• Jamila Madeira, Undersecretary of State and Health, announced today the launch of a tender for the purchase of new personal protective equipment for health professionals, for a total amount of 20 million euros.
  • So far, 4,551 health professionals have been infected, of which 3,892 have recovered.
  • Regarding the suspension of the tests of the final phase of the vaccine that AstraZeneca is developing against covid-19, Rui Ivo, president of Infarmed, said that “the stop was made to understand their reaction” in the patient, which “may be related to the administration of the vaccine or not “.
  • “Phase three is a testing phase,” he explained, highlighting that the objective is “to be able to effectively understand all aspects related to the effectiveness of the vaccine, but also to its safety”, to “reach the final stage” . However, the vaccine will only arrive when there are guarantees of its efficacy and safety.
  • Regarding the increase in contagion cases, Jamila Madeira assured that this “is not a number that makes us happy or satisfied,” and explained that the return from vacation and the resumption of work will be at stake. It was also mentioned that the “Government was expectant”, which is why the contingency period for the entire country has been considered, starting on the 15th of this month. The Secretary of State also said that, faced with this “reality of recovery,” we are “facing a focus mainly on family transmission.”
  • Graça Freitas, general director of Health, stated that only 12% of the 646 cases confirmed today refer to people over 70 years of age, highlighting that it is “a positive factor, because it shows the social mobility” expected with the return from vacation.
  • The general director of Health recalled that the phase that is coming is “very important”, due to the “social mobility” caused by the return to classes and jobs. Thus, he explained that the resumption of hearings in football stadiums and the reopening of clubs depend on the figures verified in the coming weeks. “We have to see what this great experience of going back to school is like,” he said.
  • Regarding households, Jamila Madeira said that the current outbreaks “are of a very small number”, compared to what has already occurred in the country. However, the cases are being adequately monitored by the health authorities.
  • Graça Freitas added that “things are not being done reactively”, but “programmatically”, referring to visits to institutions, which are carried out according to a plan. “It is a preventive issue, verification of conformity and pedagogical intervention,” she said.
  • The entourage of the Belarusian U21 soccer team registered six confirmed cases of covid-19, said the Director General of Health. , we made the decision to test all the people involved with this Belarusian team. There were 36 tests, and of those additional tests, three more people tested positive, so at this time the Belarusian delegation has six positive cases, “he said.
  • As for the possible date of the postponed match, Graça Freitas said he was not aware, justifying the competition of UEFA in conjunction with the Portuguese Football Federation. Graça Freitas also said that, in addition to the tests, the health authorities took prophylactic isolation measures.