More than 200 outbreaks across Portugal, and almost 100 infections detected at Lisbon Airport
Portuguese news in English on July 18, 2020
Welcome to the extra late Friday/special Saturday edition. Sorry this is coming out today. I managed to escape to the Algarve for a few days and between working and driving I ran out of time.
Today’s figures are pretty reflective of the past few days: Slightly fewer new confirmed cases, very few deaths and more recoveries confirmed than we’re used to seeing. It’s nice to see the number of active cases (13,553) falling for five days in a row, leaving us with 359 fewer active cases than this time last week. It varies a fair bit from day to day but roughly 75% to 80% of the new cases are being detected in greater Lisbon, and 2-6% in the Algarve.
Almost 100 infections detected at Lisbon Airport so far
With so much focus on getting tourists here to stoke the struggling economy, it’s easy to forget the other side of the coin: the increased chance of spreading the virus. Since the start of the pandemic, 97 cases have been detected on flights to Lisbon, 40% in the past 15 days, Diário de Notícias reports. The coordinator of the airport’s health team has confidence in the system, which includes contact tracing of crew and as many as 17 nearby passengers for any suspected cases. But even Maria João Martins admits it’s not possible to completely stop sick passengers arriving. Their goal is to identify and stop sick travellers before they can create chains of transmission in the broader community. Dr Martins said travellers had to do the right thing too, saying unfortunately many people continued to travel with symptoms and knowing they were positive.
More than 200 outbreaks, with Lisbon the only council not decreasing
Portugal finished the week with 206 outbreaks of the new coronavirus, 45 more than last week, Diário de Notícias reported. As of Friday, 134 of those were in the Lisbon and Tejo Valley region (27 more than a week ago), with 41 in the North, 13 in the Centre and the Algarve and five in the Alentejo. Health Minister Marta Temido highlighted that the outbreaks in nursing homes were the most troubling because of the at-risk population and pointed out that chains of transmission were not considered closed until 28 days had passed without a new infection. She was relaxed on the subject of community transmission, insisting the epidemiological links from person to person were well identified but admitting there was still difficulty breaking some chains of infection in greater Lisbon. Five councils in the region remain under special vigilance by health authorities: Lisbon, Amadora, Odivelas, Loures and Sintra. According to Público, Lisbon was the only council area where the number of new cases didn’t fall leading up to July 12, instead hovering around 300 a week. It’s also worth noting in the chart below that although Santa Clara is the only Lisbon Freguesia still in a state of calamity, there are still cases popping up in much more central locations. In an in-depth Diário de Notícias report (Paywall), various experts note failures in the reopening strategy and highlight the need to focus on individual regions, councils and freguesias, a clear break from the national approach mostly used so far.
Active (activos) cases, new cases in the past seven days (novos nos ultimos 7 dias) and deaths (obitos) as at July 15. Lisbon mayor Fernando Medina said the real number of active cases was 877, thanks to a delay in reporting.
Baixa’s historic shops in fight for survival
The statue man, street dancers and cellist are there but the pandemic has taken the tourists and shoppers out of Baixa, Diário de Notícias reports. The stores have more employees than customers and sales are down roughly 80% but historic shops are still fighting for survival. That’s the situation at 160-year-old bottle shop and fine grocer Manuel Tavares, on Lisbon’s smallest street, which tourists had taken to referring to as a “shop of temptations”, where all 10 employees are on partial lay-off. It’s a similar story at high-end fabric store Londres Salão, on the normally bustling Rua Augusta, which had its best year of the decade last year and was doing even better before the pandemic hit. Manager José Quadros worries that, even if sales skyrocket next year, his problem is how the 109-year-old store will survive until then.
If you are curious about historic shops in the city, take a look at the Lojas Com Historia website and keep an eye out for metal signs near shopfronts. http://lojascomhistoria.pt/
In brief
The first Portuguese baby infected with covid-19 during pregnancy has been born. (Diário de Notícias)
With nightclubs closed, the stars of Big Brother and other reality shows are in 'crisis'. The latest crop of b-list celebrities are missing out on thousands of euros in appearance fees. (Diário de Notícias)
New cases put Lisbon, Alentejo and Algarve outside Europe's unrestricted travel criteria. The Alentejo (22.5 cases per 100,000) and Algarve (26.9) are only just outside thanks to two specific outbreaks, with 104.9 per 100,000 in Lisbon and the Tejo Valley.
Douro Azul returns to the river with “cruises aimed at Portuguese tourists” (Público)
Portugal is among the EU countries with the most pedestrian deaths in urban spaces (Público)
On a lighter note
Maybe it’s too soon to look back at the full lockdown but hopefully we have enough distance to appreciate Lisbon’s quiet beauty during that time. Lisboa Ainda: Olhares sobre a cidade em quarentena offers four distinct views of the deserted city through the eyes of four different photojournalists. Among the different approaches, Pedro Nunes shot the city on the first Monday of lockdown, returning to places that had already been captured full of tourists to highlight the difference. It’s all on show at the Museu de Lisboa, starting on July 23.
Source: Museu de Lisboa
I’m hoping to keep as many expats informed as possible, so please share this with any friends you think might find it useful.