Coronavirus immunity tests are in the works, scientists release 'risk map'
English language coronavirus news in Portugal on April 9, 2020
The day of the Easter shutdown brings a larger increase in cases but fewer new deaths than previous days, including the first fatality in the Azores. As I pointed out yesterday, because there are already thousands of confirmed cases in Portugal, even a small percentage jump causes a lot of new cases. That’s the problem with the exponential growth we saw early in the outbreak. The number of cured patients has also risen, to 205, but the authorities haven’t been making updating that number a priority, so I’m not going to focus on it here.
Latest figures from the Directorate-General of Health (DGS).
A quick reminder from yesterday’s post: Easter is cancelled. You can not leave your municipal area (Lisboa, Porto, Cascais, Oeiras, Peniche, Portimão etc) until Tuesday except for health reasons or in an emergency.
We’ll have to wait a bit longer for immunity tests
Immunity tests have been hailed in many countries as the key to getting people back to work and life back to something approaching normal before we get a vaccine. Fernando Almeida, president of the Dr Ricardo Jorge National Health Institute, says a pilot testing scheme is being developed but it will only be implemented throughout the country later, Lusa reports.
Before he got sick with COVID-19, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson hailed tests measuring the level of antibodies in a person’s system as a "game changer" but some scientists aren’t so sure. One expert told The Guardian the tests might only pick up 50%-60% of those with milder symptoms and the The Telegraph reported on a Chinese study found some recovered patients could have very low levels of antibodies.
Portuguese epidemiologists release ‘risk map’ for infection
Picture: CERENA
This map, produced by CERENA, really highlights how heavily concentrated the cases are in the north of the country. Although Lisbon is also seriously affected.
The map displays the risk of infection as well as the level of uncertainty attached to the risk and is based on daily confirmed cases per municipality. The team involved tells Público the maps could be useful when it comes time to decide who to test for immunity. Please, don’t use this map to justify taking off to the Alentejo. Chances are you’ll just spread the virus to people there and, if you do get seriously ill, you’ll be further from a hospital
Pharmacists on the front line fight for recognition and protection
Diário de Notícias calls pharmacists the “invisible infected”. On March 12, the hospital at Lisbon’s Curry Cabral Hospital had to be shut because the whole team was quarantined after one pharmacist was infected. Three out of 10 at a pharmacy in Porto were found to be infected on the same day. There are many similar stories
Pharmacists are dealing with sick people every day in hospitals and pharmacies and they want to make sure they’re counted among those on the front line. That means having the right personal protective equipment but also literally being counted in the stats of infected health professionals as their own category. Currently they’re lumped in with the 825 infected listed as “others”.
In brief
Reporters from the Lusa news agency spent some time in the intensive care unit of Lisbon’s Hospital Santa Maria. The pictures and reporting are pretty full on but worth a read through Google Translate
The chronically ill are still working without health and social protection, Diário de Notícias reports
More than a million tests are due to arrive in Portugal on Friday, along with five million surgical masks, according to Secretary of State for Health António Lacerda Sales
Director-General of Health Graça Freitas, says a “sanitary cordon” around Castro Daire (59 confirmed cases), in Viseu, is being considered
On a lighter note
This one is a few days old, but I’m guessing most of you missed it. A radio station near the North Pole had no listeners until Portuguese comedian Nuno Markl mentioned it on an Instagram live chat with fellow funny man Bruno Nogueira. Suddenly it had 40 thousand, Diário de Notícias reported, and host Cal Lockwood was scrambling to upgrade his servers. You can read about it in English at Medium Magazine.
Thanks for this Jorge!