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Portugal once again exceeded 6,000 contagion cases in 24 hours, a new maximum since the start of the pandemic that exceeds 6,640 cases registered on November 7. As of midnight this Thursday, 6653 new infections were detected in the country and 69 more people died from covid-19. The death toll rises to 3,250 and the total number of infected has risen to 204,664 since the start of the pandemic.
The rapid growth rate of the pandemic is evident when we look at the number of identified cases: from the first confirmed case on March 2 to 100,000 infections on October 19, 231 days have passed; From then until the 200 thousand this Friday, only 26 passed.
However, the risk of COVID-19 transmission is slowly decreasing, Health Minister Marta Temido said at Friday’s pandemic review press conference. It is currently at 1.11, when on October 22 each patient in Portugal infected 1.26 people. “This number should be viewed with great caution,” the minister advised. “It will take weeks, after the peak of the disease, to experience a decrease in hospital demand and even more weeks to reduce fatality.”. Therefore, “it would be irresponsible to stop the effort” that is being made to contain the pandemic.
The data from the epidemiological bulletin for this Friday from the General Health Directorate (DGS), for the full day on Thursday, indicate that there are more than 3,693 people recovered, thus raising the total in the country to 117,382 (57% of the total). cases). Subtracting the number of deaths and people recovered, there are 84,032 active cases in Portugal at that time, 2,891 more than in the previous bulletin.
There are 2,799 people hospitalized (five more than in the previous update), of which 388 are in intensive care (five more). Despite the climbs, the The rate of increase in hospitalizations has slowed in recent days.: This is the second day in a row with an increase of less than ten hospitalizations, something that had not happened since the end of September.
A The northern region exceeded 100,000 cases identified since March (101,684), with more than 4,061 identified on Thursday (61% of the national total). It is in this area of the country where the incidence of new cases has been highest, with 1126 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the last 14 days, according to Marta Temido.
“It is the area that faces the highest number of new cases and, consequently, the greatest pressure on health services,” said the minister. Marta Temida also said that the Northern Regional Health Administration is closing agreements with several private hospitals so that, next week, these health units will also begin to receive patients infected by covid-19.
The Trofa group will provide another 20 beds, to which will be added another 40 – which can reach 80 – from the Santa Casa da Misericórdia in Póvoa de Lanhoso. In the north, alternative responses had already been created by the Fernando Pessoa Hospital, CUF do Porto and also by the Hospital das Forças Armadas, which, being public, depends on the Ministry of Defense and opened another 40 beds.
In Lisbon and the Tagus Valley, where 1,733 new infections were identified, the incidence rate is 466 new cases per 100,000 inhabitants. These two regions are responsible for 87% of the new cases in this Friday’s bulletin and concentrate almost 86% of the deaths (59 of 69, 32 in the north and 27 in Lisbon and Vale do Tejo).
The Minister of Health also said that the value of the 14-day incidence rate in the Central region, where 626 more cases and eight deaths were confirmed (total of 403 deaths and 19,134 cases), is 449.9.
Alentejo, with 251.2, and Algarve, with 252.9, are two regions with a “relatively close” epidemiological situation. As of midnight this Thursday, there was one more confirmed death and 114 new cases in Alentejo (total of 74 deaths and 3,855 cases) and one death and 86 new cases in the Algarve (32 deaths, 3801 infections. 19 more cases were detected in the Azores (561 cases, 15 deaths) and 14 in Madeira (614 cases, two deaths).
The virus has already infected 8,755 healthcare workers
The new coronavirus has so far infected 8,755 health professionals in Portugal, Marta Temido revealed, with 5,143 of these people having recovered from the disease. Most of those infected are nurses (2,253 cases), followed by operational assistants (2,037) and physicians (991 cases).
By the end of October, covid-19 had reached 6,500 health professionals.
The Minister of Health reacted to the statements of the Director General of Health, Graça Freitas, that the flu vaccine does not reach everyone who wishes to take it, stating that only those who really need to use it should be referred to it, that is, groups predetermined by the authorities of the sector, and that include a wide range of people, from the elderly to pregnant women, including obese people.
According to data provided by the government official, 1.4 million Portuguese have been vaccinated so far, with the National Health Service still in use. values 400 thousand doses. “There is a new delivery of the vaccine scheduled for the last week of November that we are trying to anticipate,” he said.
