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The increase in Covid-19 cases in recent days could lead to Portugal being excluded from the safe corridors of the United Kingdom and a re-evaluation of the date of declaration of the contingency status, pulmonologist Filipe Froes reported this Friday.
In statements to Lusa, the coordinator of the Covid-19 crisis office of the Ordem dos Médicos (OM) left an alert for the deterioration of the epidemiological situation in the country and for possible cEconomic consequences of this situation, on a day in which Portugal registered six more deaths and 401 new cases. Infection confirmed in the last 24 hours, according to the epidemiological bulletin of the General Health Directorate (DGS) released today.
“We took too long to win the safe UK tourist corridor and as we did not maximize the ability to eliminate transmission chains in the community, we risk losing the corridor again,” said the expert, adding: “The second wave is approaching and we will arrive with less capacity than we wanted.”
At the same time, Filipe Froes also stressed that the “gradual increase in the number of new cases precedes by one or two weeks the increase in the number of hospital admissions and hospitalizations in intensive care”, while highlighting the need to use common metrics to the comparison. the evolution of the pandemic with other European countries.
The Council of Ministers announced this Thursday the passage of the entire continental territory to a state of contingency on September 15, so that the necessary measures can be defined “in each area to prepare for the return to school and the return of many Portuguese to workplace ”, according to the Minister of the Presidency, Mariana Vieira da Silva. Given the government measure, the pulmonologist did not rule out a revision of the date.
“To maintain this continuous increase in recent days, it may be necessary to re-evaluate the contingency declaration date. It is not enough to say that you want to anticipate, you have to re-evaluate according to the daily evolution of the cases, “he said.
Filipe Froes reiterated the importance of design an anticipatory strategy to combat the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, which causes Covid-19 disease, and opened the door to possible widespread use of the mask.
“We should take all the necessary steps to move to a possible second wave better prepared. One measure to consider is the permanent use of the mask in open public spaces“He noted, listing still other measures, namely” conducting early diagnostic tests on high-risk contacts of all confirmed cases “and simplifying” licensing and procurement of new diagnostic tests. ” .
In Portugal 1,815 people died of the 57,074 who were confirmed to be infected, according to the latest bulletin from the Directorate General of Health.
