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“At the last Infarmed meeting, one of the scientists [Manuel Carmo Gomes] He proposed three fundamental marks that should serve as a red line to declare the closure (and not green lines to end it). So I asked our scientists to make a scientific consensus effort on the levels at which measurements should be taken. “
The information was released this Thursday by the Prime Minister, at the press conference with which he presented the conclusions of the Council of Ministers that debated and approved the decree that will regulate the new state of emergency for the next fortnight (from 00:00 hours on 15 February). at 11:59 pm on March 1, 2021).
António Costa, by saying that it was about the “duties” that he ordered the scientists at the end of the meeting, responded to the pressure exerted by the PSD leader. Rui Rio also participated in the Infarmed meeting and later, speaking with journalists, argued that the path proposed by Manuel Carmo Gomes should be followed. “They are management rules, common sense and it seems to me that the Government should follow these rules (…) The methodology is fine and if it had always been done like this, Portugal would not have gotten where it did. We have responsibility, the Government will have much more, “he said.
“We have to maintain the current level of confinement, surely for the next 15 days and we must realistically assume that we will have to maintain it even during the month of March.”
On Thursday, António Costa said that science “is naturally a space for debate and divergent opinions and in a democracy there is no official scientific truth.” “But,” he added, “obviously, it would be comforting for everyone if the scientific consensus could be consolidated and broadened. There are different opinions, which is natural, but this scientific debate in the public domain often generates confusion in people, who remain without knowing well what the truth is. “
Furthermore, the policy maker “must follow the best available scientific knowledge” before making a decision. “This information should be as consensual as possible between peers,” appealed the prime minister.
However, for now, the state of emergency and the respective general containment measures will remain in place at least until the end of March. “We have to maintain the current level of confinement, surely for the next 15 days and we must realistically assume that we will have to maintain it even during the month of March,” the head of government told reporters.
“We cannot settle for the numbers that we still have. They are absolutely unacceptable.”
In the initial message, António Costa gave a positive signal about the current closure and acknowledged the “civic effort” of the Portuguese, stating that the closure is giving results, with a “reduction of new cases” that translates into a significant reduction of the risk of transmissibility. “The famous Rt, which is currently at 0.77, which is the lowest the country has had since the beginning of the pandemic and which is very visible in the effective reduction of new daily cases, which after a very high growth strong in January has been experiencing a very significant drop in recent weeks, “he said.
However, immediately underlining that “the situation continues to be extremely serious”, translating this seriousness “into the increase in hospitalization, in the increase in hospitalization in intensive care, it also translates into the very high number of daily deaths”. That death toll “is also decreasing, but we cannot settle for the numbers we still have. They are absolutely unacceptable.” In other words: compared to the daily maximum of deaths that occurred in the first wave, when all the Portuguese mobilized “to fight this pandemic”, the figures that Portugal has today are still “absolutely unacceptable”.
Slower vaccination
The head of government took advantage of the press conference to give another bad news: the vaccination speed is half of that initially planned.
For this reason, the pharmaceutical industry blamed: “Instead of 4.4 million doses, we will receive 1.98 million doses in this first quarter, which means that our vaccination capacity in this first quarter will be approximately half of the expected in signed contracts. between pharmaceutical companies and the European Commission “.
And the noise of the buildings?
Apparently, the head of government refused (more than once) to respond to journalists when asked about the part of the presidential decree that states that “the lowest noise levels can be determined in decibels or in certain periods of time. , in residential buildings, so that teleworkers are not disturbed “. The silence was complemented at the same time by the absence of any reference to the issue in the statement from the Council of Ministers, a sign, perhaps, that the Head of Government saw this proposal by the Head of State as erroneous, refusing to legislate on an issue that, in practice, it can force the State to enter the buildings inside to resolve conflicts.
The day ended with the President of the Republic reading another message to the country where he explained why he decided to renew the state of emergency (the 11th since the start of the pandemic).
Rejecting crisis
Marcelo insistently seized the opportunity to reject scenarios of political crisis (in recent weeks several personalities, most of them on the right, have called for governments of national unity / presidential initiative).
In the opinion of the head of state, it is necessary to prolong the current general confinement during the month of March and continue supporting those affected in this context of crisis derived from covid-19 – and “everything without political crises” and “everything without government scenarios . of national unity or salvation. “
In other words: “Don’t count on me to give the least echo to scenarios of political or electoral crisis. The health crisis and the economic and social crisis are enough for us.”
Or even: “The Portuguese understood that common sense already warned that causing, at this moment, political crises, with scenarios outside the parties of undesirable results in lost time, in third elections in the summer and nothing new on the horizon, It was useless more than aggravating the pandemic, never shortening it. ” Therefore, the important thing is “to overcome crises, even the most serious” and “not to provoke crises, even the most seductive.”
