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Several experts had already warned the Observer: expected with the return to normality, the increase in new cases of infection should only begin to be visible in the bulletins of the DGS (General Directorate of Health) starting next Wednesday. It is true that the biweekly meeting at Infarmed with specialists, the Government, the political parties and the President of the Republic, to evaluate the effects of deflation and give the green light to phase two of the plan, generally takes place on Tuesdays, in this case on May 12.
Questioned by the Observer at this Saturday’s press conference, the Minister of Health, Marta Temido, revealed that, for this reason and so that “more precise data” can be analyzed, the meeting was scheduled not for the usual Tuesday, but for Thursday. In fact, that was what was immediately defined at the last meeting of this type, on April 28.
However, the Observer also knows that this date may not be the last, as there is a Council of Ministers scheduled for the same day, the final decision must be made on Monday. “The meeting was scheduled for Thursday, precisely because we know that every day counts so that we can have more precise data. It will not be biweekly on Tuesday, but on Thursday. We have been following the evolution of the information that we have available through our epidemiology and statistical units, “said the Minister of Health.
“We have to have enough distance to analyze the possible impact of deflation, we have to wait another day.” The country is not symmetrical, what we are seeing are foci and we must have a very interventionist attitude. Public health must act quickly and this can be very important ”, added Graça Freitas.
Despite revealing that, “almost at the end of the first week”, the perception that is possible to have of the data is “encouraging”, Marta Temido also insisted on warning that it is necessary to “remain vigilant” and combine this attention with ” need to resume normal life as possible with different rules. “
The fact that the RT (contagion ratio for each infected) remains unchanged at 1.04, even after dropping to 0.9, partly justifies the precautions. According to the most recent analysis carried out by the Ricardo Jorge Institute, based on data collected between May 1 and May 5, each infected patient is now responsible for the spread of 1.04 people.
“This figure shows that the number of new cases in each generation is relatively constant and indicates that we must continue to take the necessary care in the basic gestures of our daily life, especially in this period of relief from confinement measures,” said the minister. of Health, after remembering that the aforementioned indicator must be analyzed throughout the pandemic and without mentioning either the 0.9 achieved in the past or the 0.7 considered as an ideal target to launch the first deflation measures.
Although the number of Covid-19 deaths in Portugal has been decreasing since April 15, 2020, “which is also quite relevant,” said Marta Temido, not all the numbers released this Saturday are encouraging.
Until midnight this Friday, 450 older people died in Portuguese homes (out of a total of 1,114 deaths): 243 in the north, 134 in the Centro region, 69 in Lisbon and the Tagus Valley and 4 in the Algarve region, The Director General of Health, Graça Freitas, announced that the percentage of 40% of deaths in nursing homes is still, even so, lower than the average registered by some European countries, which is around 50% of the total number of deaths. by Covid-19.
As for the integrated continuous care network, Marta Temido had already revealed, since April 22, that there are no new deaths. In total, 15 people died in network units thanks to Covid-19.
Still in the chapter of numbers, the Minister of Health revealed that during this week around 40 new mechanical ventilation equipment landed in Portugal, repeating that part of the fans purchased abroad are taking longer than expected “due to varied limitations” .
Previously, the minister had counted the beds in adult multipurpose intensive care units available in the NHS – 713 now, 528 at the start of the pandemic, “that is, a 35% increase from 60 days ago” – and explained that this Responsiveness has never been used to its fullest. “We have an occupancy rate of 50%, to date,” he reinforced.
However, admitting that the goal of reaching the European average of 11.5 beds in intensive care units per 100,000 inhabitants has not yet been achieved: “Is it perfect? It is not, “Marta Temido guaranteed that the Government is doing everything possible in this direction and that” this is the path that is being taken. “
