The growth of Covid-19 cases in the Metropolitan Area of Lisbon, contrary to the downward trend at the national level, is concentrating the authorities’ response efforts, Health Minister Marta Temido added this Saturday, adding that there will be a reinforcement containment efforts in the municipalities of Amadora, Lisbon, Loures, Odivelas and Sintra.
In a press conference, Temido said that “since mid-May the number of new cases in the region of Lisbon and the Tagus Valley has remained at around 180 new cases per day and in the last eight this region represented on average more than 85% new cases in the country ”.
The region of Lisbon and the Tagus Valley has a total of 10,874 confirmed cases of Covid-19, 231 more than the previous day, revealed the epidemiological bulletin of the Directorate-General for Health, released this Saturday. The number of fatalities from the new coronavirus in the Lisbon region increased to 354, which corresponds to another eight deaths in the last 24 hours.
Marta Temido explained that, however, these figures are not distributed symmetrically throughout the region. “Our groupings in Amadora, Lisbon, Loures, Odivelas and Sintra, now concentrate our greatest need for a response”.
In order to control the risk of regression in the containment of the virus and in the spread of the disease, the minister said that it is essential to adopt specific public health measures, adding that those that take into account the characteristics of the new notified cases will be adopted. in this region.
The measures include “infection screening focused on activities where there has been a greater incidence, namely civil construction, supply chains, distribution transport, which are usually characterized by high turnover of part of the workers and the use of temporary work”.
“In addition to screening, the testing of all people for whom the health authorities have determined active surveillance because they are contacts of these professionals”, stressed Temido, adding that the mandatory confinement of infected people “and guarantee of the same” , will be coordinated with the security forces.
Coordination meetings on Sunday and Monday
Marta Temido also informed that the Health authorities will meet with several heads of municipalities in the Metropolitan Area of Lisbon in order to develop strategies for containment and minimization in the region, which in the last 24 hours registered 231 more cases.
“A series of meetings are scheduled to take place tomorrow and on Monday with various agents of different levels of responsibility in areas like Amadora, like Sintra, like Loures, like Lisbon, in order to better coordinate what is a pedagogical activity for the adequate use of personal protective equipment, cleaning spaces and places, but above all the physical distance measures that are the ones that best protect all of us “, said the minister of guardianship, in the daily press conference to update on the evolution of Covid -19.
The minister explained that she will “insist on this work” in conjunction with the Ministry of Internal Administration, with the Security Forces, with Civil Protection. “Also for work situations with the Authority for Work Conditions and also with the Parish Councils, municipalities and other entities, namely cultural promoters, civil society”, having a “set of extended meetings in order to try to work in the ground”.
“The last stronghold of this wave of infection requires street intervention, land intervention. There is little point in enacting more measures. The solution is for each individual. That is why we need to talk to people, to talk to those who speak to people, ”he said.
[Atualizada às 13h56]
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