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This Friday, Portugal registered six more deaths and 401 cases of infection by the new coronavirus, the which corresponds to an increase of 0.7%. This is again the highest number of daily cases since July 10, after Friday’s numbers surpassed the 399 cases registered the day before.
Since August 24, the number of new cases has been increasing. The general director of Health, Graça Freitas, explained that it is still “premature” to try to explain the increase in the number of cases in recent days, but guarantees that “it is part of the dynamics of the infection and there is an increase in the activity of this virus around the world. ” Europe. “One of the possible reasons is” the normal activity of people, including tourism and migrants who come to visit their families. “
“These cases have been more than disseminated in the community and have been outbreaks, many times family members, outbreaks found in institutions and outbreaks that are in companies or workplaces. They will be the explanations for this increase in cases, which has not been exponential, ”he said. “Our concern is that we do not have mechanisms, a vaccine, a drug. We are not going to be able to have zero cases, we are going to have ups and downs, we have to keep the situation under control for that balance ”. Even so, the general director of Health warns that nothing is certain: “We will see the next few days to see if this trend continues or not.”
In total, there are 1,815 deaths and 57,074 confirmed cases since the start of the pandemic in Portugal.
Of the 401 new cases, 182 (45%) were registered in the Lisbon and Vale do Tejo region and 166 (41%) in the northern region. Of the six deaths registered in the last 24 hours, four were identified in Lisbon and Vale do Tejo and two in the North. The data appear in the epidemiological bulletin this Friday released by the General Directorate of Health (DGS).
199 people recovered from the previous day, with a total of 41,556 recovered. A week ago, since August 21 (when another 209 recovered), the increase in 24 hours was not that high.
There are currently 13,703 active cases, 196 more than Thursday, after subtracting the number of recovered people and deaths from the total number of infections.
334 people are hospitalized (17 more than Thursday), 38 of whom are in intensive care units (three more than the day before). This is the largest increase in the number of hospitalized patients in 24 hours since June 29, when 31 more people were hospitalized.
The age group most affected in terms of deaths is that of people over 80 years of age, belonging to this group four of the fatalities identified this Friday (two men and two women). The two remaining victims were between 70 and 79 years old (a man and a woman). The overall fatality rate in Portugal is 3.2% and in infected people over 70 years it is 15.4%.
The Lisbon and Tagus Valley region has the highest cumulative number of confirmed cases to date, with 29,514. It is followed by the North region, with 20,457, the Center, with 4,757 cases (29 more than the previous day), the Algarve, with 1,062 (plus ten), and the Alentejo, with 923 infected (plus nine in the last 24 hours) . ). The Azores archipelago did not register new cases or fatalities this Friday, leaving a cumulative total of 208 cases and 15 deaths, and Madeira registered five more infections, out of a total of 153 infected since the beginning of the epidemic.
The region with the highest number of deaths from covid-19 is the north, with a total of 848 deaths. It is followed by the Lisbon region and the Tagus Valley, with 660, the Center with 253, the Alentejo with 22 and the Algarve with 17 deaths.
There are 60 nursing homes with infected users
There are 60 nursing homes with users infected with the virus that causes covid-19 disease (SARS-CoV-2). In total, there are 523 users and 224 employees with a positive test. “With these figures, we cannot neglect safety at any time, whether at home, at work or on vacation,” warned the Secretary of State for Health, Jamila Madeira, at the DGS press conference this Friday.
The total number of health professionals infected as of this Friday is 4,401, of which 3,821 have already recovered, reported Jamila Madeira.
During August, an average of 13,714 tests were carried out per day and, since March (when the virus was first detected in Portugal), more than 1.9 million tests have been carried out.
The DGS studies the mandatory use of masks in children and public places
Regarding the mandatory use of masks, DGS is “revisiting masks”, such as the use of masks in children and the use of masks in public places. “There are public spaces that are frequented by several people at the same time that can be treated in a wide and open public space, we have to be aware of the risk,” she said. Graça Freitas. Public health protection measures are implemented, yes, “but proportional to the risk”. And she exemplified: “Going to a busy street in a city is different from walking the dog at ten o’clock at night on a non-crowded street. We have to have that common sense and proportionality ”.
The general director of Health also said that the return to school was scheduled and that the Ministry of Education did “a great job”, but it is necessary to be open to review the rules and adapt them. “It is normal that the general rules that can be applied in ideal conditions have to be reviewed to find alternative solutions. One thing is the guidelines, another is the ability to implement these guidelines, “said Graça Freitas, arguing that there is” all availability “to review cases and problems that arise with students and teachers in risk groups.
If there are positive cases in schools, the goal is to have a “fast” communication mechanism between educational institutions and health authorities. “A great effort is being made in this regard, to break chains of contagion and a communication campaign will also be launched,” she explained.
The Director General of Health also explained that the contingency situation that Portugal will enter from mid-September is due to the resumption of “social and academic activity” of many Portuguese. “There will be a massive social movement that is the opening of schools,” he says. “We cannot in any way compare the meetings of people in circumstances of our normal life with the return to teaching. The resumption of teaching activity is essential, that is why there are so many rules to minimize risk ”.
Worldwide, according to data from Johns Hopkins University, COVID-19 has already caused the infection of more than 24.4 million people and has killed more than 832,000. More than 16 million have recovered.
