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The Prime Minister, António Costa, met this Wednesday afternoon with the mayors of the Baixo Tâmega and Vale do Sousa region, in a meeting that took place in Paços de Ferreira and in which it was intended to assess the evolution of the pandemic of covid-19 in this area of the country. António Costa said that a set of measures was designed with the aim of curbing the increase in new cases in the municipalities of this region, but preferred not to give more details.
“I will not announce now [as medidas]Surely the Minister of Health and the Minister of Internal Administration will announce them in due course. Now I am going to speak with my colleagues in the government so that they can make decisions and formalize them. It is not a sanitary fence or compulsory confinement. Measures are at stake that seek to contain the spread of the pandemic, which, according to the information we collect from those responsible for public health, is caused by infections caused by social interaction. Parties, family and non-family gatherings. This is what we need to be able to contain [a propagação]”Said the prime minister at the end of the meeting.
The mayors of Felgueiras, Lousada and Paços de Ferreira attended this meeting with António Costa, after Baixo Tâmega and Vale do Sousa became the area of the country with the highest number of cases per 100,000 inhabitants. Last Monday, when the General Directorate of Health (DGS) detailed the number of cases by municipality, these three municipalities concentrated more than three thousand cases (3010), a figure that has grown in recent weeks. The local health authorities even issued an alert to the population, motivated by the increase in cases in these three municipalities. Although he did not disclose the specific measures, the prime minister identified some areas to combat the epidemic that need to be improved.
“It was possible to identify a set of measures that will be implemented, from increasing testing capacity, increasing epidemiological investigations and making an effort with the municipalities to compensate for the delays. On the other hand, I had the opportunity to collect suggestions from everyone to contain the pandemic. [O vírus] it has an epicenter in these three municipalities, but it is spreading to the neighboring municipalities and we must act as soon as possible to contain the contagion ”, he concluded.
Paredes takes action. “The situation is not under control,” says the mayor
The meeting was attended by the mayors of the Tâmega-Norte Association of Health Centers (ACES), but in Paredes, a municipality that was not represented at this meeting, restrictive measures will be implemented as of midnight this Thursday. According to the statement sent by the municipality this Wednesday, the closing time for cafes, patisseries and other similar establishments will begin at 10:00 p.m., and restaurants will not be able to receive customers after this time and will close at 11:00 a.m. . .
“With these additional measures, we wanted to send a signal to people that the situation is not under control. We have seen an unexpected increase in cases and this requires action. At the end of September, the number of cases was around 200 and we now have 836 active cases [os números reportam a terça-feira], that is, we have four times more infected, which is worrying, “the president of the Chamber of Paredes, Alexandre Almeida, told the PUBLIC.
The package of measures designed to mitigate the number of new infections in the municipality also covers cultural and artistic events, which will no longer be held in Paredes. Nor will the “Fair of Walls” be held, which takes place twice a month.
“Let’s see if with these measures we can slow down a little the progression of the pandemic in the municipality,” says the mayor, specifying that the measures, which were articulated with the health delegate, will remain in force as long as the number of cases remains high. . “When we realize that the situation is under control, we will lift the measures that begin to take effect at midnight,” he concluded.
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