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Covid-19: Ten counties on alert, four are in the Algarve

COVID-19: TEN COUNTIES ON ALERT, FOUR ARE IN THE ALGARVEAlbufeira, Lagoa, Tavira and Vila do Bispo are on alert. The country is “clearly in the green zone”, but the minister warns that the Rt that has been oscillating and that is now above 1 – it is “a warning sign.”

Yesterday,  Mariana Vieira da Silva presented the new map of the country in relation to the pandemic, which is now “at a level of growth”, compared to last week.

The Minister of State and the Presidency began to report an increase in the R (t), which is already above 1, which “means that the country has entered a pandemic growth level”, and that it should be “a warning sign” for everyone.

“The advantage of this risk matrix is ??that all [the Portuguese] can follow the evolution of the country and, today with an R greater than 1, it is time to look at the risk of increased transmission and take precautionary measures”, Vieira da Silva pointed out.

Even so, Portugal clearly maintains the green level” position in the risk matrix, with a “positive”, “controlled” situation, thanks to a low incidence. Of the 118 cases per 100 thousand inhabitants reported at the beginning of the denfinement period, the country is now showing less than 50 cases per 100 thousand inhabitants. In short, we are in the green zone, but be alert, especially in certain areas of the country.

At the moment, the vast majority of municipalities (274) are at the maximum level of deconfinement, started on May 1st.

On alert, there are now 10 municipalities, of which five return to a list where they had already previsouly been, and another five remain where they were last week.

Vieira da Silva also reports on four counties that are limited to the set of rules that the country had on April 19th. They are Arganil, Montalegre, Lamego and Odemira .

In a state of alert there are 10 counties:

  • Albufeira
  • Castle of Paiva
  • Fafe
  • Golegã
  • Lagoa
  • Oliveira do Hospital
  • Santa Comba Dão
  • Tavira
  • Vila do Bispo
  • Vila Nova de Paiva

The Government is not yet able to anticipate when there will be a meeting of experts at Infarmed again. What is certain is that, “we must live with a fair balance between caution and a sense of whether the pandemic is under control or not”. Vieira da Silva explains that, “with such low incidence levels, it is normal for R to exceed 1 and then retreat”. But the alert remains. “Therefore, we are not able to estimate what the next week will be like”, and “we need to monitor the situation carefully”.

Despite retreat, good news from ODEMIRA
The minister wanted to give a special note about Odemira, which is positive, despite the need to retreat in to confinement. The municipality is still above 140 cases per thousand inhabitants in the last 14 days (there have been 287), but the situation “is significantly better.”

Have recent Sporting celebrations increased cases in Lisbon?
The number of cases in Lisbon and the Tagus Valley (LVT) continues to rise, but the minister is unable to link this fact to the celebrations of the title of Sporting’s national football champion. “Searching for causes with so many variables (…) and so little time (…) . I am not able to draw such conclusions, ” replied Mariana Vieira da Silva, when asked about the topic. The minister stated that “we were already seeing a growth in R” before Sporting won the title.

Original article available in Portuguese at http://postal.pt/