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Institutionalized children and youth will no longer be required to perform a prophylactic quarantine. The regulations that provide for 14 days of isolation will be updated, taking into account the start of the school year, the Director General of Health guaranteed at the press conference to take stock of the situation of the pandemic in Portugal. Graça Freitas promised that the update “will be published very soon.” “I can’t tell you the exact time,” he said.
“From the beginning of the classes, the community to which these children go is a community open to the outside, children will be exempt from carrying out any type of quarantine, since they will enter and leave the institution like anyone else“He explained. The orientation to be updated” will excuse people from prophylactic isolation, that is, children, who enter open communities and allow the daily entry and exit of their residents abroad. “
This update to the standard comes after Graça Freitas said, on August 26, that she was trying to understand if there would be scientific news that would allow a reduction of 14 days of isolation. “We are reviewing the standard to understand if there are currently studies or evidence to reduce this period.” Otherwise, guaranteed, the standard could not be changed.
“The review can go through the isolation side with conditions so that people do not feel abandoned,” said Graça Freitas, who had been confronted with the issue at the usual DGS press conference after the complaint to the PGR. by the installation committee of the AjudAjudar association.
Little more than a week later, the General Directorate of Health even ended up updating the norm, ensuring that children and young people in danger who are in the custody of institutions “will be exempt from any type of quarantine.”
The health response protocol is also being finalized, taking into account the schools. Recalling that guidelines were published two months ago for schools to prepare for the school year, Graça Freitas assured that the protocol “will be published very soon”, which also has the support of entities such as Civil Protection and local authorities.
Defending a “quick” and “surgical” approach in Portugal, Graça Freitas assured that “the decision to close a school must be made by the local health authority, the regional health authority and the national health authority, and does not imply a mandatory interruption of the school year, it simply means that children and adolescents can switch from face-to-face education to another for a few days. “The intention is to” close schools as little as possible. “
Taking into account the possibility of cases of contagion in a school environment, Graça Freitas explained the sequence of procedures. A parent should not take a sick child to school, but should call the SNS24 line, which, in turn, will review and say whether the case is suspicious or not. Being a suspect of Covid-19, parents notify the school and the school notifies the health authority in the area. Thereafter, the child is evaluated and the school is evaluated.
Jamila Madeira, Undersecretary of State and Health, opened the third press conference of the week saying that the “The trend of increasing daily cases, not being exclusive in our country, deserves concern” and asked that all preventive measures be maintained. He also highlighted that the battle against the pandemic has been “long” and that it involves several phases.
Considering the “demanding context” of the coming autumn-winter season, the Secretary of State announced the “anticipation of the supply of the first more than 100,000 doses of vaccines” against influenza to the health units of the NHS, with the in order to guarantee “better planning” by the Directorate General of Health in its assignment.
“It is the largest purchase of influenza vaccines ever made by our country, in a total of 2 million vaccines whose distribution will begin early,” he said. “More flu vaccines for the Portuguese and previously guaranteed for those who need them most.”
Regarding the influenza vaccination campaign, Graça Freitas explained that the advantage of having an early delivery is to be able to start the vaccination earlier, particularly in homes and people at risk. The Director General of Health said that this year pregnant women, home care professionals and those from institutions with very vulnerable groups will be considered for free vaccination. “What is not completely closed are small groups of people with very specific clinical situations.”
Article updated at 7:10 pm.
