Here we follow developments on the spread of the new coronavirus pandemic.
10h14 – Eurogroup meets to try to deal with the pandemic
Eurozone finance ministers will try to reach political agreement on how to respond to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic on European economies.
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Those responsible for the Commission, the Council and the European Central Bank hope that this meeting will come up with ingenious responses and European solidarity.–
9h56 – Marcelo doesn’t see how to ease restraint before the end of April
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa agreed to give an interview to Antena 1, recorded at the Palace of Belém, in the Council of State room and respecting social distance.
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The President of the Republic does not see how to ease the containment measures before the end of April.
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8h57 – Portuguese Embassy in Beijing transformed into a medical supplies warehouse
The Portuguese ambassador in Beijing is helping, from China, to purchase equipment for the National Health Service.
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José Augusto Duarte has been negotiating a lot of material with several Chinese suppliers and says he already has material to fill two planes.
8:36 am – Government has already received lay-off orders from 33 thousand companies
Approximately 33 thousand companies, covering a total of 566 thousand workers, is the number advanced by the Government in requests for entry into the lay-off process.
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Also workers with green receipts, who have a 40 percent drop in income can ask for state support.
8h12 – China without any deaths recorded in the last 24 hours
In the past few hours, 32 new cases have been reported in Mainland China, all from abroad.
The total number of infected people diagnosed in China since the beginning of the pandemic is 81,740, of which 3,331 people died and 77,167 people were discharged.
7:48 am – Over 10,000 deaths in the United States
The total number of fatalities from Covid-19 since the outbreak began in the United States on Monday surpassed 10,000, according to the Johns Hopkins University count.
The United States reported more than 1,150 deaths in 24 hours on Monday and about 30,000 infected.
In total, 10,783 people have died in the United States since the outbreak began. There are more than 366,000 cases of infection.
7h19 – Eurogroup decisive meeting
Eurozone finance ministers will meet again this Tuesday, by videoconference, to try to reach a compromise on a common response to the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. Differences persist to be overcome.
This is the fourth Eurogroup video conference meeting in just over a month. This time, the pressure falls on the ministers to find an understanding to present, later, to the heads of state and government.
At the last European Council by videoconference, on March 26, the leaders ended up mandating the Eurogroup to present, within two weeks, concrete proposals on how to deal with the socio-economic consequences of the pandemic, which “take into account the unprecedented nature of the shock of Covid-19 “.
Southern member countries, namely Portugal, Spain and Italy, have advocated the issue of joint debt – those called eurobonds or coronabonds -, a solution rejected by countries such as Germany, Holland, Austria and Finland, which defend specific lines of credit.
7:00 am – State of play
The work suspension regime for self-employed workers was extended to the managing partners of the companies. The President of the Republic has already promulgated the diploma with the changes made to the law.
The managing partners of companies now enjoy benefits in the event of suspension from their companies. The government measure, which has since been published in Diário da República and will come into force.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa continues this Monday the dialogue with the bank. As on the day before, the meeting takes place at 16:00 at the Palace of Belém.
The Head of State will start by welcoming the president of the Portuguese Banking Association. The meeting with Carlos Costa, governor of Banco de Portugal, follows.
The President said yesterday that banks would be attentive to the country’s situation and seek to help the economy.
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Statements made at the end of a meeting with representatives of the country’s main banking institutions.
The picture in Portugal
The pandemic appears to be slowing down in Portugal, despite contradictory fluctuations. As of Monday, 311 people had died, 16 more than in the previous bulletin.
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There were 452 more cases of infection, for a total of 11,730
The number of infected people has risen by four percent – the lowest growth rate since the pandemic entered the so-called critical phase.
The country still had a record of 140 recovered people, 65 more than the previous day.
The Government admits that it is concerned about the number of fans that may be needed. The Ministry of Health believes, however, that the orders will protect the needs, stressing that it is attentive to the increase in cases in intensive care.
The international framework
The new coronavirus, at the origin of the Covid-19 pandemic, has already infected more than 1.3 million people worldwide. More than 73,000 died.
Italy on Monday recorded the lowest number of fatalities in the past two weeks – 525 people. And the number of patients admitted to intensive care has decreased again.
Still, in total, it remains the country in the world with the highest mortality rate. 15,887 people with Covid-19 have died in transalpine soil.
In Spain, too, the pandemic appears to be slowing down. As of Monday, the least lethal day in two weeks, 637 people had died.
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The Spanish Government now intends to detect the largest number of asymptomatic infected people, to isolate them and prevent the chain of contagion.
In the United States, more than nine thousand people have died.
The New York governor revealed that state health services have exceeded capacity limits.
In London, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, infected with the new coronavirus, was transferred to an intensive care unit.
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