The interview with Express, this Saturday, when the Minister of Social Security, Ana Mendes Godinho, put herself under fire from PSD and CDS-PP, is making her way of controversy in the public space – but from the PS not a word (as well as, in fact, from the former socialist partners in contraption, BE, PCP and ENP).
Perhaps this Tuesday the Prime Minister will comment on the case for the first time. António Costa will preside in the morning at the meeting of the National Operational Coordination Center (CCON), at the headquarters of the National Authority for Emergency and Civil Protection, in Carnaxide.
Because of the interview, the case of Reguengos it became embarrassing for the government. But not only. The deaths occurred in a home owned by a foundation chaired by José Calixto, the socialist who accumulates these functions with those of Mayor of Reguengos de Monsaraz (office to which he was reelected in 2017 with almost two thirds of the council’s votes).
Both the Social Democrats and the centrists want the Minister in Parliament to explain – and also the Health Minister, Marta Temido -, but to this claim the Socialists said neither water comes nor water goes.
The truth is that Parliament is closed. There is not even a scheduled meeting of the Permanent Commission, the body that on vacation can replace the plenary. The first conference of leaders of the new political year is only scheduled for 9 September.
What is at stake are the statements by Ana Mendes Godinho on the case of the Reguengos de Monsaraz home – where an outbreak of covid-19, already considered as resolved, killed 18 people (16 users, a household worker and a man from the community), in a total of 162 cases of infection (80 users, 26 home professionals and 56 people from the surrounding community).
In the interview, the minister assumed that she had not read the survey carried out by the Portuguese Medical Association (OM), having her team analyze it. This inquiry was sent to the Public Ministry – that triggered a criminal investigation – and also to the Southern Regional Disciplinary Council of OM, where it is being assessed whether disciplinary action on any doctor involved in the case will be necessary.
“The scale of outbreaks [nos lares] it is not too big in terms of proportion. But, of course, this does not mean that we should not be concerned. “
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In the report, to which the agency Lusa had access, the OM concluded that the home of the Maria Inácia Vogado Perdigão Silva Foundation (FMIVPS), in Reguengos de Monsaraz, did not comply with the guidelines of the Directorate-General for Health (DGS) and pointed out responsibilities to the administration and the Public Health Authority.
He also stated that his concern for the homes was more “structural” and less about “specific cases”, not prioritizing accountability for outbreaks and their consequences but rather giving institutions more and more to better prevent themselves against the disease.
It also put into perspective the global importance of the pandemic in homes, currently: “We had 365 outbreaks [em abril] and we have 69 now. Clearly, we have less impact. We have 3% of the total number of homes and we have 0.5% of people in homes that are affected by the disease. The size of the outbreaks is not too large in terms of proportion. But, of course, this does not mean that we should not be concerned. “
Even before this Saturday’s interview, Reguengos’ case had already sparked parliamentary reactions. The PCP asked for explanations in Parliament from those responsible for the ARS in Alentejo. The Liberal Initiative had also demanded a “complete clarification” of the case in a question addressed to the ministries of Health and Labor, Solidarity and Social Security by its sole deputy, João Cotrim Figueiredo.
“We analyze all documents and reports [no Ministério da Saúde]. Analysis assumes reading. I read all the documents and reports, of course I did. “
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However, with the interview, Ana Mendes Godinho managed to move to the condition of epicenter of the crisis. CDS and Chega have already asked him to resign. The PSD does not – but requires clarification in the AR. And in the meantime, the minister remains silent, having only issued a statement saying that her statements had been decontextualized.
The President of the Republic, for his part, said that he had not only read the OM report but also the other three official reports on the case (from the city council, the foundation that owns the home and the Alentejo Regional Health Administration), but he did not. without, at the same time, underlining the “brutal task of everyone looking at homes and seeing what was the appropriate response”. “The contingency plans changed from home to home, many clandestine homes were discovered. It was necessary to take measures at the last minute and difficult,” he said.
Who on Monday did not help the situation of the minister to be better was the general director of Health, Graça Freitas, and the Secretary of State for Health, António Sales, at the press conference where they presented the most recent balance about the effects of the pandemic in Portugal.
“We have an obligation to read the reports that come to us. This is part of our obligations: to read the reports, to learn from them but also to make comments and additions about them.”
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“We analyze all documents and reports [no Ministério da Saúde]. Analysis assumes reading. I read all the documents and reports, of course I did. We are currently analyzing. There are many converging conclusions, others that are less convergent, but what matters is that the analysis of these reports provides a way to protect these most vulnerable bands “, said Sales.
“As the Secretary of State for Health said, we have an obligation to read the reports that come to us. This is part of our obligations: to read the reports, to draw lessons from them but also to make comments and additions on them, because no report is completely exhaustive and sometimes needs looking at other angles “, added Graça Freitas.
The Secretary of State took the opportunity to disseminate a general assessment of the situation in homes. According to him, 70 residential structures for the elderly in Portugal have cases of covid-19, with 542 users and 2017 employees with positive tests.
In other words, the situation is of “some stability” and the tendency is to continue to decrease infections in these spaces.
Yesterday, Portugal registered today one more death and 132 more confirmed cases of covid-19 in relation to Sunday, according to the epidemiological bulletin of DGS. Since the beginning of the pandemic until Monday, there were 1779 deaths and 54 234 cases of infection.
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“What we can guarantee is that the experience has led to corrections and improvements,” said the official, adding that, for example, visits were made to 261 of a total of 283 homes for the elderly in the Alentejo area, with the elaboration of reports on the detected non-conformities, and the services are checking corrections.
This situation, assured António Sales, “also occurs in the rest of the country, where homes have received mixed teams of Social Security, Health and Civil Protection authorities to verify the implementation of the measures”.
“This is a joint effort with the institutions, municipalities and Social Security with a common objective of protecting this part of the population most vulnerable to the virus that requires a special duty of protection”, he stressed.
This Monday, Portugal recorded a death and another 132 confirmed cases of covid-19 compared to Sunday, according to the DGS epidemiological bulletin. Since the beginning of the pandemic until Monday, there were 1779 deaths and 54 234 cases of infection.
Worldwide, the covid-19 pandemic has already claimed at least 770,429 deaths and infected more than 21.7 million people in 196 countries and territories, according to a report by the French agency AFP.
