COVID-19 | Daily Update
May 25, 2020
Wednesday, May 25th | COVID-19 Daily Update
CURRENT OUTLOOK
In Portugal, over the last 24 hours, there were 14 more deaths and 165 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 1,316 to 1,330 (+1,06%), while confirmed cases increased from 30,623 to 30,788 (+0.54%).
There are now 17,822 people who have recovered from the infection, 273 more than yesterday (+1,56%).
PANDEMIC IN PORTUGAL
The Prime Minister, António Costa, begins today to meet the parties with parliamentary representation in the official residence, in São Bento, to share with them the proposal for a program of economic and social stabilization resulting from the pandemic of COVID-19.
The collection of blood samples for the National Serological Survey has started today and is taking place among people who are going to do routine blood exams at the approximately 100 private laboratories and hospitals in the NHS that adhered to this initiative.
In addition to public transport and schools, workers in shops or public services must also wear a face mask. In other workplaces, the Government determines that its use is optional.
According to the data from the COVID-19 Social Hospitalization Barometer, promoted by the Portuguese Association of Hospital Administrators, about one in five patients hospitalized with COVID-19 remains in the hospital for social reasons, most of whom are over 70 years old.
The concerns are now turned to Sonae’s logistics centre in Azambuja, which already has 109 workers with COVID-19.
The duties and obligations of the users of the beaches and the concessionaires of these spaces and equipment come into force tomorrow, now that the diploma that regulates this matter has been published in “Diário da República”.
The beaches officially open on June 6.
PANDEMIC IN EUROPE AND THE WORLD
Today, the entire Spanish territory enters phase 1 or 2 of deconfinement. The cities of Madrid and Barcelona are advancing to phase 1 and citizens can reunite with their families and meet on terraces, although with limitations.
Phase 2 entails the opening of shopping centres and the resumption of home visits, as well as authorization for trips to the beach. Throughout Spanish territory, however, movement between communities continues to be prohibited.
The US recorded 638 deaths from COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, bringing the number of deaths in the country to 97,686, Johns Hopkins University said.
At the same time, according to an AFP (French news agency) report, in Latin America and the Caribbean, the pandemic has already claimed more than 40,000 deaths, with Brazil accounting for more than half of the deaths in the region.
Thus, in the last 24 hours, 653 more deaths and 15,183 thousand new cases were confirmed in Brazil, with the country having a total of 363,211 confirmed cases and 22,666 deaths.
The NGOs Global Health Advocates and Corporate Europe Observatory accuse the big pharmaceutical companies involved in public-private partnerships with the EU of having prevented the coronavirus research proposed by Brussels in 2018.
MEDICAL PROGRESS
Professor Adrian Hill warns that the much-anticipated clinical trial to test a vaccine against COVID-19 presents a significant risk of not having positive results. This could be because the SARS-CoV-2 virus is rapidly disappearing, explains the project leader.
The executive chairman of the Anglo-Swedish pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca, Pascal Soriot, said yesterday that the British may have access to a vaccine against the new coronavirus from September if clinical trials continue at the current pace.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
The number of young workers applying for unemployment benefits in Portugal skyrocketed in April, the month when the registration of unemployed people in employment centres across the country reached a maximum of two years, with more than 392,000 registered.
Eurogroup President Mário Centeno considers the plan of French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel to reactivate the economy an important step towards fiscal union and an effective monetary union. For the president of the Eurogroup, it would be desirable to reach an agreement before the summer.
Prices at fuel stations are still well below those recorded at the beginning of the year but have already started to recover in the three weeks of the gradual recovery of activity and are expected to keep increasing.
Germany confirmed that the economy fell 2.2% in the first quarter compared to the last quarter of 2019 due to the impact of the pandemic. Accordingly, the German Government predicts a 6.3% drop in GDP.
FINANCIAL MARKETS
The main European exchanges were trading early in the morning, ignoring Germany’s recession into the first quarter. German GDP contracted 2.2% in the first quarter.
After having opened upwards, the Lisbon Stock Exchange maintained the trend and, at 9.05 am, the main index, the PSI-20, advanced 0.85% to 4,277.28 points.
The interest on the Portuguese debt, in the early morning, was falling two, five and ten years compared to Friday, in line with those of Spain and Greece.
