State of contingency continues // Migrants held in jails and barracks after SEF runs out of space
Portuguese news in English on September 25, 2020.
By the numbers
After 691 cases yesterday, today marks another “not since early April” record on the new cases front. By my count, it’s the fourth highest daily case count since the pandemic reached Portugal, although it’s likely many more cases were going undetected in the early days thanks to a lack of testing. Arguably more concerningly, there are 159 more Covid-19 patients in hospital and 29 more in intensive care compared to last Friday. Thankfully, we haven’t seen that translate into significantly more people dying just yet, although 13 people died on Sunday and deaths usually lag behind hospitalisations.
Active, recovered, deaths, contacts under surveillance, confirmed, hospitalised, in ICU.
State of contingency kept in place for another fortnight
The state of contingency will stay in place unchanged for another two weeks, pending a deeper analysis of the continued growth in cases, Diário de Notícias reports. The Council of Ministers made the decision on Thursday to stick with the existing set of restrictions(of which you can find a rundown here) until 11.59pm on October 14. Minister of State for the Presidency Mariana Vieira da Silva said it was important to have a set of stable and well-defined rules, combined with group and individual behaviour that would help to prevent the spread. By the time the council meets again, there should be a better scientific understanding of the impact on the pandemic of the reopening of schools earlier this month. But for now, the government is not revealing how many cases of Covid-19 have been uncovered in Portuguese schools and universities, Público reports. The newspaper asked the government, Directorate-General of Health and every regional health authority but was able to find out very little. It was able to verify that at least five facilities had to temporarily close or send students home because of Covid-19 cases.
Test to differentiate flu from Covid-19 coming soon
A test to distinguish Covid-19 from other respiratory infections, such as the flu, will soon be available in Portugal, Diário de Notícias reports. While the currently available PCR tests already tell you if you have Covid-19 or not, this one will also be able to tell you what other respiratory illness you’re suffering from if it comes up negative for Covid-19. Unilabs says the "diagnostic weapon", scheduled to be released "within the next 10 days", will show patients and doctors through a swab test whether they are dealing with the disease resulting from the coronavirus or another seasonal sickness. Unilabs medical director António Maia Gonçalves said the tool would help to diagnose which disease was affecting people suffering from Covid-19 symptoms such as a cough, sore throat, runny nose or sore throat. A medical recommendation will be needed to take the test, which will be available at the same locations as normal testing, with results available within 24 to 26 hours.
Migrants held in jails and barracks after SEF runs out of space
Migrants are being detained in jails and military barracks after the limited space available in Immigration and Borders Service (SEF) facilities ran out, Diário de Notícias reports. Twenty-four detained Moroccans, who came ashore secretly on the Algarve coast on September 15, are being held in a nearby army base, the first time armed forces facilities have been used to detain migrants. There are 21 Moroccans in a greater Lisbon prison awaiting the finalisation of an expulsion order and 11 in a prison facility in greater Porto. SEF has just four Temporary Installation Centres across the country, with space for about 100 people, and 97 migrants have arrived on the Algarve coast from Africa since last December. A fifth centre with 60 spaces has been on the cards for almost a decade but is still not finished. Three Left Bloc (BE) parliamentarians, Sandra Cunha, Beatriz Gomes Dias and José Manuel Pureza, labelled the moves as “unbelievable” and “untenable”. “The inhumanity of imprisoning victims of human trafficking, placing them in establishments meant to receive criminals, is evidence of the quality of a democracy,” they wrote, saying they couldn’t comprehend such an attitude in a country that boasted of how well it welcomed migrants.
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In brief
Cafes and pastelarias can close at 1 am, but no one can enter after midnight. The government cleared up some confusion from an earlier change in restrictions. The opening hours will still be at the discretion of local municipalities. (Lusa)
The government promised another 2500 beds for university students but only 300 are available. The new places are mostly a result of agreements with businesses or local councils. The 4500 places in hotel rooms and guesthouses promised on Monday have also been called into question. (Público)
Rent prices froze in March Half-yearly statistics show just a very slight increase, while the number of contracts is increasing for the first time. (Público)
Extreme infection level might have helped to quell a city's epidemic. As much as two-thirds of the population of Manaus, a city of two million people in Brazil’s state of Amazonas, could have been infected with the new coronavirus. (Nature, in English)
Alleged Football Leaks hacker spied on the early days of the investigation against him, court hears (Público)
Woman dies in police action, investigation launched (Diário de Notícias)
Government brings forward new rules and extends credit moratorium until 30 September 2021 (Público)
Citizen cards (cartões do cidadão) pending delivery will be mailed (Público)
On a lighter note
Rich, full-bodied wines, cork products and irresistible porco preto (black pig) are set to be joined by light airplanes on the list of things being produced in the Alentejo. Portugal’s first complete aeronautics program, running from development through industrialisation and onto operation, is expected to create 1200 jobs in the next five years, Diário de Notícias reports. Matosinhos-based CEiiA (Centre of Engineering and Product Development), and Brazilian company Desaer (Aeronautic Development) will make short-distance ATL-100s out of a new factory in Évora, where they’re already looking for engineers.
Image: Desaer
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