Examining a month in lockdown, and more than 100 Lisbon hostel guests test positive
English language coronavirus news in Portugal on April 17, 2020.
Welcome to Monday after another weekend of numbers remaining pretty steady. Unfortunately it looks like Friday’s particularly tiny jump in cases (just 181 new confirmations for an increase of about 1%) was a one off but we're still holding steady. For about 10 days now, new cases have been hovering around 500-750, which authorities have described as a plateau. Today also brings the smallest increase in deaths (21) this month.
One month of state of emergency. What’s new and what’s next?
That’s right, we’ve been in lockdown for a month now, since midnight on March 19. We’re into the third 15-day state of emergency period and not much has changed or will change until May. The government has lifted the month-long “sanitary fence” blocking all but the most essential movement in and out of Ovar. Observador takes a look at how the town, which had a very serious early outbreak, has reacted. The door has also been opened to some activities related to Labor Day celebrations on May 1, Público reports, although they’ll be very limited and subject to strict health guidelines. If you’re still unsure or need a reminder about what you can and can’t do, the US (very thorough) and UK (a little simpler) embassies both have explanations in English.
In the same spirit of marking a month of lockdown, Público looks at the timing of Portugal’s restrictions in the context of some other European countries. It’s a pretty detailed analysis but the crux of it is the pandemic’s relatively late arrival gave the country time to learn from mistakes elsewhere and act early. One striking example is that only three people had died from COVID-19 when emergency powers were declared here verus 84 in Spain, 281 in the UK and 562 in France. The decision to shut schools early is also highlighted. The Guardian and Al Jazeera both touch on a similar topic in recent articles written in English.
Although the state of emergency is expected to end on May 2, Diário de Notícias reports, Prime Minister António Costa warns that doesn’t mean everything will go back to normal. It’s still not the moment to let our guard down in terms of confinement measures and social distancing, he says, adding that life won’t return to normal until there’s a vaccine.
More than 100 guests test positive after Lisbon hostel evacuated
The president of the Arroios parish council (Junta de Freguesia de Arroios), in Lisbon, wants a hostel inspected after more than 100 guests tested positive to COVID-19, Diário de Notícias reports. The hostel, where Margarida Martins said 200 people were staying in just 40 rooms, was evacuated on Sunday after one guest tested positive. The Lisbon Central Mosque took in 170 of the evacuated guests. Today, Director-General of Health Graça Freitas says the first battery of 116 tests returned 100 positive results, highlighting how contagious the novel coronavirus is. Abdool Magid Vakil, president of the Islamic Community and mosque representative, says 138 of the guests are now infected.
One intensive care patient in Porto’s São João Hospital is just 33
This could be a bit of a wake-up call for anyone still walking around saying “I’m young and healthy so I’m not worried”. Apart from the obvious need to avoid spreading the pandemic to people of greater risk, young people are getting sick too. This Público piece profiles the use of an ECMO machine in an intensive care unit of Porto’s São João Hospital to stand in for the damaged lungs of 10 patients, giving them the chance to heal. The youngest of the patients is just 33 and the oldest is 64. Apparently, none of them had pre-existing conditions, the journalist writes. A short ECMO explainer from the University of Iowa.
In brief
Santa Isabel nursing home in Vila Nova de Gaia registers 51 cases, 43 among residents and eight workers
Taxpayers waiting for their refund still don't have a start date set
Portugal’s intensive care units are at 58% capacity, says Secretary of State for Health António Lacerda Sales
On a lighter note
Have you been putting off learning Portuguese because Portuguese people speak English so well? I know you have, because otherwise you wouldn’t be reading this newsletter! Well, with kids at home, the school system has set up a TV schedule to help with classes, and one of them is Portuguese for foreigners at 1pm every day. It’s all in Portuguese so it’s probably not for absolute beginners but the teacher speaks nice and slowly and writes the key parts on the board. The first lesson - children of the world - was today but you can catch up at any time online.
Screenshot: RTP