Thousands of lives saved by lockdown // Calls grow for government to define reopening plan
Portuguese news in English on February 23, 2021.
These updates are a little haphazard this week as I make my way back to Portugal from Australia. At this point I’ll probably send out the next newsletter on Thursday. Also, don’t forget I’ll be dialling back to one update per week from March 1. Keep safe!
By the numbers
Wow, I was expecting to have to wait a lot longer to see a number this low on the daily covid-19 report. There were only 549 new cases reported yesterday, after three days between 1000 and 2000. Of course, it’s a Monday, so we’ll see what happens for the rest of the week but experts are now saying the R number (explained here by the BBC) is now the lowest in Europe, Público reports. That’s obviously all good news but as you’ll see below authorities are begging us not to relax just yet, not least because there are still more than 600 covid-19 patients fighting for life in ICU.
Thousands of lives saved by lockdown
As cases, hospitalisation and deaths continue to fall, new modelling suggests, the lockdown will have saved 3000 lives by the middle of March, Diário de Notícias reports. Epidemiologist Manuel Carmo Gomes’s January 20 estimates had pointed to 20,000 deaths — or as many as 27,000 under the worst-case scenario — by March 16. Now, he expects the country not to pass 17,000 deaths by that date. Professor Carlos Antunes, part of the University of Lisbon science faculty team, said the figures were “extraordinary”. It’s good news but worth bearing in mind that just two months ago, only a little more than 6000 Portuguese covid-19 patients had died. Health Minister Marta Temido warned there had been a slight increase in mobility last week and warned people to avoid relaxing prematurely, Público reported. There are also positive signs on the vaccination front, with taskforce head Henrique Gouveia e Melo saying an increase in supply meant the country could achieve herd immunity as early as the start of August, Público reported.
Calls grow for government to define reopening plan
Experts have begun demanding a reopening plan be put in place and quickly explained to the public but the government insists it’s still too early to discuss it, Público reports. University of Porto public health expert Bernardo Gomes said the three key pillars were communication, particularly of risk, increased testing and improved contact tracing. Two weeks ago, President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa nominated fewer than 200 covid-19 patients in ICU as one key benchmark to meet before reopening, but that hasn’t been made official in any way. National health institute projections indicate we won’t reach that number until the end of March, which is pretty much when several different leaders have said not to expect reopening before. It seems likely that primary schools will be the first to reopen, likely just to those in grade one and two, Público reports.
This is probably why it’s so cold inside your apartment
I can’t count the number of people from central Europe or even the freezing north who’ve told me they’ve never been colder than Lisbon in winter. In English, Politico has explored why, in one of Europe’s mildest countries, hundreds of people freeze to death in the winter. In large part it comes down to a horrible combination: lots of poor quality housing built during a construction boom in the second half of last century and the astronomical electricity prices we’re charged. Even government-sponsored discounts to help people struggling to pay their bills are unlikely to help the 2 million people dealing with extreme cold in their own homes, according to the experts.
It takes a lot of work to keep this newsletter going. Please help out if you can. If you’re subscribing, please note I’ll be going to a weekly newsletter from March 1.
In brief
Opposition criticises government for coronavirus testing slowdown. Testing numbers have fallen since the government spoke in January about rolling out mass testing. (Público)
Racist and neonazi attacks hit school Zoom meeting about slavery and racism. The Camões Secondary School student association meeting was invaded by swastikas, racist threats, nazi salutes and violent images (Público)
Lockdown: Boris Johnson unveils plan to end England restrictions by 21 June (BBC, in English)
On a lighter note
There is so much cool historical stuff being dug up in Lisbon and around the country that archeologists are struggling to find somewhere to put them all. One of the latest treasures was a 27-metre boat from the late 17th or early 18th century buried under a construction site on Avenida 24 de Julho. It’s worth clicking through to this Diário de Notícias story to see just how surprisingly well preserved the thing is.
Please keep sharing on Facebook, in real life or anywhere else you see people a bit confused by the latest news.