State of emergency from Monday // Virus spread slows slightly
Portuguese news in English on November 6, 2020.
By the numbers
Unfortunately we come to another Friday with a new record for confirmed cases: 5550. It’s also the highest increase ever in the North and Lisbon and the Tejo Valley region, with the second highest number of national deaths. It’s worth noting while the Alentejo has been one of the least affected regions throughout, six people died of covid-19 there in the past day and the number of new cases confirmed there is the highest I can remember seeing. Hospital admissions and the number of covid-19 patients in intensive care dropped slightly on separate days earlier this week but both figures rose again significantly today.
Source: DGS
State of emergency from Monday
Parliament has today approved a new state of emergency, to come into force from Monday, Público reports. As I’ve shared with you already, both Prime Minister António Costa and President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa have spoken about a much more limited emergency state than earlier this year, but which could last for longer. Each phase of the exceptional measure lasts 15 days but the Prime Minister has warned they may be continually renewed (and modified) until spring. The state of emergency itself is just a legal framework to back measures the government wants to put in place that could otherwise be considered unconstitutional or illegal. In this case, it suspends or restricts rights related to the requisition of armed forces for contact tracing, personal health (measuring temperatures at certain places), freedom of movement and the use of private sector resources (private health) to fight the pandemic.
Another extraordinary Council of Ministers is on the agenda for Sunday to decide what the exact measures will be. The presidential decree, which has been accepted by the government to be voted on by the Assembly of the Republic, previews a potential ban on public movement during certain hours of the day or certain days of the week but does not speak of a full lockdown like we had earlier in the year. More than two thirds of the Parliament voted in favour of the decree (PS, PSD and CDS voted for while PCP and PEV voted against and several others abstained), with the President to address the nation at 8pm. The Prime Minister is yet to respond to questions about a further tightening of measures across two public holidays at the start of December, Diário de Notícias reports. He said there needed to be a common desire among everyone to control the pandemic to the point where families can enjoy a Christmas that’s as normal as possible.
Virus spread slows slightly
Despite today’s record number of cases, the virus’s spread has actually slowed slightly, reports Público, citing national health institute figures. The time it takes new infections to double has risen to 21 days. According to the Ricardo Jorge National Health Institute, that figure taken over the past two weeks is up from 14.9 days in the previous two weeks. Unsurprisingly the R(t) rate, the number of people each patient goes on to infect, dropped slightly to 1.14 nationally from October 28 to November 1, down from 1.19. That’s good but not great news because as I’ve mentioned before, any R(t) number above 1 still points to a worsening pandemic. The highest regional number is 1.21 in the Algarve, with 1.13 in the North and Lisbon and Tejo Valley, the two worst-affected regions currently. You can find a good explanation of R and its pitfalls in Nature here.
€1.55 billion boost for businesses
The government has approved a new €1.55 billion business assistance measure aimed at protecting businesses ranging from small operators to exporters, Diário de Notícias reports. The Apoiar.PT program will be financed entirely with European funds and consist of €750 million in grants and the remainder of the package in loans, 20% of which can be converted to grants if jobs are maintained. The bulk of the loans, €750 million, are for export businesses, with €50 million for those in cultural, sport, festive and corporate events. The grants to small and micro businesses are open to those with a revenue loss of at least 25% until September thanks to pandemic measures, such as restaurants, retail, accommodation and others forced to shut in the middle of March. Industry figures welcomed the program but questioned some elements, such as the government’s use of the phrase “sectors particularly affected” by the pandemic, given its wide-ranging consequences. They’re still waiting on more details about who will be eligible and for how much money.
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In brief
Far-right Chega (enough) and centre-right Social Democratic Party (PSD) reach agreement. The accord opens the door for a PSD-led regional government and foresees a cut in social assistance and proposal to cut MP numbers. (Público)
Support network created for infected people who do not need to be hospitalised. Each district will have a back-up support structure for people infected with SARS-CoV-2, who don’t need hospital treatment, and for users of nursing homes. (Público and Lusa)
AstraZeneca chief says COVID vaccine on track for year end (Al Jazeera, in English)
WHO looks at mink farm biosecurity globally after Danish coronavirus cases (Reuters)
2021 budget already has 300 proposals for change. Almost a third are from the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP). (Diário de Notícias)
Sweden's COVID-19 death toll passes 6,000 with PM in isolation (Euronews, in English)
On a lighter note
You may remember I recently reported fairs and markets are banned in high-risk areas. Well, after an outcry, the government reversed that decision and allowed local councils to make the call. Both Lisbon and Porto (for the most part) have allowed them to stay open. So today I want to highlight the Mercado de Produtores (Producers’ Market) run by Comida Independente and the Misericórdia Council (Junta de Freguesia), every Saturday from 10am-4pm at Praça de São Paulo. Running from last weekend until December 19, the market aims to help farmers and winemakers hit hard by the pandemic to move their produce. It will also highlight a “star vegetable” every week, with a petisco created by a well-known chef, Público reports. Last week it was João Rodrigues’ pumpkin dish and this week André Magalhães, from Taberna da Rua das Flores, is doing something with sweet potato in a “street food” style.
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