‘Avalanche’ of flu and other illnesses hitting emergency departments // WHO updates pandemic plan // Rapid tests remain free

Portuguese news in English on Saturday, April 2, 2022

By the numbers

Case numbers (70,111, down 5169) and the number of people in ICU (61, down 3) have fallen, while deaths (148, up 8) and the number of people in hospital generally (1180, up 16) have increased slightly since last week The fortnightly average is 28 deaths/million, an 11% increase and above the target of 20 to lift restrictions, Público reports. The Directorate-General of Health has gone back to divulging the daily COVID-19 numbers online, Público reports, this time on a reasonably legible website and spreadsheets, instead of the clunky PDFs. 

‘Avalanche’ of flu and other illnesses hitting emergency departments

Portugal’s paediatric emergency departments are on the brink of collapse, but not because of the coronavirus, Público reports. Instead it’s an out-of-season flu surge, other respiratory diseases, gastroenteritis and allergies causing an “avalanche” of emergency visits. Adult emergency departments have also been beating records in recent days. Two hospitals — Dona Estefânia in Lisbon and Hospital de São João in Porto — are admitting about 100 more children a day than in the last March before the pandemic. Doctors have blamed outbreaks in several different respiratory viruses at the same time, along with a culture of relying too much on emergency departments. Rita Machadao, a Lisbon paediatric emergency coordinator, issued a reminder that, unless there’s difficulty breathing or persistent vomiting, the flu is treated at home. 

WHO updates pandemic plan, rapid tests remain free

The World Health Organisation has revised its pandemic plan, predicting a gradual decline in severity of disease as the most likely of three different scenarios, Público reports. In that scenario, the coronavirus would continue to evolve but cause less severe illness thanks to increased immunity, either through infection or vaccination. In the best-case scenario, the new variants would be less and less severe, reducing or removing the need for regular booster shots, but there’s still the worst-case possibility that a highly transmissible (like Omicron or) and highly deadly (like Delta or worse), variant emerges. You can read the WHO Director-General's speech on the matter here in English. In Portugal, residents retain the right to two free rapid tests a month until April 30, Público reports.

Deformations seen on São Jorge after 23,000 tremors

The seismo-volcanic crisis on the Azores island of São Jorge has already caused part of the island to deform, with no resolution to the problems in sight, Público reports. After 23,000 minor tremors since March 19, experts are no closer to predicting what comes next. It sounds oversimplified but either there’s a big quake, an eruption, or nothing. Azores Seismo-Volcanic Information and Surveillance Centre director Rui Marques said the cause of the deformation, in the island’s central zone, wasn’t clear but could be related to the readjustment of the magma chamber. In Velas, the most-affected zone, half of the population have already evacuated but at least one older couple, who cares for an adult son with an intellectual disability, aren’t going anywhere, Público reports. 

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In brief

• New rental contracts increased 20% in Lisbon and Porto. After the pandemic sent more people to the interior in 2020, demand surged back to the cities in 2021, lifting the average rent in the two biggest cities to record levels of €11.24/m and €8.85/m. (Público)

• Government less gender-equal after full list of roles announced. While the number of male and female ministers are equal, when the secretaries of state are added to the list, almost two-thirds are men. (Público)

• President says he'll call early elections if Prime Minister leaves office before 2026. PM António Costa refused to rule out leaving in 2024 for a European leadership role. Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa called for reforms to the National Health Service (SNS), the economy and the justice and electoral systems. (Público)

• Spain normalises COVID-19 and drops quarantine for minor cases. Health authorities will treat the coronavirus as endemic and concentrate only on those who are vulnerable or seriously ill. (Público)

• Ukrainian doctors have to do the same tests as other candidates to work in Portugal. The process to join the Order of Doctors, which starts in November and lasts about nine months, is required of all foreign doctors whose qualifications aren’t automatically recognised. (Público)

On a lighter note

It looks like the weather forecast has finally started to realise that Spring is here, giving us all the motivation we need to get the hell outside and enjoy that big shiny hot yellow thing in the sky. For most people, it’s probably still a little cold for the beach but fortunately Portugal’s biggest cities are full of delightful parks. If you’re stuck for inspiration, take a look at Time Out’s lists of best parks and gardens in Lisbon and Porto and start planning your next picnic, pick up football game or sunbaking session.

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