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In the last 24 hours, Portugal registered 6,049 more people infected by covid-19, with 79 more deaths according to the epidemiological bulletin of the General Directorate of Health (DGS) published this Wednesday (December 30).
This was the highest record for new infection cases since December 5, when they counted 6,087 cases.
In total, since the beginning of the pandemic, Portugal has confirmed 406,051 positive cases of covid-19 and 6,830 deaths.
There are 331 016 recovered in Portugal, with another 3222 recorded in the DGS report and refer to the last 24 hours.
In Portuguese hospitals, there are less than 34 people hospitalized. There are currently 2,896 hospitalized patients, of which 487 are in intensive care, units where there was one more hospitalization compared to yesterday.
The country currently has 68,205 active cases of the disease, 2,748 more than the previous day.
In geographical terms, the North region was the one with the most deaths (31) and new cases (2390) in the last 24 hours, followed by Lisbon and the Tagus Valley, which registered 2097 more infections and 25 deaths.
In the Central region, 1,063 new infections and 12 more deaths were registered, in Alentejo there were 201 more cases and nine deaths, while in the Algarve there were 220 more infections and two deaths.
The Azores have 47 new cases and Madeira 31. In both regions there were no deaths from covid-19 in the last 24 hours.
Of the 79 deaths, 60 are from patients older than 80 years, 13 from people between 70 and 79 years, five between 60 and 69 years and one between 50 and 59 years.
New Year’s Eve with a curfew at 11pm in mainland Portugal
During New Year’s Eve, due to the pandemic, circulation between municipalities is prohibited and there is a mandatory curfew at 11 p.m. on December 31 throughout the continental territory, and meetings on public roads and public parties are prohibited.
According to the Government’s measures for the New Year period, circulation between municipalities in the continental territory is prohibited between 00:00 on December 31 and 05:00 on January 4, 2021, that is, between Thursday and Monday. “Except for reasons of health, urgent urgency or other specifically foreseen.”
As for the mandatory curfew, when circulation on public roads is prohibited, it applies to the entire continental territory, on December 31 from 11 p.m. and on January 1, 2 and 3, from 1 p.m. and until 5 am the next day.
On Thursday, December 31, New Year’s Eve “, from 11 at night to 5 in the morning of January 1, 2021, the prohibition of circulation in public spaces and roads, or in private spaces and roads similar to public roads” , according to the decree of the Council of Ministers.
For the New Year period, “public or open-to-public parties” are prohibited and, as at Christmas, gatherings on public roads with more than six people are not allowed.
Initially, on December 5, the Government said that on New Year’s Eve the curfew would be at 02:00 and only for municipalities considered to be at extreme and very high risk of transmitting the new coronavirus, but the measures were revalued on December 17 and got worse.
“Contrary to what we had announced 15 days ago […], we have to completely cut the New Year’s celebrations, “said then-Prime Minister António Costa at the end of the Council of Ministers meeting.
With the relaxation of restrictions at Christmas, the Government decided to “adopt maximum containment measures” during the New Year period, to prevent the “greater risk” of Christmas celebrations from multiplying in an exponential growth in the transmission of the virus. 19.
With the change of curfew on December 31 and January 1, and the weekend of January 2 and 3, the restaurant hours were also modified.
Thus, throughout the continental territory, on December 31, restaurants will have to close until 10:30 p.m. and on January 1, 2 and 3 until 1:00 p.m., “except for home deliveries.”
Regardless of the list of municipalities by level of risk of transmission of covid-19, throughout the continental territory, commercial and service establishments, including supermarkets, can only be open between 8 am and 1 pm on the 1st to January 3, that is, from Friday to Sunday.
According to the updated list of risk levels, which will remain in effect until January 7 under the new state of emergency, there are 30 counties at extreme risk of contagion, 79 at very high risk, 92 at high risk and 77 at moderate risk.
In Madeira and the Azores, the same rules do not apply as in mainland Portugal, but regional governments also decided to apply special measures during the New Year.
In Madeira, crowds of more than five people are not allowed, the sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages on public roads is prohibited, except on duly authorized terraces, and restaurants can only operate until 11 pm, but exceptionally it is allowed to close at 24:00 on December 30 and at 01:00 at night from December 31 to January 1.
The region will have, as usual, a pyrotechnic show at the end of the year, having defined “bags” (delimited areas “for a maximum of five people in different observation areas). However, the Provincial Council called for people to see the program at home, on the Internet and on television.
In the Azores, the measures in force until January 7 determine that all beverage establishments and the like, with dance venues, are closed, and bars and other beverage establishments, with or without a show and with or without terrace service , you have to close until 22:00.
UK approves University of Oxford / AstraZeneca vaccine
British regulators have approved the covid-19 vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, the UK Health Ministry reported today.
This is the second vaccine to enter the immunization program against the new coronavirus, which began on December 8 in the United Kingdom.
The country had already approved an emergency authorization for the vaccine created by the Pfizer / BioNTech duo.
AstraZeneca Director Pascal Soriot said that “today is an important day for millions of people in the UK who will have access to this new vaccine” which “has been shown to be effective, well tolerated, easy to administer and delivered by AstraZeneca. without any benefit. “
