State of emergency could be extended until March, new restrictions possible // Appeals to take lockdown seriously as hospitals struggle
Portuguese news in English on January 18, 2020.
By the numbers
We seem to have reached a bit of a plateau in terms of both case numbers and deaths over the past week but it’s not a particularly good plateau: roughly 10,000 new cases a day and 150 deaths. On top of that, one health expert fears the current case numbers are a “false ceiling”, caused by testing numbers hitting their limits and not a true plateau, Público reports. There are almost 100 more covid-19 patients in ICU than this time last week.
State of emergency could be extended until March, new restrictions possible
The Council of Ministers will gather for an emergency meeting today amid concerns the lockdown isn’t being fully obeyed and the potential for tighter restrictions, Diário de Notícias reports. President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said the state of emergency could last until the middle of March and said if the government wanted to impose tighter restrictions as early as this week, he would support it. According to Público, the government is already weighing restrictions on sales of things like coffee and other drinks at the doorof establishments to stop people gathering at pastelarias etc. The considerations come as Portugal continues to record roughly 10,000 new cases and 150 deaths a day, the worst in Europe for cases and fourth-worst for deaths on a population basis, according to Our World in Data.
Appeals to take pandemic seriously as hospitals struggle
Various politicians have appealed for the public to take the lockdown as seriously as the first one earlier in the year as hospitals reach breaking point. Health Minister Marta Temido said everyone had to make an effort to guarantee transmission chains could be broken because if not, the health system wouldn’t handle the pressure, Público reported. “Our health system is under a situation of extreme pressure,” Health Minister Marta Temido, Reuters reported, in English. “There is a limit and we are very close to it.” As early as last week, Portuguese Society of Intensive Care president João Gouveia told Público hospitals were already running out of beds and having to make “difficult choices”. While Portugal had 1100–1200 intensive care beds — more than twice as many as before the pandemic, with even 700 covid-19 patients in intensive care, the rest of the system would suffer, he said. The Portuguese Association of Hospital Administrators expects yesterday’s figure of 647 to dramatically increase.
Portuguese users StayAway from covid tracing app
Almost two-thirds of users have stopped using Portugal’s StayAway Covid app as confidence in its effectiveness plummets, Público reports. The main problem has to do with the codes infected people should be given once diagnosed, which can then be entered into the app. Only 2708 codes have been entered in the past five months, roughly a quarter of the number of people being currently diagnosed in just one day. I spoke to someone from INESC TEC, the app’s designer, a few months ago and he assured me the early problems with the codes had been resolved. There have obviously been more problems as team leader José Manuel Mendonça now says doctors aren’t properly informed about the process. So far this month, only 39% of the three million who installed the app remained active users.
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In brief
Health professionals start to get their second vaccine dose today (Lusa)
Douro could lose its UNESCO World Heritage listing over five-star hotel development. The project in Mesão Frio is up for public consultation until January 29. (Público)
Lockdown: police announce three arrests and 58 fines in two days. Only 13 of the enforcement actions were for not wearing a mask, with more people fined over drinking in public.
On a lighter note
Portugal’s two biggest radio groups don’t appear to see this as a lighter note, but I think it’s great news. Radio stations will have to up their quota of Portuguese music to 30%, hopefully meaning more chances for local artists to get a break and more chances for us to discover some new music. If you’re looking for two good options, I’m a huge fan of Pongo, and Capitão Fausto is nice for a relaxed, Sunday afternoon kind of vibe. Público reports that while the big radio stations are unhappy with the move, groups representing musicians have welcomed it.
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