“We have been in coordination with the health authorities of the continent, so that, meanwhile, these people are signaled and identified upstream and we are able to avoid their movement to the Autonomous Region of the Azores. This work is being done and I believe it will have a good outcome ”, said today the head of the Regional Health Authority, Tiago Lopes, at a press conference in Angra do Heroísmo.
Questioned by journalists, the official confirmed the existence of Azoreans who “will have had contact with three infected cases [pelo novo coronavírus] in Australia ”on board a cruise ship.
“The Australian health authorities have contacted the continent’s health authorities, who have contacted us, in order to identify and subsequently signal nearby cases that will have been with three positive cases that were identified in Australia,” he said.
The Azores currently have 11 confirmed cases of covid-19, seven on the island of São Jorge, two on Terceira, one on Faial and one on São Miguel, however, there is no local transmission so far, according to the Regional Health Authority.
Since March 14, passengers arriving in the region from abroad are required to be quarantined for 14 days.
The new coronavirus, responsible for the covid-19 pandemic, has already infected more than 324,000 people worldwide, of whom more than 14,396 died
After appearing in China in December, the outbreak spread across the world, prompting the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare a pandemic situation.
In Portugal, there are 14 deaths and 1,600 confirmed infections.
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