“The situation is very euphoric”: Portugal, from collapse to reopening and not registering deaths from coronavirus

Makes just three months, the second wave of coronavirus was raging in Portugal, which exceeded theirs daily death registers and it has become one of the most affected countries in the world in relation to its population. Today, for the second day in a row, the country does not record deaths related to Covid-19 and the government plans to ease restrictions further. How did the European country overcome the collapse in such a short time?

“The country controls the pandemic”The Portuguese Minister of Health has started the daily assessment of the epidemiological situation, Marta Temido. Statistics support this claim.

The curve of confirmed coronavirus cases stabilizes in recent weeks, while that of the dead managed to flatten, reported the Prime Minister, Antonio costa, in collaboration with national authorities and health experts.

The total death toll is intact at 16965, something that hadn’t happened since August 2 of last year. In the past 24 hours, 196 new cases of coronavirus have been recorded, with a total of 834,638 people infected. It has also been significantly reduced the number of patients in intensive care: from 900 people in February to only 91 patients today.

From next Monday, Portuguese people will enjoy eating in restaurants and cafes with no time limit, they will be able to attend big events in closed spaces and outdoors – although with limited capacity – already ceremonies like weddings and baptisms with more people. same the shopping centers.

“The situation is very euphoric”, said to THE NATION Carolina guimaraes, a 23-year-old Portuguese. “The day the malls opened there were huge lines and a lot of people.”

But the country does not relax. “In order to open and keep all activities of the company open, we will have to keep mask discipline, hygiene, distance, even after two doses of the vaccine because we still do not know if, after a complete vaccination, there will still be a risk of transmission ”, warned Costa the population.

From collapse to control

It seems that Portugal have learned from their past mistakes. In January, the situation in the country was out of control mainly due to relaxation of measures at the end of the year celebrations. Added to this is the arrival of the British variant, more contagious, the trigger for the explosion of contagions to an almost uncontrollable level.

With a poblation of 10.3 million inhabitants, the European country recorded around 300 deaths and 15,000 daily infections at the start of the year. Hospitals have exceeded their capacity and many have had to transfer their patients due to lack of oxygen.

Neighboring countries, faced with the hopeless scenario, offered to help. Germany sent health professionals and medical supplies, such as beds and infusion machines. Austria, Luxembourg and Spain they even offered to receive patients on their territory.

Now, compared to daily case numbers, Portugal continues for the sixth consecutive week to be the country in Europe with the lowest incidence rate, according to data from the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control ( ECDC, for its acronym in English) published by the journal Public.

Portugal managed to dominate the chaos thanks to a strict confinement, imposed in mid-January and start of vaccination campaign.

“At the start of the year, very tough measures were put in place. Since January, Portugal has closed schools and universities, switched to teleworking in most sectors, restaurants and gymnasiums have been closed, ”said Guimaraes. “These months were as or more restrictive than those of the first lockout“. This harsh confinement lasted until mid-March, when schools and certain services such as hairdressers began to open.

Vaccination, as in many European countries, is slow, but daily doses are given to more people. the 21.64% of the population received at least one dose, according to information from Our world in data.

The vaccination strategy strengthens the municipalities with the highest number of coronavirus cases with more doses so that they have injections available to the population, a logic “not only in the age groups, but also where there are more cases”, they explain to the Ministry of Health.

They expect to reach 3 million doses delivered before the summer season. It is estimated that those over 60 will be vaccinated by May 23 “Thus protecting those who caused more than 96% of deaths last year”He mentioned Fear.

“If the forecasts are confirmed [de llegada de vacunas], Portugal will reach 70% of the adult population vaccinated more towards the beginning than towards the end of the summer», He stressed Diogo Serras Lopes, Secretary of State for Health.

“The elderly are very present in our daily life, so I think that the fact that they are vaccinated will ensure that we never have the same death toll that we had in the most critical phase, but it is necessary that the vaccination proceed quickly, ”said Guimaraes.

The government even launched construction of a vaccine plant, an investment of 15 million euros which should be ready soon and which was not designed for this pandemic, “but to prepare for the future”, declared the Prime Minister.

“This pandemic has shown that despite the political will and the urgency of the vaccine, the biggest obstacle to vaccination is production capacity. Europe has a mimicked capacity to produce vaccines, which is a big weakness, ”Costa said.