[ad_1]
The President of the Government of the Azores announced on Tuesday that an “economic incentive” will be created for the purchase of goods or services in the region to anyone who intends to travel to the archipelago and perform the covid-19 test at origin.
The measure is aimed at all passengers coming from areas of active community transmission or with active local transmission chains, said Vasco Cordeiro, at a press conference in Ponta Delgada, on the island of São Miguel.
The objective of the financial incentive, the amount of which has not yet been disclosed, is to strengthen protection against the new coronavirus and also “stimulate Azorean economic activity.”
The Azores have entered into agreements with close to two hundred laboratories on the mainland and in Madeira, and every citizen traveling from other parts of the country to the region can test for covid-19 for free.
Another method is for passengers to take the test, also for free, upon arrival in the Azores, but the incentive now created aims to reduce these figures.
“Of all the possibilities we analyzed, this was the safest path to take,” declared Vasco Cordeiro, after being questioned by the Lusa agency about the viability, even legal, of allowing only passengers with a negative covid-19 test to enter. to the region. made in the days prior to departure.
With the “collaboration and awareness of the people”, the executive believes that it is “perfectly possible” for the Azores to go through the current moment, with more daily positive cases in the world and in Portugal, with “relative calm”, said its president.
“From one minute to the next,” however, “it may be necessary to take more and tougher measures,” the minister also acknowledged.
The Government of the Azores will also recommend “the use of a mask in open public spaces with a large concentration of people”, in the framework of the covid-19 pandemic.
The recommendation, said the president, will be “soon subject to the respective guidance of the Regional Health Authority” and is suggested for “places of greater difficulty to ensure the recommended physical distance.”
“This recommendation is particularly relevant for cases in which the result of the detection test carried out on the sixth day is expected, and those who find themselves in these circumstances should also pay special attention to compliance with the other measures to protect public health. “Vasco continued. Lamb.
The Government of the Azores, he added, will acquire 100,000 rapid tests for covid-19, which will allow “reinforcing the screening capacity of possible positive cases” in spaces such as schools and nursing homes.
The tests, “approved by Infarmed”, will allow, “in less than half an hour and in a decentralized way”, to obtain results of “suspected cases of contagion” by the new coronavirus.
The President of the Government of the Azores also announced that the annual influenza vaccination campaign will begin on Wednesday, starting with nursing homes, between users and professionals, and then moving on to health professionals and the “remaining beneficiary population of free vaccination “.
Until October 1, five islands of the Azores, those with direct air connections abroad, are in a situation of public calamity.
The situation affects the islands of Santa María, São Miguel, Terceira, Pico and Faial.
The islands of Graciosa, São Jorge, Flores and Corvo, without direct air connections with the Portuguese mainland, remain on alert until the same date.
So far, 277 cases of infection by the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, which causes the disease covid-19, have been detected in the region, with 55 active positive cases at present, of which 43 in São Miguel, eight in Terceira, three in Pico and one in Graciosa.
Since the start of the pandemic, there have been 16 deaths related to covid-19, all in São Miguel.
[ad_2]
