Restrictions relaxed from next week // What do if you have COVID-19 or have been with someone who does
Portuguese news in English on Friday, January 7.
By the numbers
Happy new year! Two pretty interesting things happened over the festive period. Case numbers went absolutely crazy; we’re now averaging 20,000 cases a day, which is way more than last winter’s worst day and it seems like 30,000+ days are the new normal. But at the same time, the number of people in ICU has stayed almost exactly flat since early December and the average number of deaths per day has actually gone down. That’s not to say things will continue this way. Non-ICU hospitalisations have surged by 30% this week alone and another 15 people were moved to ICU yesterday. Plus, it usually takes several weeks for someone to get sick, go to hospital and die. One estimate predicts a peak in the second week of January with between 40,000 and 130,000 cases a day, with 4-12% of the population in isolation, Diário de Notícias reports.
What do if you have COVID-19 or have been with someone who does
About 2.5% of the population is currently infected and hundreds of thousands are believed to be in isolation, so there’s a good chance you’re affected or will be by the Omicron wave. From the new isolation period reduction to what to do when you test positive on a self-test, I’ve detailed what you need to do below, with a lot of help from this mega Público Q&A.
When to call the SNS: If you have a cough, fever, difficulty breathing or taste and smell issues call the SNS on 808 24 24 24. Press 9 for English and be prepared to wait or call the line a number of times. Same goes for a positive autoteste (rapid antigen self-test) result. You’ll be told to isolate and get a PCR test. If you’re struggling to breathe or have other severe illness — but only then — go to the emergency department.
How long to isolate for: 7 days if you test positive but have no symptoms; 10 days if positive with light or moderate symptoms; 20 days for positive seriously ill and immunosuppressed people. From January 10, for close contacts (now defined as people you live with), it’s 7 days isolation or zero days if you’ve had two jabs and a booster. The period is measured from when you developed symptoms, or from the test date if asymptomatic. A local doctor should be in touch if you test positive to explain everything and check in.
Leaving isolation: You don’t need a negative test to leave, just a significant improvement in your symptoms for three days straight. You can leave even if someone you live with is still in isolation, but you should take extra care. If you’re directed to isolate or diagnosed with COVID-19 and can’t go to work, ask the SNS operator for proof to show your boss. You should continue to be paid, whether by your company or with the help of Social Security.
Getting a PCR test: After confirming with the SNS by phone you’ll be sent a message with a bunch of codes. Go here and select “posto de colheita” under tipo to find your closest testing site. You’ll probably have to call them to book. They may ask for your codes at booking or when you turn up for the test. In the big cities your closest site will probably be a CUF (Hospital CUF Descobertas isn’t covered by the SNS so don’t book there) or Germano de Sousa, so you can use their central booking systems or phone lines.
What about self-tests: The authorities are very keen for you to use rapid antigen tests (free in pharmacies with appointments or cheap for self-tests) regularly, particularly before big gatherings or events. They’re not as sensitive as PCRs so you might still be infected even if you test negative. But if you test positive, you’re almost definitely infected. Public health expert Professor Iain Buchan told me this week that rapid antigen tests are very good at detecting COVID-19 when you’re at your most infectious. You can see what he means in the chart in the tweet below.
Restrictions relaxed from next week
After the Christmas-new year “contention period”, a whole bunch of restrictions are being rolled back from January 10, Públic reports. The benefits of getting a booster shot keep growing; apart from the significantly increased protection against the Omicron variant (and others) you’ll become exempt from isolating as a close contact (see above). You’ll also be able to access many places that normally demand a negative test, without getting one. The exemptions are medical establishments, big events and events without designated seating. All adults will eventually be eligible for a booster, health authorities have announced, but for now it’s only the over-50s on the online vaccine portal.
Bars and nightclubs (one of those places boosted revellers won’t need a test to enter) will reopen on January 14, the same day working from home goes from mandatory to “recommended. You’ll still be banned from drinking in public places. The ban on commercial establishments having discount sales ends on January 10 but occupancy limits remain. Until February 9, you’ll still need proof of a negative test (PCR within 72 hours of getting on the plane or lab-certified rapid antigen within 48 hours) or proof of recent recovery to fly into Portugal. And the digital certificate will remain mandatory to enter restaurants, tourist attractions, concerts, gyms and cinemas.
The Estamos on website has been updated fairly recently so has a lot more detail on some of these questions, in English, but the dates for schools, offices and nightclubs reopening are wrong.
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In brief
Hackers bring down two of Portugal's biggest news sites. Impresa, the owner of SIC and Expresso, said it would file a criminal complaint against the “never-before-seen attack against the free press in Portugal in the digital era”, which kept the sites offline for days. (Público)
Portugal ponders how to hold election amid omicron surge. About 400,000 people are currently in isolation and political leaders are trying to figure out how to organise the ballot. (Associated Press)
Experts call for free self-tests to increase testing and relieve health professionals. They want professionals to be able to validate the autotestes in-person or remotely and register the results for the purpose of a recovery certificate. (Diário de Notícias)
On a lighter note
New year, new… music? Concerts are a thing again. Like singers and artists getting up on stage and playing for a bunch of their fans at the same time. It’s a tricky concept to explain but you’ll get used to it. Anyway, Time Out has handily put together a big list of many of the acts coming to Portugal (mostly just Lisbon, sorry) this year and it is long and pretty varied. You’ll find Dua Lipa, Future Islands, Swedish House Mafia, Wolf Alice, Iron Maiden, Bon Iver, Guns N' Roses, Dream Theater and Michael Kiwanuka just to name a few. And that’s without evening thinking about NOS Alive, Primavera Sound Porto, Super Bock Super Rock and the other festivals.
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Thank you Jorge, your substack is my primary source of information. Bom ano!