COVID-19 | Daily Update

Wednesday, June 4th | COVID-19 Daily Update

CURRENT OUTLOOK

In Portugal, in the last 24 hours, there were 8 more deaths and 331 new people infected with COVID-19, according to the Portuguese General Directorate of Health (DGS) epidemiological bulletin.  

The data revealed shows that the number of fatalities went from 1,447 to 1,455, while confirmed cases increased from 33,261 to 33,592. 

The number of recovered patients is now 20,323.

 

PANDEMIC IN PORTUGAL 

The Government is preparing to announce new support measures today, after the Economic and Social Stabilization Plan has been approved by the Council of Ministers. 

In 15 days, the Lisbon and Tagus Valley region became the most worrying focus of the pandemic. The daily rates for the number of new cases of infection were almost always above 90%. Hospitals in the region say they can respond, but leave a warning: the situation is worrying. 

The Spanish Minister of Industry and Tourism, Maria Reyes Maroto, announced today that the borders with Portugal will be reopened on the 22nd. However, a source from the Portuguese Ministry of Internal Administration guarantees that there is still no decision made. 

The northern beaches, from Caminha to Vila Nova de Gaia, will only have a bathing season between 27 June and 30 August. 

Courts yesterday again opened doors for trials and other on-site procedural steps in normal cases, but the Minister of Justice admitted that conditions are not perfect and that there will be a gradual adaptation process.

 

PANDEMIC IN EUROPE AND THE WORLD

The European Central Bank may decide today to expand the special program to combat the crisis. For Portugal, it means a few billion euros more in debt bought by Christine Lagarde. 

Angela Merkel announced a € 130 billion stimulus package for this year and 2021, to boost Germany’s economy, hard hit by the pandemic.

As of the next 16th of June, the US government wants to prevent Chinese airlines from flying to the USA. The country currently registers 919 deaths, increasing to more than 107 thousand deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.

In the last 24 hours, Germany reports a total of 182,764 confirmed cases and 8,581 deaths from the new coronavirus.  

Russia confirms 8,831 new cases out of the total number of infected 441,108. 

Yesterday, Brazil had a daily record of deaths, counting 1,349 deaths, while identifying 28,633 infected people.  

The death toll in Africa rose to 4,601, 108 more than yesterday, and more than 162,000 cases in the 54 countries, while Mexico recorded more than 1,000 deaths, the worst daily balance since the pandemic began and more than twice as many deaths verified the day before. 

On the other hand, New Zealand expects to enact the “eradication of the disease” in the country on the 15th of June, said sources at the Wellington Ministry of Health today.

 

MEDICAL PROGRESS

The WHO announced yesterday that clinical trials with hydroxychloroquine for patients with COVID-19, which have been suspended for more than a week due to concerns about the safety of that drug, will be resumed.

The European bloc is preparing to follow the American example and use a € 2.4 billion fund to secure vaccines that are still under development and increase production capacity in Europe.

Two thousand Brazilians will participate in the tests for the vaccine against COVID-19 that is being developed by the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom.

 

ECONOMIC IMPACT

The Government decided to create two new supports for families and workers who lost income due to the crisis caused by the forced confinement of the population, including an extraordinary family allowance to be paid in September. 

The European Commission is “reasonably optimistic” about a “rapid economic recovery” in Portugal after the crisis generated by COVID-19 and considers that the way the country “controlled” the pandemic will benefit the resumption of tourism this summer. 

Regarding the European labour market, the Commission predicts a “difficult situation” for at least two years, speaking of a “sharp rise in unemployment”, which will mainly affect young people and sectors such as tourism and the car industry. 

The pandemic of the new coronavirus puts 945,000 jobs at risk, according to the accounts of Prosper – Center for Economics for Prosperity, of the Catholic University, which today launches its first study.

Business confederations want the Government to step back in its intention to prohibit access to the suspension of contracts in the simplified lay-off regime for most companies.

According to Eurostat, retail sales suffered a sharp drop in the Eurozone and the EU in April, due to the containment measures linked to the pandemic.

The Portuguese Foreign Minister revealed yesterday that the country is in talks with the United Kingdom to establish an “air bridge” that will allow British tourists to avoid the quarantine imposed on their return to their country.

 

FINANCIAL MARKETS

After three consecutive sessions of gains, the main Portuguese stock index lost 0.86%, to 4,595.97 points, in line with the main European counterparts. 

Interest rates on the Portuguese debt were now rising two, five, and ten years from yesterday, in line with those in Ireland.