Here we follow all developments about the international spread of the new coronavirus.
10:33 am – Macau converts hotels into quarantine centers
The return of thousands of people to Macau in the past few days has prompted authorities to convert six hotels into quarantine centers.
In a press conference, the authorities of the Special Administrative Region indicated that there are more than a thousand people in four hotels serving 14 days’ isolation. Two other establishments will be available.
10h27 – Videocalls for seniors in Viseu
The president of the Viseu regional secretariat of União das Misericórdias told Lusa that they are providing video calls between home users and family members. Remember, visits are prohibited.
“It is 100 percent operational in the vast majority of the Misericórdias in the district of Viseu, but I cannot guarantee that it is in all, but several have this device and this tool for video calling, in order to minimize the distance from people,” said José Tomás.
10:22 am – Iran announces another 123 deaths
Iranian authorities confirm another 123 deaths from Covid-19, bringing the official death toll from the new coronavirus outbreak in the Islamic Republic to 1556.
More than 966 new cases of contamination have been confirmed in the past 24 hours and a total of 20,610 people have contracted the infection in Iran.
10h18 – Germany is the fourth country in the world with more cases
Germany registers 16,662 cases of the new coronavirus in the country, an increase of 2,705 over the previous day, reveals the Robert Koch Institute, responsible for the prevention and control of diseases.
There were also 47 fatalities with Covid-19, with the federal states of North Rhine-Westphalia, Bavaria and Baden-Württemberg being the most affected.
On Friday, Bavaria, with 2960 cases and which had already declared a state of emergency, imposed the confinement of the population. The Saarland State followed.
Angela Merkel’s government decides this weekend whether the country will declare a state of emergency across the country.
10h15 – BE, PAN and “The Greens” consider measures insufficient
Bloco de Esquerda and PAN recognize that there are positive measures in the plan designed by the Government to help companies and families, but consider that they are not enough.
–
These parties expected more support for the economy.
For its part, the Ecologist Party “Os Verdes” underlines, in a statement, that it hoped that the Government would announce the prohibition of dismissals and prevent the termination of contracts during probation.
–
10h11 – League Against Cancer creates special line
The Portuguese League Against Cancer created a special telephone line to help cancer patients during the Covid-19 pandemic.
–
Vítor Veloso, president of the Northern Regional Nucleus of the Portuguese League against Cancer, was this Saturday at the Good morning Portugal.
10h09 – Portuguese detained in Peru
The Portuguese Embassy in Peru informs, through Facebook, that the Government has activated the European Civil Protection Mechanism and is preparing a flight to bring the Portuguese detained in this South American country.
–
A collection and transport program is being designed for all citizens who are dispersed in Peruvian territory.
In Cusco alone, the city in the center of the country, known for its archaeological remains, there are at least 25 Portuguese. Some show anxiety and worry.
9:21 – pharmacy technicians must have training
Technicians who provide services to the public in pharmacies must receive appropriate training, in order to be able to adequately inform users and answer questions about Covid-19, according to a rule of the Directorate-General for Health.
DGS and Infarmed issued an series of guidelines for community pharmacies in the context of infection with the new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) to protect employees and users and to help prevent the spread of the disease.
9h04 – The situation in China
China did not register, for the third consecutive day, new local infections and the new coronavirus, although the number of imported cases continues to increase, with 41 records in the last 24 hours.
According to the Health Commission of China, until the beginning of today (16.00 on Friday in Lisbon) there was an increase in imported cases, with 41 infections, and seven deaths, all in Hubei province and six in its capital. , Wuhan, the focus of the pandemic.
The number of severe cases was reduced by 173, while 590 patients were discharged from hospital. There are 36 new suspected cases of the virus that are not yet confirmed.
The total number of confirmed cases across the country has increased to 81,008 and the number of deaths to 3,255, while 71,740 patients have been discharged since the outbreak began.
8h26 – USA apply brake to the Olympic Games
The United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee will not send athletes to the Tokyo2020 Olympic Games if they do not receive from the corresponding authorities the most complete safety for the participants’ health.
The announcement came from the committee’s executive director, Sarah Hirshland, who communicated the United States’ position, via a teleconference, in response to the pandemic situation caused by the coronavirus that affects the entire world sport.
“The decision on the Games is not up to us. It is up to the World Health Organization, the Japanese government and the International Olympic Committee,” said Hirshland.
8:20 am – 20-day quarantine in Colombia
The President of Colombia announced that the country will enter a 20-day quarantine starting Tuesday, to control the spread of the new coronavirus, which has already caused 158 infections.
8h18 – First case in Timor-Leste
The interim Minister of Health of Timor-Leste announced the first positive case of Covid-19, explaining that the patient is under medical surveillance and quarantined.
“We already have a confirmed positive case of Covid-19 in Timor-Leste. He is a person who came from abroad. He is in isolation and quarantine,” said Élia dos Reis Amaral, heard by the Lusa agency.
“The tests were done in Australia and we received the results today,” he added.
8h08 – First cases in Angola
The Angolan Minister of Health, Sílvia Lutucuta, announced the first two positive cases of infection by coronavirus in that African country.
“The pandemic has already reached our country with confirmation since 2 am today,” said the minister at a press conference.
These are two Angolan citizens who returned to the country on the 17th and 18th of March, coming from Portugal.
8:06 am – First two deaths in Singapore
The Singapore authorities recorded the first two deaths from Covid-19, after being the first country in Southeast Asia to detect the first cases in early January and impose measures to contain it.
8:05 am – Rise of cases in South Korea
South Korea saw a slight increase in new coronavirus cases within 24 hours. Local authorities predict an increase in imported infections and sporadic outbreaks in Covid-19.
A total of 147 new cases were detected on Friday, bringing the official number of infections in the country to 8,799, according to data from the Korean Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
7:30 am – State of play
At the end of the week, the country learned about the Government’s support measures for companies and families for the period of the state of emergency.
Business entities will be able to access credit lines in order to face the impacts of the new coronavirus. This is if they do not fire workers.
The payment of VAT and IRC was also postponed to the second half of the year.
–
Decisions announced last night by the Prime Minister, António Costa.
Among the measures is the automatic extension of the unemployment benefit, the solidarity supplement for the elderly and the social insertion income. These benefits are automatically renewed during the state of emergency.
The expiry of lease agreements is also suspended.
The picture in Portugal
The number of deaths in Portugal caused by Covid-19, the disease resulting from infection with the new coronavirus, has increased to six. The number of infected people now stands at 1020.
– Infographics where you can see the evolution of the disease in Portugal.
One hundred and twenty-six people are hospitalized, 26 of whom are in intensive care. Five of those infected have recovered.
A field hospital is being installed in Ovar. The county has entire infected families. A new cases screening station is already in operation.
–
The sanitary siege in Ovar is tighter, with more roads blocked and orders to close businesses.
In the Algarve, municipalities are buying clinical equipment, including ventilators, in an investment of almost 1.5 million euros. The material aims to be distributed to hospitals in the region.
The Algarve has 29 cases of infection.
In Lisbon, Hospital de Santa Maria is increasing the treatment areas for patients with Covid-19. To date, there are 71 beds in the wards and in intensive care.
The hospital and clinics of the banking workers’ health subsystem have meanwhile suspended services. Those responsible for SAMS claim to be complying with the recommendations of the Directorate-General for Health in protecting professionals and beneficiaries.
SAMS informs that services will remain closed during the period of emergency: the urgency of the Olivais hospital is closed; the Lisbon Clinical Center will only work for ongoing chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatments.
Scheduled appointments were canceled until the end of April.
The international framework
For the first time, the European Commission has proposed to make budget rules more flexible so that the countries of the European Union can face the economic crisis caused by the new coronavirus.
National governments can thus introduce fiscal stimuli into the economy “as much as they need”.
However, the European Council lacks the green light for this suspension of budgetary rules to be implemented.
– Infographics where you can see the evolution of Covid-19 in the world.
The new coronavirus, responsible for the covid-19 pandemic, has already infected more than 265,000 people worldwide. More than 11,100 died. Of the infected people, more than 90,500 recovered.
Having appeared in China in December, the outbreak has since spread to 182 countries and territories.
–
The death toll in Italy already exceeds four thousand. It is the country with the most deaths in the world and the second with more cases of infection.
–
Spain is the third country in the world with the most infections. There are 19,980. The number of fatalities also rose to 1002.
In the United States, California and New York are under mandatory quarantines.
–
A measure that covers about 60 million Americans.
It is estimated that in two weeks about 26 million Americans may be infected.
–
– .
