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It is necessary to go back to April 20 to see more new cases of infection by SARS-CoV-2, the covid-19 virus, in Portugal. That day there were 657, this Wednesday 646 were reported. Nothing that the Government did not expect, judging by the words of the Secretary of State for Health, Jamila Madeira, at the press conference to present the figures.
“With the post-vacation return, with more mobility, more contacts, the Government already expected that number to increase. That is why he anticipated, or pre-announced, a measure that he will soon take in the Council of Ministers ”. The official recalled Portugal’s entry into a new contingency period, starting on September 15. “It doesn’t make us happy or satisfied,” he said of the updated figures.
The justification for the increase, in addition to the return to activities and the end of the vacation period, was put back in the “family transmission”. Jamila Madeira asked for a “decrease in the number of contacts”, since it is “the greatest instrument we have to reduce the spread”. But she recalled that, in preparation for this autumn / winter that the Government plans to increase new cases, a competition was launched for the acquisition of more Personal Protective Equipment for health professionals, in a global investment of 20 million euros.
The elderly population is the most vulnerable in this pandemic. In Portugal, 95% of deaths occurred in people over 60 years of age, and 67% of the total were ill over 80 years.
At his side, Graça Freitas, general director of Health, opted for the positive note. “Only 12% of these cases refer to people over 70 years of age, which is a positive indicator in relation to the possible severity of the cases. And it shows social mobility, which is normal in a re-entry period ”, he recalled.
In addition to this positive note, Graça Freitas gave another: to reduce the number of nursing homes with a history of infections. Now there are 26 in the country.
Matthew LeJune / Unsplash
Public in stadiums and clubs? “It certainly won’t be in the near future”
The return of classroom activities is now a major concern for the Government and health authorities. Without stable schools, other activities are compromised.
At the press conference, which started again an hour behind schedule, the director general of Health said that “we will have to be careful with the population movements that are coming”, referring to the beginning. of the school year. “And I’m not just thinking about school, I’m thinking about moving to school, coming to school.”
It was at that moment that, questioned by other returns, such as that of the public to the football stadiums and that of the clubs, it stopped expectations. “We have to consider [esses regressos] in a broader context and it certainly won’t be in the near future. “Journalists insisted on a date, but Graça Freitas didn’t give it.” Forecast? There is not.”
