a “dangerous phase”. There may be the illusion that the worst has already been overcome and that we are not in danger of regressing. If there is one thing we have to strive for, it is not to regress in something achieved with such a sacrifice by the Portuguese.

Finally, a reminder about the purpose of our Facebook page. The aim of our page is to provide information and guidance from official channels which helps people during these difficult times. This can take us quite a bit of research and time, especially when we are publishing this in English. It may take a few minutes to publish a piece of information, but an hour or more to prepare it.

We are also there to answer, as far as we can, people’s questions, which again we need to research. When Facebook becomes full of opinions often bearing no relevance to the topic, this can result in long drawn out debates. This detracts from the topic and with long threads makes it more difficult for people to find the answers they really need. There are many Facebook groups where opinions and personal argument abound and Safe Communities Portugal is not one of them. The challenge for our administrators who have to deal with and try and answer the many questions we receive, is immense. We are an open page not a group, so information can be widely shared so as many people as possible benefit. As a result we now have over 40,000 followers compared with 17,000 just a year ago.

We therefore encourage people to keep abreast of developments through our page and website and through the various official channels, DGS, ECDC, etc as this helps in developing a broader more accurate understanding of the ongoing situation and the state of emergency measures in place.

There is much misinformation around, including as reported a few days ago the fake government plan. There are Facebook groups and pages which are abound with misleading information, provocative statements, argument, negativity and personal insults which is not helping during a health crisis and goes against our standards and values. This maybe a reflection of stressful times for many, which we understand, but we will not allow this on our page and such comments will be removed. We thank everyone for their understanding.

Please have a Safe Day.

Headlines

The Prime Minister announces extension of State of Emergency

New State of Emergency, government decree-law has “no change”, says António Costa.

“The measures have continued to produce the desired effects in controlling the pandemic. This is evidenced by the reduction in the transmissibility factor of the disease, the famous R, which is relatively stable, and a continued decrease in new cases”

Costa says that “this is not yet the time for the de-confinement”, although Portugal continues “sustainably” to see the number of new daily cases of infection decrease.

The Prime Minister underlined the “clear improvement” in the European context, when the country was the worst in the EU just two weeks ago.

However, he warned, “all improvements are relative”, this being “the second reason for maintaining the measures “. Portugal is better, but still with levels of new cases and hospitalizations four times above the beginning of the de-confinement of May 2020.

And Costa adds a risk factor: “A very high incidence of the British variant (49%), with a higher risk of contagion. This also justifies the greatest prudence regarding the de-confinement.”

And another one: “We have been executing a vaccination plan. We can confirm only the objective of having 80% of people over the age of 80 vaccinated in March, as well as the full vaccination of those over 50 years of age with major comorbidities.”

António Costa said that he will present the de-confinement plan on March 11th.

Covid-19, One Year On

On March 2nd, one year ago, the first case of Covid-19 in Portugal was diagnosed. A study by Instituto Doutor Ricardo Jorge (INSA) explains now that the virus had been circulating in the country since February 2020.

The first known patient was a 60-year-old doctor who had been on vacation in Northern Italy, one of the European countries most affected by the pandemic. He had fever, cough and body pain. He was admitted to the Hospital de Santo António, in Porto.

About two weeks later, contagions soared and Portugal decreed a State of Emergency: police on the street, mandatory confinement, closed-door business, prohibited travel, but above all, crowded hospitals.

According to a study developed by INSA and released this Friday, SARS-CoV-2 had been circulating in Portugal since February. It also advances that by the end of March 2020, more than 200 infected people had landed at national airports.

It is estimated that, for example, one case in Italy originated more than four thousand in Portugal; the majority in the northern and central regions. So far, in the country, more than 800 thousand Portuguese have been infected with Covid-19, 16 thousand lost their lives

Covid-19

This Friday Portugal counts another 58 deaths and 1,027 new cases of Covid-19 , according to the daily report of the Directorate-General for Health (DGS).

Confirmed cases: 802.773 (+ 1027 / + 0.13 %);

Number of admitted: 2.404 (-209 /-8.00 %);

Number of ICU admitted: 522 (-14 /-2.61 %);

Deaths: 16.243 (+ 58 / + 0.36 %);

Recovered: 714.493 (+ 2780 / + 0.39 %).

Active: 72,037 (-1811 /-2.45%)

Health

Only 55% of those invited responded to the SMS for vaccination against Covid-19. 30,500 messages have already been sent

Since vaccination against Covid-19 began – for people over 80 and certain individuals between 50 and 79 – 30,500 scheduling SMS have been sent and 16,799 responses have been received, Público reveals this Friday.

These are the numbers: 30,500 appointments have been sent and 16,799 responses have been obtained (55.08%), the Ministry of Health’s Shared Services (SPMS) revealed to the Public. Of these, 16,393 people answered yes to the vaccination and 406 said no, which means that only 2.47% of the people refused to be vaccinated.

The call is made by SMS message, whenever there is information on the user’s mobile phone number in the system.

The number 2424 messages that users receive, asks about their availability to be vaccinated at a specific date, time and place.

To this information, users must answer ‘Yes’, fully confirming the scheduling data, or ‘No’, which results in the sending of a second mobile message with a new scheduling proposal. The same happens if the user does not respond.

In the absence of a reply to the SMS or if the scheduling proposals are refused, the users will be contacted by telephone, by the health centres, to find an alternative scheduling, or, in the absence of telephone contact, a letter will be sent.

SPMS explains which message that reaches users explains how they should respond. “The SMS is sent from the number 2424, to the user eligible for vaccination in phase 1, with the location, date and time. This SMS needs a response through the format: SNS.NUMERO UTENTE.SIM or NO. When the user answers yes or no, that confirmation is recorded. ”

When the answer goes in the wrong format, the user receives the following message: “COVID19: Incorrect answer format. Answer: SNS.NUMERO UTENTE.SIM or NO. ” If you answer with an SNS number of a user who is not eligible for this phase “you receive information that the number of users in the response does not match the number of users of the person contacted”.

On the eve of the date scheduled for vaccination, an SMS is sent to remind the appointment.

The second dose of the vaccine is scheduled at the time of the first dose, ensuring that the vaccine used is the same brand.

All vaccines against Covid-19 are available from the National Health Service and are universal and free of charge.

European Union deepens cooperation in vaccine production process

European Union leaders focused their attention on combating Covid-19, during the videoconference that brought them together on 25th and 26th February, said Prime Minister António Costa at the end of the meeting.

The Prime Minister stated that “there was widespread concern and a very constructive exchange of views with the President of the European Commission, with a view to collectively supporting the increase in vaccine production and the streamlining of the vaccine licensing process by the European Agency Medicines’.

“We all realize that, in order to eradicate the pandemic, it is essential to speed up the vaccination process, and to speed up the vaccination process, it is essential to have a more agile licensing process, and the industry to have greater production capacity,” he said.

António Costa underlined that “in addition to the need to ensure compliance with contracts already signed, it was seen that it is essential to develop mechanisms to anticipate the joint detection of new variants, in an articulated effort of cooperation between the different research institutions and the different research authorities, health of all member states’.

“This step is very important”, he underlined, adding that “information about the new variants requires teamwork, through an incubator that the European Commission is developing, in which the pharmaceutical industry participates, so that the industry can adapt vaccines put on the market to the variants that may emerge”.

Covid-19. Vaccination decreases incidence rate among health professionals at São João hospital

The vaccine against Covid-19 is proving to be effective among health professionals at São João hospital, in Porto. The Director of the occupational health service says that the seven positive cases detected this month were identified in people who have not been vaccinated.

“Before the vaccination season, in this hospital, the incidence of illness was around 50 cases per week. Currently, in the entire month of February, we had about seven cases. All of them in unvaccinated professionals. Even so, the incidence that we have in a whole month is lower than what we had a day before starting the vaccination”, says Pedro Norton.

The Director of the occupational health service also stresses that this “is the first evidence that the vaccine is in fact effective and that opens a window of hope for the remaining Portuguese citizens”.

DGS reviews standard for conducting screening tests in the community

In view of the decrease in the number of Covid-19 cases in the country, the Directorate-General for Health is preparing a new update of the standard that establishes the criteria for conducting screening tests in the municipalities.

Despite issuing on February 11th an update to the norm that establishes the “National Test Strategy for SARS-CoV-2”, the Directorate-General for Health (DGS) is revising these guidelines, due to the decrease in the number of infections by Covid-19 in the country.

In response to the JN, the DGS explained that “due to the evolution of the epidemiological situation, incidences will be considered lower than those currently provided for in the standard and that better respond to the testing needs for the current and next phases of the epidemic”.

It is recalled that the current regulation provides for regular laboratory screening in schools with secondary school students, in prisons and in occupational contexts with high social exposure, such as factories and civil construction. But only in municipalities with a cumulative incidence over 14 days exceeding 480 new cases per 100 thousand inhabitants. The data revealed by the DGS at the beginning of the week showed the existence of 113 municipalities in this situation.

“The new version, in preparation, will consolidate the defined strategic axis, always with a view to its alignment with the needs at national level”, according to the recommendations of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the World Organization Health Organization (WHO), added this entity.

The DGS also stressed that “tests on a large scale, integrated with other measures of Public Health, are a key element to limit the spread of Covid-19.” This new version should include the use of saliva tests, analysed in the laboratory by PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction), as has been announced by the Minister of Health, Marta Temido.

These join standard PCR tests, with analysis of samples collected in the nose or mouth (nasopharynx and oropharynx) using swabs and rapid antigen tests with biological material obtained in the same way.

Also this week, the Assistant Secretary of State and Health, António Lacerda Sales, explained that screening criteria were being defined, such as, for example, tests in schools every 7 days, or every 14 days, depending on the epidemiological situation in the region of the country where they are located.

Covid-19: Portuguese industry will contribute to EU collective effort

The Prime Minister, António Costa, said today that the Portuguese industry will certainly contribute to the “collective effort” agreed between all the Member States to increase the production capacity of vaccines against Covid-19 in the European Union.

At the press conference at the end of two virtual summits of European Union leaders, between Thursday and today, the first of which being devoted to the coordinated European response to the pandemic, and in which the 27 made it a top priority to accelerate the production of vaccines and vaccination, António Costa pointed out that Portugal has already communicated to Brussels “the diverse capacities” of the Portuguese pharmaceutical industry “to be able to collaborate in the different stages of production of a vaccine”.

“We hope and are sure that our industry will do its best to be able to collaborate in this collective effort,” he said.

The Head of Government and President-in-Office of the Council of the EU recalled that, in addition to the reprogramming of the framework for the application of EU funds for the development of the country “Portugal2020”, “credit lines were created that have supported the conversion of industrial lines to the production of the most diverse materials to combat Covid-19 ”.

“This was particularly visible, for example, in the textile industry in relation to the production of masks, but it is also naturally open to the pharmaceutical industry”, he pointed out.

Extension of Portugal – Spain Border Controls

The control of people at land and river borders will continue until 16th March. According to the Ministry of Internal Administration, in a statement sent to the newsrooms, more Authorized Crossing Points (PPA), Ponte da Barca and Vinhais were added to the list, which will operate on working days between 6 am and 9 am and 5 pm and 8 pm.

In this way, from 00:01 on March 2nd, circulation between Portugal and Spain – and only in the PPAs – is limited to “the international transport of goods, cross-border workers and seasonally documented, and vehicles of emergency and relief and emergency service “.

Cross-border rail traffic also remains suspended, and “except for goods transport, as well as river transport between Portugal and Spain”.

About 1,900 people prevented from crossing the borders between Portugal and Spain

About 1,900 people have been prevented from moving across the borders between Portugal and Spain since January 31st, when controls came back into force due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Ministry of Internal Administration (MAI) said today.

In a report sent to the Lusa agency on land border control, the MAI states that the Foreigners and Borders Service (SEF) and the National Republican Guard (GNR) controlled, between January 31st and February 24th, a total of 279,578 citizens and 251,750 vehicles at authorized crossing points (PPA).

According to MAI, of the 279,578 citizens, 1,904 were prevented from travelling through authorized crossing points.

The Ministry, under the tutelage of Eduardo Cabrita, states that the refusals of circulation occurred in Valença (593), Caia (367), Castro Marim (339), Vila Verde da Raia (188), Vilar Formoso (140), Quintanilha (62) , Vila Verde de Ficalho (53), Marvão (39), Monção (35), Melgaço (28), Monfortinho (20), Miranda do Douro (15), Barrancos (11), Mourão (8) and Montalegre (6) .

MAI also states that the Valença PPA, Viana do Castelo, was the one that controlled the largest number of citizens, a total of 111,459, followed by Vilar Formoso, Guarda (41,354), Caia, Elvas (33,532), Vila Verde da Raia , Chaves (31,353), Castro Marim, Faro (19,327), Quintanilha, Bragança (10,881) and Vila Verde de Ficalho, Beja (9,209).

In PPAs that operate with limited hours, SEF controlled 3,599 people in Marvão, 10,673 in Monção, 1,018 in Melgaço, 382 in Montalegre, 1,008 in Miranda do Douro, 2,475 in Termas de Monfortinho, 2,690 in Mourão, 593 in Barrancos and 25 in Rio de Onor.

The MAI also mentions that GNR controlled 251,750 vehicles, 114,347 of which were heavy goods and 137,403 light vehicles, having rerouted 225 vehicles to the PPA at unauthorized crossing points.

International Travel

European Union admits creation of “vaccination passport” until summer. Will “dispense with quarantine”

In the aftermath of the European Council meeting, Prime Minister António Costa announced that the EU is considering the creation of “a document to help dispense with quarantine”, but rejected the term “health passport”.

The document will prove that the passport holder already has immunity, due to having been vaccinated, or performed a test with a negative result.

“The Commission will prepare in the coming months a document that allows to certify, in an unidentified way, that a person is in one of the following circumstances: either he has already been infected with Covid-19, or is properly vaccinated, or carried out a test that confirms which is not currently contaminated with Covid-19 “, said António Costa.

Asked about the “vaccination passport”, António Costa said that “this is not a national measure” but rather on a European scale.

“We are defenders of a European-wide measure, it is with that objective that as Presidency we are working together with the European Commission. The wish we all have is that until the summer it is possible that this document exists”, he guaranteed.

In the government’s view, the document “will help freedom of movement”, the functioning of the internal market and will enable “a more peaceful recovery” of tourism.

Other news

Traffic accidents – First week without road deaths since records began

There is no memory of anything similar: for seven consecutive days, between the 18th and 24th of February this year, there was no record of deaths on Portuguese roads.

The information was provided by the National Road Safety Authority, through its Twitter account, on the eve of the launch of the website on the new strategic plan to combat accidents. Called “Vision Zero 2030”, the program aims to achieve zero deaths and zero injuries on the roads over the next decade.

“From February 18th to 24th, 2021, there were ZERO fatalities on Portuguese roads. There were 7 consecutive days without deaths resulting from road accidents, something never seen in Portugal”, reads the Twitter of the Autoridade Nacional de Segurança Rodoviária (ANSR), which has already completed the first phase of the “Vision Zero 2030 Strategy”, the new plan to combat accidents that aims to achieve zero deaths and zero injuries on the roads in the next decade

Portugal Situation Report Wednesday 24th February 2021

Introduction

Good morning – All eyes this week are on the meeting of the Council of Ministers to determine whether there will be any changes to the State of Emergency that will almost certainly be extended.

As mentioned, the President of the Republic yesterday and today is hearing the views of the representatives of the various political parties before sending a draft decree law extending and outlining the basic framework of the new law. This will take affect from 2nd March until 23:59 hrs 16th March 2021.

As usual, there will be various statements by the parties following their meeting as to what the President said, but as we know from experience these are not always enshrined in the final law. Yesterday, the sole deputy of the Liberal Initiative said that the President of the Republic has no intention of “changing anything” in the decree of the State of Emergency. The deputy of the Ecological Party “Os Verdes” (ENP), Mariana Silva, also echoed this after meeting with the President.

There is no doubt that the confinement in place has worked and new cases have decreased considerably. The Prime Minister is concerned, however, of the continuing pressure on the health services even though the numbers in hospital and ICU have decreased considerably since the beginning of the month.

A matter of some concern is that, according to government, movements on the streets and in public areas has increased slightly in the last week and there have been three illegal parties one with around 70 people where the police have had to take enforcement action. This is a likely sign of impatience to return to normality. There is also demands on Government to reopen some schools to return to face to face learning.

How to come out of confinement, of course, is not unique to Portugal and is a dilemma government’s face in trying to relax measures in a phased way that does not result in undoing all what has been achieved, in the case of Portugal, over the last 3-4 weeks. From listening to the views of the President and the Prime Minister we would be surprised if there is anything but cosmetic changes at this stage, especially given the delays in the first phase of the vaccination plan.

We expect therefore a cautious approach, but one which may include some form of roadmap of a phased relaxation of measures, such as the re-opening of some schools provided that certain conditions are met; for instance cases in ICU reducing to a certain level, no increase in variants or new ones etc.

This approach would clearly indicate government’s intentions, thereby giving hope to those affected such as businesses, but at the same time allowing the plan to be adjusted if needed.

Our headline today is the statement of the UN Secretary-General over the global distribution of vaccines, namely that ten countries have administered more than 75% of all vaccines against Covid-19. At the same time, more than 130 countries have not received a single dose.

Having worked in an international organisation myself, Interpol, I can empathize with this statement. It is similar in many ways to crime prevention that protection is only as good as the weakest link. Of course people wish to obtain the vaccination as soon as possible, but there are many in the world who will have to wait far longer than ourselves.

A reminder for those of you living in rural areas that according to the national budget law the deadline for fuel management and the cleaning of land is 15th March 2021. Last year due to the first confinement under the State of Emergency the deadline was extended twice – eventually being 31st May. We have been in contact with relevant Government authority concerning this matter and although there is no proposed extension at present, we would not be at all surprised if it were extended. I have written a feature for the Algarve Resident on this topic which will appear on 4th March. Full details concerning land cleaning can be found on our website here

Please have a Safe Day

Headlines

Guterres: ten countries administered 75% of vaccines and 130 did not receive a single dose.

The UN Secretary-General warns that the virus has exacerbated inequalities and has infiltrated other fields besides health. The distribution of vaccines, he says, has been unfair.

The Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, says that “the world is facing a pandemic of human rights abuses”. Covid-19 accentuated vulnerabilities and weaknesses, but also created new problems, he says in an opinion article published on Monday in the British newspaper The Guardian: “Ten countries have administered more than 75% of all vaccines against Covid-19. At the same time, more than 130 countries have not received a single dose.

António Guterres had already criticized the distribution of vaccines, saying that it was “extremely unequal and unfair”. It was at a meeting with the UN Security Council that the Portuguese Secretary-General advised this data on the 130 countries that have not yet received a single dose of the Covid-19 vaccine.

“The virus has proliferated because poverty, discrimination, the destruction of our natural environment and other human rights flaws have created enormous weaknesses in our societies. The lives of millions of families have been turned inside out – with jobs lost, overwhelming debt and huge income cuts. ” Those most affected were professionals at the forefront of combating the pandemic, people with disabilities, the elderly, women and minorities, he continued. The pandemic has also “hampered efforts to achieve world peace” and levels of extreme poverty are increasing for the first time in recent decades.

Covid-19 – Portugal is the 6th EU member state with the most complete vaccines administered.

Portugal is the 6th EU Member State with the most complete vaccines. At least 85 countries have already started the vaccination process against Covid-19. In total, more than 194 million doses have been administered. Israel, the United Arab Emirates and the United Kingdom continue to stand out from all other countries in the world ranking.

The most conservative models indicate that group immunity is achieved when 7 out of 10 people are vaccinated. The European goal is to reach the end of the summer with 70% of adults immunized, that is, with both doses of the vaccine given.

In Portugal, when analysed by age group, the group between 65-79 years old is at this stage of the least protected: only 2% of this population has taken a dose and 1% has the complete vaccination. These percentages are the same for people between 18 and 24 years old. In contrast, 12% (79,774 people) of the population over 80 have already taken a dose and 7% (42,991) have a complete vaccination. It is the most protected group.

The North adds more inoculated doses but the Alentejo is the region of the country that leads in population that has the complete vaccination (4%), followed by the Centre (3%), Lisbon and Vale do Tejo and Norte (both with 2%) and Algarve (1%).

Covid-19: Portugal has the lowest contagion rate in Europe

According to André Peralta Santos, from the Directorate-General for Health (DGS), on Monday afternoon, the incidence of new contagions had a “very significant decrease”. Incidence is decreasing in all age groups – it is highest above 80 years old. Portugal has the lowest transmissibility index since the beginning of the pandemic

According to Baltazar Nunes, the estimate for the transmissibility index R (t) of Covid-19 in Portugal is 0.67, between February 13th and 17th – “The lowest figure we have estimated since the beginning of the epidemic”, he said. “The value of Rt is below 1 in all regions of the continent and autonomous regions and in the last five days there has been a stabilisation of the value of Rt around 0.66 and 0.68”, he added. According to the expert, Portugal now has the lowest R (t) value in Europe. “If we continue, it is possible to continue descending at a marked speed.”

Covid-19 Situation

On Tuesday Portugal reported 63 deaths and 1,032 new cases of Covid-19, according to the daily report of the Directorate-General for Health (DGS).

The figures and our analysis of trends reported yesterday is as follows:

Confirmed Cases: 799.106 (+ 1032 / + 0.13 %)

Number of admitted: 3.012 (-310 /-9.33 %)

Number of ICU admitted: 597 (-30 /-4.78 %)

Deaths: 16.086 (+ 63 / + 0.39 %)

Recovered: 705.976 (+ 4567 / + 0.65 %)

Active cases: 77,044 (-3958 / – 4.4&)

So again we see very good news in all key indicators reflected in the following trends:

– Second lowest number of daily deaths since 28th December

– New cases – Second lowest number since 8th October 2020

– Recovered cases four times new cases

– Lowest number in hospital since 2nd January

– Lowest in ICU since 13th January – decreased by 27.5% since 1st February

– Number of active cases lowest since 2nd January, decreasing for 23rd consecutive day and over 100,000 less than 31st January (in 21 days)

– Those under surveillance lowest since 2nd January

Health

Vaccinations

Covid-19: Close to 250 thousand people have already received two doses of the vaccine

Nearly 250 thousand people have already received the two doses of the vaccine for Covid-19 according to data published today by the General Directorate of Health, corresponding to 3% of the population.

According to the data released today by the DGS, they have already received two doses of the vaccine 248,708, representing 3% with the complete vaccination, 46,565 more than in the previous week.

According to the same data, since the beginning of the vaccination plan against SARS-CoV-2, which started on December 27th, at least 433,475 people have received at least one dose of the vaccine, having injected 96,701 people in the last week.

Covid-19: Rapid Intervention Brigades activated in homes 431 times since October.

Lisbon, February 23rd, 2021 (Lusa) – The Rapid Intervention Brigades (BIR), created to act in the event of an outbreak of Covid-19 in nursing homes, have been activated 431 times since October, the month they started operating, revealed today the latest State of Emergency report.

“As of October 1st, the BIRs started to operate, which allow responding to the needs of social responses that, due to an outbreak, have the human resources teams compromised, having already activated 431 brigades”, states the report on the situation between 16th and 30th January and delivered to the Assembly of the Republic.

The document, carried out by the State of Emergency Monitoring Structure, coordinated by the Minister of Internal Administration, Eduardo Cabrita, stresses that, in the Northern region, the Rapid Intervention Brigades remain properly established in all districts, being activated whenever necessary.

In turn, in the Centro region, BIRs were used in all districts, but there was “a great difficulty” in building these brigades due to the lack of volunteers.

“Institutions’ difficulties in strengthening human resources, namely direct action assistants and nurses, remained. To mitigate some specific needs, the Military Family Volunteers were made available”, reads the report, which explains the “strong pressure on homes and other residential structures for the elderly” that existed in the Center region between 16th and 30th January.

According to the same document, in these residential structures for the elderly in the Centro region there was a “substantial increase in cases” of Covid-19, going from 227 to 282 homes with active cases.

Hospitals have no chance of hiring doctors who trained abroad.

Although the Government allows the hiring of doctors who have trained abroad and who have not yet completed the process of recognition of training, hospitals reject this option. To “Jornal de Notícias”, several hospital units said that they are responding with internal resources and that it is not planned to hire professionals who have not yet seen their courses recognized in Portugal.

The Centro Hospitalar de Lisboa Central said that “there are no plans to hire foreign doctors and nurses” and the Centro Hospitalar e Universitário de Coimbra said that it has “tried to respond to the challenges with internal resources”. In Porto, the response from the Centro Hospitalar de São João was similar: “At the moment, we have no professional in these conditions who has contacted us or that we can contact” and in Aveiro, “this hiring was not expected”.

There is a “need for professionals” for certain specialties, explained Alexandre Lourenço, president of the Portuguese Association of Hospital Administrators. “However, we are obliged, and rightly, to hire certified professionals as a guarantee of quality, “he added. Of the 800 doctors who attended medical courses abroad, only 160 meet the criteria for hiring – that is, having passed a written knowledge test.

Open letter calls for the re-opening of schools

An open letter, published in the weekly Expresso , calls on government that “it is urgent, for the present and for the future of the country, to adopt measures, based on science and data, capable of protecting schools as an essential good”, asking for their reopening “quickly for face to face teaching, safely and continuously, starting with the youngest”.

The signatories argue that the nurseries and pre-school education establishments will be reopened in early March, as well as the 1st and 2nd cycles of basic education, which should gradually resume.

The Government has already signalled that it will give priority to schools when it starts the process of the relaxation of confinement, according to the Minister of Health on Monday after the Infarmed meeting, and that of the Minister of the Presidency last weekend. However, Mariana Vieira da Silva said it was still “premature to speak for this next fortnight of lack of definition and particularly in terms of schools”.

The letter however demands face-to-face classes to resume as soon as possible, recalling not only “the increase in psychological and psychiatric problems of children and young people associated with the confinement and closure of schools”, but also that “teaching distance is less effective than classroom teaching and has been a multiplier of inequalities of all kinds, not just educational, penalizing the most vulnerable “.

“The delay in the acquisition of apprenticeships may lead to the reversal of the progress made in recent decades in the reduction of social inequality and early school leaving”, they warn, also stressing that “Portugal is one of the European Union countries with less conditions for distance learning”, both because of the lack of network coverage and because of the “conditions of material deprivation in which many families with children live, suffering from energy and housing poverty”.

Unemployment

Registered unemployment enters 2021 to rise to the highest level since the start of the pandemic.

Unemployment in Portugal started to rise in 2021. In January, a month marked by the worsening of the Covid-19 pandemic and the return of the country to general confinement, 424,359 unemployed people were registered in employment centres, according to data from the Institute of Employment and Professional Training (IEFP), published this Monday.

This figure represents an increase of 5.5% compared to December (more 22,105 people) and 32.4% (more 103,801 people) in year-on-year terms, that is, in relation to January 2020.

While it is certain that registered unemployment is usual in Portugal to increase in January compared to December, due to the negative seasonal impact on the labour market, this is the highest number of registered unemployed since the beginning of the pandemic. Moreover, it is necessary to go back to May 2017 to find a higher value.

At the regional level, in January, “registered unemployment increased in all regions of the country”, indicates the IEFP. Of the year-on-year increases, the most pronounced occurred in the Algarve region (61.3% more), followed by Lisbon and the Tagus Valley (45.3% more) and Madeira (30% more).

The IEFP also indicates that, in terms of professional groups of unemployed registered in the Mainland, the most representative, in decreasing order, stand out: “Unqualified workers” (24.9%); “Personal service, protection, security and salesperson workers” (22.8%); “Administrative staff” (11.6%); “Specialists in intellectual and scientific activities” (10.2%) and “Skilled workers in industry, construction and craftsmen” (10.0%) “.

Tourism

Support line launched for Travel Agencies and Tour Operators with 100 million euros.

Turismo de Portugal, in partnership with Banco Português de Fomento, Mutual Guarantee Societies and Banks, launches a credit line to support treasury, with an endowment of 100 million euros, for Travel Agencies and Tour Operators.

This measure to support the economy aims to help in the recovery of one of the activities most affected by the effects of the pandemic of Covid-19, resulting in bank loans exclusively to finance the treasury needs of Travel Agencies and Tour Operators, in view of the obligation refunds for trips that were not made or cancelled due to the pandemic context.

With a total allocation of 100 million euros, and a term of validity until June 30th, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) can apply, as well as Small Mid Cap and Mid Cap that develop activities of Travel Agencies and Tour Operators.

Credit operations benefit from an autonomous guarantee at the first request, provided by the SGM, up to 90% of the capital of each of the loans guaranteed to Micro and Small and up to 80% of the capital of each of the loans guaranteed to Medium-sized Companies, Small Mid Cap and Mid Cap.

Overseas Support – Thank you to Germany.

Diogo Serras Lopes, Secretary of State for Health, said on Tuesday that the help of German professionals who arrived in Portugal earlier this month allowed “to open an autonomous intensive care wing” with eight beds, a number that, according to Serras Lopes, is “significant”.

Yesterday morning, Diogo Serras Lopes and the Secretary of State for Human Resources and Former Combatants, Catarina Armento e Castro, welcomed the German team of military health professionals who will replace the one currently working at Hospital da Luz, in Lisbon.

The Secretary of State also said that “each bed counts” and that the German contribution was “invaluable” and allowed “to relieve the hospitals of the National Health Service” and to treat more patients.

The German clinical team of 26 health professionals arrived in Portugal earlier this month to support the Portuguese health system in the face of pressure from the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to a joint statement from the ministries of health and defence of Portugal, German health professionals are replaced every 21 days, until the end of March, “if necessary”.

Confinement: Cascais lifts restrictions to sea walls, beaches and parks.

The Cascais City Council announced on Monday that it will lift restrictions on access to the sea wall (Cascais-Carcavelos), beaches and parks in the municipality as of 6 pm on Tuesday, February 23rd.

The municipality, in a statement on the official website , justifies the decision with the “decrease in the number of cases of Covid-19 per 100,000 inhabitants”, thus guaranteeing the municipality a “two-level descent, abandoning the Extremely and Very High Risk level passing to be part of the group of municipalities with a high risk level ”. The health and safety authorities in the municipality gave a positive opinion to this update.

This reopening still has some rules. Only “physical activity and the training of individual outdoor sports are allowed, as well as all professional and equivalent training and competitive activities, without an audience and in compliance with the guidelines of the DGS, under the terms of the law”. The use of a mask remains mandatory, as well as social distance, still fixed at two meters. Gatherings of people are prohibited, as well as being on the beach. The municipality also asks for “the fulfilment of the directions of circulation”.

Borders

Covid-19. EU asks for explanations from Member States that have closed borders.

The European Commission sent a letter on Monday to six member states of the European Union (EU) asking for explanations about restrictions on freedom of movement, giving the countries concerned ten days to respond, the Community executive said Tuesday.

“On Monday, the Commission sent specific letters about our concerns to six Member States – Belgium, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Hungary and Sweden – which are currently applying stricter measures than recommended, in particularly in the prohibition of entry and exit of the country “, informed the spokesman of the community executive with the portfolio of Justice, Equality and Rule of Law, Christian Wigand.

The spokesman stressed that, in the letter, the Commission highlights the “need” to ensure that “restrictions on freedom of movement” are “proportional” and not “discriminatory”, and urges countries to “align their provisions more than closely with the Council’s recommendations “, agreed between all EU Member States, and, more generally,” with EU rules regarding freedom of movement “.

The executive gives the member states ten days to respond to the letter and “the Commission is closely following the steps taken by the member states on an ongoing basis”, said the spokesman.

Asked about the steps the Commission can take if the Member States in question do not comply with the executive’s recommendations, Christian Wigand said that “the European Commission’s aim is to find solutions as soon as possible”.

“We believe that we will find solutions with the Member States in question, without having to resort to legal steps, which can be time consuming. Therefore, Member States now have ten days to respond and we start there,” he said.

The spokesman also recalled that the European Commission has always been clear on the issue of coordinating measures within the EU to combat Covid-19, stressing that “without a coordinated approach between the 27 Member States”, the EU “runs the fragmentation risk “and” disruptions in freedom of movement and distribution chains.”

International Travel

Covid-19. Airlines insist on rapid airport tests.

RENA – Association of Airlines in Portugal yesterday insisted on the implementation of rapid tests for Covid-19 at airports, also stressing that there is an urgent need for a harmonized reduction of imposed restrictions and the end of quarantines.

The appeal was left at the general meeting of RENA that elected its governing bodies for the 2021-2023 triennium, with Paulo Geisler, representative of Lufthansa, being re-elected president, unanimously, according to a statement.

“These rapid tests give passengers and the airport community the certainty that health and safety remain at the top of the priorities and convey confidence,” said Paulo Geisler, adding that he hopes that “vaccination will quickly contribute to recovery”.

“A harmonized reduction of imposed restrictions and the end of quarantines is urgently needed at a global level”, underlined the re-elected president of RENA mentioned in the statement.

The association stresses that the international aviation industry and tourism were among the sectors most affected by the pandemic at the global level, “going through the biggest crisis ever”.

In Portugal, according to RENA, there was a decrease of around 80% in the number of flights and passengers at Portuguese airports and “the situation has been aggravated by the additional restrictions implemented in recent weeks, which are even more severe than any time in 2020 “.

Enforcement

Covid-19: GNR ends party with more than 70 people in Campo Maior.

Campo Maior, Portalegre, 23rd Feb 2021 (Lusa) – GNR ended on Monday an illegal party with more than 70 people in a neighbourhood in Campo Maior (Portalegre), having identified “some” of the participants, revealed today to the Lusa agency source of that security force.

According to the commander of the GNR Territorial Detachment of GNR, João Lourenço, the GNR military became aware of the situation “through various complaints” that reported that “some noise” was heard in a neighbourhood in that Alentejo village.

“The patrol, when travelling to the site, found that there was a large crowd of people and movement on the public road. It was a party, an unauthorized event and that the participants did not respect the duty of home collection”, he said.

According to the GNR captain, reinforcements were immediately requested from other posts in that area and “an hour later” the situation was resolved.

“There were some people identified, who are known and who were able to be identified. In our action, the intention, considering that there was a high number of people, was to disperse and direct all people to their homes, but naturally some of the people were identified ”, he explained.

The Commander of the Territorial Detachment of Elvas of the GNR, who did not provide data in relation to the number of people identified, just added that it is now being “elaborated expedient regarding the administrative offenses” to be applied.

The GNR captain also added that this action at an early stage had “some resistance” on the part of the participants at the party, but later “the indications” of the Guard’s military were accepted.

Covid-19: GNR interrupts illegal party with 19 young people in Famalicão.

Vila Nova de Famalicão, Braga, February 23, 2021 (Lusa) – GNR interrupted, yesterday morning, an illegal party that gathered 19 young people in a house in Gondifelos, Vila Nova de Famalicão, in violation of the general duty of recollection, said a source that strength to Lusa.

Secondly, the source confirmed, the young people transformed the house “into a kind of disco”.

All participants were subject to administrative offences, amounting to 200 euros.

If they are caught again in an identical situation, they will incur a crime of disobedience.

The alert for the situation was given at 00:30, with the GNR mobilized to the location of the Famalicão and Joane posts and a team from the Detachment of Intervention.

The young people were assessed and sent to their homes, and the situation was resolved by 02:30.

Other News

DCIAP investigates case of private jet in Brazil destined for Portugal with 500 kilos of cocaine.

The Central Department of Investigation and Criminal Action is investigating the case of the seizure in Brazil of a private jet destined for Tires (Cascais), which was carrying 500 kilos of cocaine, told Lusa source today from the Prosecutor’s Office.

“The existence of an inquiry is confirmed that runs under the terms of the Central Department of Investigation and Penal Action” (DCIAP), the press office of the Attorney General’s Office (PGR) replied to the Lusa agency, without further details alleging secrecy of justice.

Police sources today revealed to Lusa that the Portuguese Judiciary Police (PJ) and the Brazilian federal police had been alert, since the beginning of the pandemic, to the possibility of cocaine trafficking between the two countries using private jets.

According to the same source, the police had already realized that, with the decrease in regular flights between the two countries, the “modus operandi” of trafficking cocaine between Brazil and Portugal had changed with the traffickers using other means, namely the use of private jet charters.

The recent seizure of more than 500 kilograms of cocaine in the fuselage of a jet chartered to the Portuguese company OMNI Aviação e Tecnologia, based in Porto Salvo, for a flight from Salvador to Tires Aerodrome, Cascais, is one of the cases that fits these suspicions, with the two policemen collaborating and sharing information.

On the jet’s passenger list was João Loureiro, former president of Boavista, who has already been heard by the Brazilian Federal Police (PF) and whom “files were extracted” from his cell phone.

Portugal Situation Report Saturday 20th February 2021

Introduction

Good morning – Again we start with the very good news concerning the Covid-19 figures; in particular that the number of daily deaths at 67, is the lowest since the first of January and that those in hospital from Covid-19 are nearly half that than since the beginning of this month. In addition, the (Rt) of the SARS-CoV-2 virus is now 0.66 down from 0.77 a month ago.

Despite this good news, it is clear from our headline story quoting the Minister of State and Presidency Mariana Vieira da Silva that the “extremely high” number of intensive care admissions due to Covid-19 does not allow any expectation of relaxing measures soon.

It seems likely therefore that parliament when it comes to debate the extension of the emergency laws next week will be extremely cautious on easing restrictions too quickly.

Yesterday however, the main story was the apparent change in priority in the administration of vaccinations in Phase One. In this phase, the bulk of vaccines available will be administered to two groups: people aged 80 and over and people aged 50 to 79 with one of the four diseases most at risk for Covid-19 (cardiac, coronary, renal and severe respiratory)

According to a report in Expresso newspaper, however, the scarcity of vaccines and the need to protect those most vulnerable to Covid-19 has led the new task force coordinator to redefine vaccination priorities.

Henrique Gouveia e Melo told the newspaper that 90% of the vaccines available are now intended to “save lives” and only 10% to “reinforce the state’s resilience in a pandemic period”, the latter being firefighters, PSP and GNR. However according to Government, more than 7000 members of the security forces and more than 11,000 firefighters have already received the first dose of the vaccine against Covid-19, in compliance with the vaccination plan for essential functions of the State. Nevertheless, regarding the changes in the priorities foreseen in the plan, António Lacerda Sales asserts that “vaccination is carried out in parallel lines and there is no overtaking by anyone in front of anyone”.

The President of the Portuguese Firefighters League (LBP) told Lusa yesterday after contacting the Secretary of State, that the first phase of vaccinations against Covid-19 of the approximately 15,000 firefighters will continue. “I also contacted the task force coordinator who guaranteed, and I believe in his word, that there is no change in relation to the 15,000 firefighters scheduled for vaccination in this first phase,” Jaime Marte Soares told Lusa.

Both the PSP and GNR associations also expressed concern, with the Head of the GNR staff association suggesting that if there are any delays then frontline GNR personnel should be tested every 15 days given their nature of work and close contact with the public. This seems a very sensible suggestion.

Clearly government can only work with the number of vaccines available in the country and faces difficulty in implementing priorities when there are shortfalls compared to demand. There are very difficult choices that have to be made.

When there are setbacks, it is always good to find positive news, and what can be more positive than NASA’s Perseverance rover safely landing on Mars on Thursday after its 292.5 million mile journey from Earth. The rover landed itself flawlessly, according to the mission’s team.

“Perseverance” is certainly an appropriate name inspiring determination and hope which is what we need at this time in combatting this pandemic.

Another positive note for Portugal came in the findings of what was described as the first comprehensive survey on the crime experience among the population of the EU (including the United Kingdom) conducted by the European Union Fundamental Rights Agency). This revealed that 9% of people in the EU have experienced some form of violence in the past five years, with national percentages varying between 3% and 18 percent. However in Portugal, only 4% said they were physically assaulted, a percentage only surpassed by Malta and Italy. This reflects Portugal’s standing currently the 3rd most peaceful country in the world according the Global Peace

Lastly, please be aware that the ANEPC have issued a Notification to the Population concerning bad weather for this weekend. The IPMA have also issued Yellow rain warning for several districts. We posted all the details last evening so please read the bulletin and precautions you may need to take. If this was not enough, a cloud of dust from the Sahara desert is expected to pass over Europe again this weekend, according to the European atmospheric observation service, Copernicus. At present its trajectory appears northwards passing just to the east of Portugal, but we are monitoring.

So with that please have a Safe Weekend.

Headlines

Covid-19: Transmission at 0.66 indicates reduction of cases across the country

The average transmissibility index (Rt) of the SARS-CoV-2 virus is 0.66, representing a tendency of reduction in new cases of Covid-19 in all regions of the country, announced today the National Institute of Health Ricardo Jorge (INSA).

“The results indicate a decreasing trend of new cases at the national level in all regions of the country”, says INSA in the situation report on the epidemic curve of infection by the new coronavirus.

On January 11th, the average Rt stood at 0.77, a figure that the Prime Minister, António Costa, considered at the time to be “the lowest the country has had since the beginning of the pandemic”, in the spring of 2020.

According to the INSA data now released, all regions of the country have an Rt – the average number of secondary cases resulting from a case infected by the virus – below 1.

Epidemiological estimates point to a Rt of 0.64 in the North, Center and Alentejo regions, of 0.66 in the Lisbon and Vale do Tejo region, of 0.65 in the Algarve region, of 0.63 in the autonomous region of the Azores and 0.88 in the autonomous region of Madeira.

According to INSA, from January 18th there was a sharp reduction in Rt, but, from February 11th, there was a slight increase, which suggests “a deceleration in the trend of decreasing incidence of SARS- CoV-2 ” in that period.

“From the beginning of August to the middle of November, the Rt was above 1 for 107 days, revealing a phase of sustained growth. From mid-November to 25th December, the Rt remained below 1, representing a phase of sustained decrease in the incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infection, ” says INSA.

Minister of State and Presidency – Too soon to come out of confinement

The Minister of State and Presidency, Mariana Vieira da Silva, warned this Thursday, February 18th, that the “extremely high” number of intensive care admissions due to Covid-19 does not allow any expectation of coming out of confinement soon.

In the briefing after the Council of Ministers, Mariana Vieira da Silva was asked about the evolution of the numbers of the pandemic in Portugal.

Despite considering that the numbers of infected people show “the success of the measures” in force, the official recalled that this is not the only factor to take into account, since it is necessary to analyse the response capacity of the NHS and the number of deaths. , variables that, in spite of the downward trend, do not allow to anticipate relaxing measures soon.

Mariana Vieira da Silva warned of the issue of managing the expectations of the Portuguese and referred that, today, Portugal has 680 people hospitalized in intensive care units.

“It is a very high number, it remains, with the exception of the last month, the highest number we have had throughout this year”.

Thus, the Government maintains the discourse of the Prime Minister, António Costa, who a week ago, also at a press conference after the Council of Ministers, defended that this was not yet the time for the country to focus on the lack of definition, but to continue comply with the containment rules.

“There is technical work to be done, there will be articulation work with the other parties. This is the time to appeal again to all Portuguese women and men that we must consider that we have very high numbers of hospitalisation in hospitals and intensive care units and being encouraged on the path we are taking, it is still too early to think that it is close to the end” she reiterated.

Second contract with Moderna to ensure additional vaccine doses

The European Commission approved a second contract with the pharmaceutical company Moderna, which provides for an additional purchase of 300 million doses (150 million in 2021 and an option to purchase an additional 150 million in 2022) on behalf of all EU Member States. The new contract also provides for the possibility to donate the vaccine to lower and middle-income countries or to re-direct it to other European countries.

Covid-19

Yesterday’s figures reflected again the very positive signs that have been seen over the last two weeks.

Confirmed Cases: 794.769 (+ 1940 / + 0.24 %)

Number of admitted: 3.584 (-235 /-6.15 %)

Number of ICU admitted: 669 (-19 /-2.76 %)

Deaths: 15.821 (+ 67 / + 0.43 %)

Recovered: 691.866 (+ 4404 / + 0.64 %)

Active cases: 87,082 (-2531 / – 2.8%)

The trends in these key areas are as follows:

– Lowest daily deaths since 1st January (49 days)

– New cases – 6th lowest since 20th October (4 months)

– Recovered cases more than double that of new cases

– Hospitalisations lowest since January 9, when 6869 cases were registered. Decreased by 47.8% since 1st February

– Lowest in ICU since 19th January – decreased by 22.6% since 1st February

– Number of active cases lowest since 6th January, decreasing for 18th consecutive day and 52% less than 31st January (in 17 days)

– Those under surveillance lowest since 10th January

Health

Covid-19: Hospital Amadora-Sintra registers 199 inpatients and peak in intensive care

Amadora, Lisbon, 19th Feb 2021 (Lusa) – Hospital Amadora-Sintra, in the district of Lisbon, currently has 199 Covid-19 patients hospitalised, almost half the maximum recorded on 26th January, with 385 patients, but the peak in the unit’s intensive care (ICU) was registered this week.

In response to the agency Lusa, a source from Hospital Fernando da Fonseca (HFF), also known as Hospital Amadora-Sintra, said that 199 patients are currently in hospital infected by the new coronavirus SARS-COV-2, “of which 36 are hospitalized in the ICUs (out of 42 beds available)”.

“At the end of January 26th, the HFF registered 385 hospitalised Covid patients, its maximum”, revealed a hospital source, indicating that this peak represents a Covid effort rate of 62% of the total available beds of this hospital, which serves a population of more than 600,000 people.

Two weeks ago, this hospital had, on February 3rd, 368 inpatients, of which 350 in the HFF and 18 in the HFF ward, which was operated exclusively by its professionals at Hospital da Luz, in Lisbon.

“The peak of patients admitted to the ICUs of this hospital was recorded this week, on February 14th, 15th and 16th, with the maximum capacity of 42 patients in critical condition”, revealed a hospital source, recalling that the contingency plan of the HFF predicted, at its maximum level, that the capacity of the ICU was 12 beds dedicated to Covid patients, so at this moment the situation is “350% of the maximum level”.

Health centres held 11.4 million fewer face-to-face consultations in 2020

Health centres held 11.4 million fewer face-to-face consultations in 2020 (-38%), while distance contacts doubled from 2019 to 2020, from 9.1 million to 18.5 million.

The data released on Thursday night by the Saúde em Dia Movement, led by the Order of Doctors (OM) and the Portuguese Association of Hospital Administrators (APAH), also reveal a decrease of 3.6 million in face-to-face nursing contacts at the Health Centres (18% less) which, together with medical consultations, totalled 11.4 million less compared to 2019.

The analysis made by the consultant MOAI, based on the official numbers of the SNS Transparency Portal, also indicates a “sharp drop” in face-to-face medical care in hospitals, with 3.4 million fewer contacts in 2020, between consultations, surgeries and emergencies. .

The emergency episodes dropped by 31%, 11% outpatient visits and surgeries 18%, says the motion, pointing the same panorama in supplementary diagnostic and therapeutic cases, where data is only available until the end of November 2020.

“Even so, globally, less than a quarter of the exams and analyses were performed in 2020”, which translates into less than 25 million acts performed. In Physical and Rehabilitation Medicine alone, there were 12.4 million fewer.

Covid-19 was responsible for more than 40% of deaths from January to February

More than 40% of deaths in Portugal between the end of January and the beginning of February were attributed to Covid-19, according to data from the National Statistics Institute (INE).

Of the 8,536 deaths recorded between January 25th and February 7th, 3,633 were due to the disease caused by the new coronavirus, which is equivalent to 42.5% of the total.

During this period, “the number of deaths decreased, despite continuing to be much higher than that observed since the beginning of the pandemic”, points out the INE, indicating that the week from 25th to 31st January was the worst in terms of deaths (4,711) since the beginning of the pandemic.

In the week of 25th to 31st, there were 2,036 deaths associated with Covid-19 (43.2% of the total) and in the following week 1,597 (41.8%).

The excess of mortality in relation to the average of the same weeks between 2015 and 2019 was 66.3% in the week from 25th to 31st of January and 42% in the week from 1st to 7th of February.

“The number of deaths from Covid-19 was, in weeks 4 and 5, higher than the excess of mortality, which means that, excluding deaths by Covid-19, the mortality registered in these two weeks would be below the average of 2015-2019 period “, points out the INE.

More than 75% of deaths in these two weeks were of people aged 75 years and over and the greatest excess of mortality was in people over 90 years, of whom 74.1% died more than the average of the last five years for the same period.

Variants of Covid-19

Covid-19: Variant detected in the United Kingdom already represents 48% of cases in Portugal

The variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus detected in the United Kingdom is already responsible for almost half of cases of Covid-19 in Portugal, when in early January it represented 8% of infections, said today Ricardo Jorge National Health Institute (INSA).

“As of February 16th [Tuesday], we estimate that this variant represents around 48% of all Covid-19 cases in Portugal,” João Paulo Gomes, INSA researcher and coordinator of the study on diversity, told Lusa genetics of the new coronavirus in Portugal.

According to INSA data, the incidence in the country of this variant of the virus that causes Covid-19, considered more contagious, has been growing since the beginning of the year, registering a constant increase over several weeks, in the period in which the highest number of infections was registered in Portugal.

João Paulo Gomes estimates that the variant originating in the United Kingdom represented around 8% of cases of the Covid-19 disease in the first week of the year, increasing to 13.4% in the second week of January and to 24.7% in the third week.

According to the expert, this growing incidence of the variant “certainly contributed” to the emergence of the so-called `third wave ‘that occurred in January with the exponential increase in cases of covid-19 across the country, although it was not the“ factor that weighed more ”.

“In the contribution he made, not only the high number of introductions of this variant that took place during the second half of December – the return of Portuguese immigrants for Christmas and tourists from the United Kingdom – but also its high transmissibility”, explained the specialist.

Regarding the variant originating in South Africa, INSA only identified four cases in Portugal, and no case of the SARS-CoV-2 variant initially discovered in Manaus, Brazil, was registered until Thursday.

Vaccinations

“There is no overtaking of anyone ahead of anyone” in the changes to the vaccination plan, says Lacerda Sales

The Assistant Secretary of State and Health argues that the vaccination plan against Covid-19 “is being well executed” and “in alignment with most countries in Europe”. Immunisation is being carried out “according to what has arrived”, says António Lacerda Sales, and stresses that “all vaccines that arrive quickly are administered”.

Speaking to the media, Lacerda Sales said that “about 6.3% of the population is covered by vaccination, with 2.3% having already taken both doses, which is in line with most countries in Europe”.

The Assistant Secretary of State and Health recognizes that “we are always dependent on what is the production capacity [of vaccines] and the mechanisms of European acquisition”, adding: “We need them to arrive so that we can execute our plan later”.

Regarding delays in deliveries, Lacerda Sales says that “instead of the total of 11 million vaccines that would be expected at the end of the first half, we will have an order of 8 or 9 million”. Even so, he believes, “it may arrive to vaccinate 3.6 million people” and “it will correspond to what was the initial phase of the plan”.

Regarding the changes in the priorities foreseen in the plan, António Lacerda Sales asserts that “vaccination is carried out in parallel lines and there is no overtaking by anyone in front of anyone”.

“At the same time that we vaccinate people over 80 years old, people over 50 and with known comorbidities, we still continue to vaccinate health professionals”, he stresses.

For now, António Lacerda Sales does not want to hear about suspicions. “The word now is confinement. That’s where we should focus. It is premature to speak of lack of definition. What we want is to ensure that all Portuguese, in terms of collective conscience, follow the rules”, he added.

7,000 members of the security forces and 11,000 firefighters have already received the first dose of the vaccine

More than 7 000 members of the security forces and more than 11,000 firefighters have already received the first dose of the vaccine against Covid-19, in compliance with the vaccination plan for essential functions of the State.

The vaccination process for 15,000 firefighters began on February 11th and 11 061 firefighters have already been vaccinated.

Firefighters, given the operational dimension of the pre-hospital transport they perform, play an essential role in the State and are therefore being vaccinated over two weeks. The order of vaccination of these firefighters was defined by the National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority based on operational criteria and covers the universe of volunteers, sappers and municipalities.

The vaccination of members of the Security Forces – 10,000 from the Republican National Guard (GNR) and 10,000 from the Public Security Police (PSP) – began last Saturday, February 13th, and will last for four weeks.

By the end of yesterday, 3418 members of the GNR and 3638 of the PSP had already been vaccinated.

The planning of this vaccination process was prepared in an articulated manner between the GNR and the PSP, coordinated by the Ministry of Internal Administration.

The order of the members to be vaccinated was defined by the GNR and the PSP, based on operational criteria – prioritising military personnel and agents in the front line and most exposed to the risks of Coronavirus – and also health criteria – with priority to elements suffering from comorbidities / pathologies listed by the General Health Directorate.

Covid-19: Security forces and firefighters with less vaccination priority

Lisbon, February 19th, 2021 (Lusa) – However, according to news reports, vaccination of the security forces and firefighters will no longer lead the way due to the scarcity of vaccines, with administration being strengthened for people aged 80 and over and between 50 and 79 years old with chronic conditions.

According to the Expresso newspaper, which cites statements by the new task force coordinator, Henrique Gouveia e Melo, the shortage of vaccines led to a change in the initial vaccination plan, delaying vaccination to the Armed Forces and security forces, firefighters, members of sovereign bodies, like courts and parliament, and even doctors who are not on the front lines.

The bulk of vaccines available will be administered to two groups: people aged 80 and over and people aged 50 to 79 with one of the four diseases most at risk for Covid-19 (cardiac, coronary, renal and severe respiratory).

According to the newspaper, the scarcity of vaccines and the need to protect those most vulnerable to Covid-19 led the new task force coordinator to redefine vaccination priorities.

Henrique Gouveia e Melo told the newspaper that 90% of the vaccines available are now intended to “save lives” and only 10% to “reinforce the state’s resilience in a pandemic period”.

According to the newspaper, this is equivalent to “removing more speed in the rate of vaccination of professionals of essential services of the State, who also integrate the first phase of the plan and which include the Armed Forces and security forces, firefighters, members of sovereign bodies , like courts and Parliament, and even doctors who are not on the front lines. ”

Covid-19: Vaccination of about 15,000 firefighters will continue – Liga

The first phase of vaccination against the Covid-19 of the approximately 15,000 firefighters will continue, the President of the Portuguese Firefighters League (LBP) told Lusa today.

Jaime Marta Soares stated that there will be no changes in relation to the plan for this first phase of vaccination against Covid-19, which provides for the vaccination of half of the firefighters.

The statements of the President of the LBP came after the League demanded more clarification about the vaccination process to the firefighters, following today’s news from the weekly Expresso that, citing the task force coordinator, Henrique Gouveia e Melo, the vaccination security forces and firefighters will no longer lead the way due to a shortage of vaccines, with administration being strengthened for people aged 80 and over and between 50 and 79 with chronic illnesses.

“I contacted the task force coordinator who guaranteed, and I believe in his word, that there is no change in relation to the 15,000 firefighters scheduled for vaccination in this first phase,” Jaime Marte Soares told Lusa.

According to the President of the LBP, in this first phase, 15,000 firefighters are expected to be vaccinated, 50 percent of the global population, with 12,000 vaccinated so far.

On the vaccination of the remaining staff, Jaime Marta Soares stated that, starting next week, the discussion on how this second phase will be carried out will begin.

The vaccination of about 15,000 volunteer firefighters and municipal firefighters began on February 12th and will continue for another week.

Covid-19: Association of PSP professionals is concerned with delaying vaccination and asks the political power to “solve the problem”

This Friday, the Association of Police Professionals (ASPP / PSP) expressed “some concern” about delaying the vaccination of security forces against Covid-19 and argued that the Government should give “a sign of solving the problem”.

Expresso reported on Friday that the vaccination of the security forces and firefighters will no longer lead the way due to the scarcity of vaccines, with administration being strengthened for people aged 80 and over and between 50 and 79 with chronic diseases.

Contacted by the Lusa agency, the president of ASPP / PSP, Paulo Santos, affirmed that it is a “sensitive issue”, but nevertheless “showing some concern, since this vaccination model was already being applied in PSP.

“There are policemen who have already been vaccinated in the first phase” and “there are others who are notified to be vaccinated this weekend”, he said.

The President of ASPP / PSP defended that it is a group of professionals who, being on a set of missions and inspections to correspond to what are the needs of fighting the pandemic, where they are in the first line, should already be vaccinated.

“The process should be more accelerated and more developed and now it aggravates everything with this obstacle that is placed and that somehow makes us worried”, he lamented.

Covid-19: GNR Association calls for testing if vaccination is delayed

The President of the Guard Professionals Association (APG / GNR) defended this Friday that tests should be carried out frequently on the security forces if the vaccination plan against Covid-19 is changed.

César Nogueira’s statements to the Lusa agency follow a news story released today by the Expresso newspaper, according to which the vaccination of the security forces will no longer lead the way due to the shortage of vaccines, with the administration of people aged 80 or over being strengthened together with those between 50 and 79 with chronic diseases.

“Since the vaccination plan is going to be changed, at a minimum, what the Government must do is perform tests every 15 days or month by month on these professionals” so that there can be “a better screening” and the military “does not to infect other people “because they have to walk on the ground every day.

According to César Nogueira, these tests on Covid-19 were never carried out, giving his example: “yesterday [Thursday] I was vaccinated, but until yesterday I never took a test and I walk every day on the field, I am a patrolman, have contact with people and I have no idea if I got infected and it’s gone “.

César Nogueira said he realized that due to the scarcity of vaccines there are other priority people, namely the elderly and people with some pathologies, but he regretted being “relegated back”.

“What we think is that all of this is a little badly outlined, we don’t know the reason for this delay in the vaccine, certainly it will be due to the supplier’s delay, but this is proof that the front line professionals, including security forces and services, once again, as is already a prerogative, are relegated to a later plan “, lamented the President of APG / GNR.

Covid-19. PSD suggests Costa creates a permanent scientific commission to support response to the pandemic

The PSD wants the Government to create a permanent scientific committee to support and monitor the response to the Covid-19 pandemic. In a draft resolution (without force of law) announced today, the PSD defends that “the success of any strategy and the measures to fight the Covid-19 pandemic depends – and a lot – on the correctness, reliability and sufficiency of technical information and epidemiological information that, at each moment, is made available to the competent public authorities, in particular those of the governmental sphere “.

“Political decisions and health measures must be solid, clear, grounded and based on the best existing scientific evidence”, reads the document.

The Social Democrats consider that, in Portugal, we have witnessed “the repeated taking of erratic, late, inappropriate decisions, sometimes even blind, often aggravating the social anxiety that the Portuguese understandably have been experiencing for about a year”.

For the PSD, a permanent scientific commission would contribute “to improving the quality of the authorities’ response to the pandemic crisis facing the country”.

In the resolution, the project argues that this commission should support “the response and the decision-making process of the competent public authorities for its control and eradication, also issuing the scientific opinions requested by the Government or by the health and proposing the measures deemed necessary or advisable in that area “.

For Social Democrats, this body must include “an adequate number of specialist technicians of recognised merit, with competences, especially in the field of epidemiology, mathematics and applied health, designated through a process involving the Assembly of the Republic and the Council of Rectors of Portuguese Universities “.

Enforcement

Authorities investigate movement certificates between municipalities for sale on the Darknet

Authorities have detected the existence of a specialised website that sells illegal certificates for 40 euros.

The national authorities have detected ‘the Darknet’, a website specializing in the sale of travel certificates between municipalities. According to Expresso, the certificates that allow to avoid the limitations dictated by the State of Emergency have been marketed through a Darknet website, which was created with this specific objective.

Sources linked to the investigation say that the site sold certificates for travelling between municipalities at 40 euros each. The copy shown to potential buyers had associated the graphics and the name of a company and was written in the English version of Portuguese, as well as the website that was developed for that purpose. It is unknown how many counterfeit denominations are available for purchase on this website created by con artists.

Those who followed the case say that the site has shown intermittent operation. The fake certificates could be purchased through a simple electronic transaction. The case is under investigation. The fact that the site is on Darknet – an area of ​​the Internet that is often associated with the criminal underworld for facilitating anonymity and eliminating digital tracks – may also make it more complex to identify the creators of this site.

Travel certificates between municipalities are issued by employers to ensure that the respective professionals, due to the functions they perform, can move between municipalities, without being subject to the limitations imposed by the State of Emergency.

The Public Ministry has already opened 33 criminal investigations regarding irregularities related to the Covid-19 vaccination plan.

According to data sent by the Attorney General’s Office, seven inquiries were opened in the area of ​​the Regional Attorney General of Lisbon, eight in the area of ​​the Regional Attorney General of Porto, ten in the area of ​​the Regional Attorney General of Coimbra and eight in the area of ​​the Évora Regional Attorney General.

“It is clarified that, in addition to previously confirmed situations, investigations were initiated in relation to facts reported on private social solidarity institutions in Castelo Branco, Farminhão, Resende and Trancoso or related to the vaccination of local authorities in Lisbon, Portimão and Reguengos de Monsaraz ” , says the PGR.

One of the recent cases of alleged improper vaccination involved the Councilor of the Lisbon municipality, Carlos Manuel Castro. According to the magazine ” Saturday “, which found that among the doses of vaccine left over from administration in the homes, 26 were” administered to members of the teams directly involved in the inoculation operation of the homes “, including the councilman himself, and the rest, a hundred, were administered to 56 volunteer firefighters and the commander and sub-commander of the Firefighters Regiment and 42 members of the Municipal Police.

Three weeks ago, the PGR indicated that it had opened nine investigations regarding the Social Security of Setúbal, INEM in Lisbon, INEM in Porto and facts also reported in Portimão (Elderly Support Center), Vila Nova de Famalicão, Arcos de Valdevez, Bragança, Seixal and Montijo .

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