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Virgílio Machado, 44, is at risk. So when he found out about a free screening of covid-19 in his parish, in Coucieiro, Vila Verde, he did not think twice: he took his wife and daughter and went, this Saturday morning, to the parish hall to seek submission to a rapid antigen test.
This afternoon, the action also took place in the neighboring parish of Ponte S.Vicente, thanks to the support of Pedro Silva, a local businessman.
About two hours after opening doors, in Coucieiro, the queue was about 40 people. By then, some 30 had already been tested, “all with negative results,” confided the clinical analysis technician Miguel Ramos, who took over the work with his colleague Filipa Pinto, with all the necessary care: suitable suits, temperature measurement and serving one user at a time.
Outside, there were few fears from those waiting their turn and common praise for the initiative. “It will be the first time that I am going to do a test. I think that it should even be mandatory that all parishes offer tests to the population,” shoots Aurora Silva, 55 years old. Resident in Coucieiro, he says that he lives his days with “tranquility”, but “with all affection”. And Christmas, this year, is already an example of this. Instead of bringing 13 family members together, as usual, “there will only be four,” he says, warning that negative COVID-19 results “should not be used as an excuse for people to rejoin.”
“The virus scares me, because I am at risk of getting sick and here in the parish there have been some cases,” said Virgílio Machado, who only leaves home to shop. “People who do not have symptoms does not mean they do not have the virus,” he adds, alertly.
Arlindo Rodrigues, no longer leaves the house as he would like, and stopped going to restaurants to protect his diabetic wife. But, despite all the care, I wanted to go to clarify my doubts. “He made a small impression with the swab, but it was 40 seconds,” he describes in a calm tone.
Luís Ferreira, mayor of Coucieiro, and Bruno Macedo, of Ponte S.Vicente, promise to repeat the initiative for those who will be left out this Saturday. In total, the two parishes receive about a thousand inhabitants. “I think there are people who are not afraid of the result,” says Luís Ferreira.
Bruno Macedo recalls that bedridden patients are also covered with home examinations.
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