The Azores registered this Thursday the first suspected case of infection with the new coronavirus (Covid-19), a 31-year-old man who was in Milan (Italy), revealed the Regional Government.
“The Regional Health Authority, regarding the outbreak of pneumonia by the new coronavirus (Covid-19), informs that the first suspected case of infection with this new coronavirus (Covid-19) in the Autonomous Region of the Azores is being evaluated”, reads in a statement from the Azorean Executive’s Social Communication Support Office.
According to the same statement, the user is a 31-year-old man, residing in the municipality of Praia da Vitória, on Terceira Island, “who returned on February 19, Milan, Italy”.
The Regional Health Authority adds that the case “is already being followed up by the health authorities” and that “biological samples will now be collected for laboratory diagnosis”, according to the established procedures.
The regional secretary for Health of the Azores revealed on Wednesday that the three hospitals in the region – on the islands of Faial, Terceira and São Miguel – had 80 isolation rooms available to accommodate potential carriers of the virus.
According to the Regional Director of Health, Tiago Lopes, “primarily the patients will be transported to the Hospital Santo Espírito on Terceira Island, because it is the hospital that has the laboratory capacity to confirm the diagnosis and the rooms with negative pressure to proceed with the procedure. hospitalization and treatment of the suspected case ”.
The Azorean executive calls that in case of symptoms, users call the Azores Health Line (808 246 024), instead of going to a hospital or health unit.
In the last 24 hours, Portugal had 27 new suspected cases of Covid-19 infection, totaling 52 to date, of which 16 are awaiting laboratory results, said the Directorate-General for Health (DGS).
The data are contained in the Covid-19 epidemiological bulletin, which did not report any cases of infection with the new coronavirus in Portugal until 19:00 today.
Of the total of new suspected cases, 26 are people from northern Italy and one from Japan.
According to the daily bulletin, released after 8 pm, Portugal has already registered 52 suspected cases, 36 of which were negative after laboratory tests.
According to a source from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “two of the Portuguese crew members of the Diamond Princess had to be hospitalized, in Japan, for signs related to the new coronavirus”, one of them with the confirmed infection and the other “under hospital observation”.
Covid-19, detected in December in China and which can cause respiratory infections such as pneumonia, has already caused more than 2,800 deaths and infected more than 82,000 people, according to data reported by about 50 countries and territories.
Of the infected people, more than 33,000 recovered.
In addition to 2,744 deaths in China, there are fatalities in Iran, South Korea, Italy, Japan, the Philippines, France, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
The World Health Organization has declared the Covid-19 outbreak to be an international public health emergency and has warned of a possible pandemic, after a sudden increase in cases in Italy, South Korea and Iran.
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