COVID-19 | Daily Update

Wednesday, May 27th | COVID-19 Daily Update

CURRENT OUTLOOK 

The Portuguese General Directorate of Health (DGS) announced today that in the last 24 hours there have been 14 more deaths and 285 new cases of COVID-19 infection in Portugal. 

According to the daily entity’s epidemiological bulletin, the number of fatalities rose from 1,342 to 1,356, while confirmed cases increased from 31,007 to 31,292. 

The number of recovered people increased to 18,349 more cases than yesterday.

 

PANDEMIC IN PORTUGAL

The Lisbon and Tagus Valley region was the one where the vast majority of new cases of coronavirus infection occurred yesterday: 96%. This is due to “some more or less localized outbreaks”, according to Graça Freitas, the General Director of Health.  

One of these focuses is located in the illegal Jamaica neighbourhood, where 16 positive cases “which are being followed up” were identified.

The Directorate-General for Consumers and Advertising Self-Regulation today released a guide on advertising and communication in the context of COVID-19 and recommend consumers to pay “special attention” to misleading advertising to disinfectants and face masks.

Theatres and cinemas can reopen, starting on Monday, with an interval between spectators, who will have to wear a face mask, revealed the Minister of Culture yesterday. Outdoor shows must have designated seats.

 

PANDEMIC IN EUROPE AND THE WORLD 

The German government has released an agreement with the country’s 16 states to maintain restrictions on contact between people until at least June 29, while allowing room to increase social activity. 

In the last 24 hours, Brazil recorded 1,039 deaths and 16,324 infected by the new coronavirus, the Brazilian government said, adding that the country now totals 24,512 deaths and 391,222 confirmed cases. The Brazilian Public Prosecutor’s Office indicated that it had gathered evidence that the governor of Rio de Janeiro allegedly commanded an organization that defrauded the construction of field hospitals, in the context of combating COVID-19.  

The United States recorded 657 deaths, down from 700 deaths for the third consecutive day, Johns Hopkins University said. 

In Africa, the death toll from COVID-19 has increased to 3,589, 118 more than yesterday, in more than 119,000 cases of infection in 54 countries.

South Korea today registered 40 new cases of coronavirus, the highest daily number in almost 50 days, causing concern among authorities and postponing the return of students to hundreds of schools. 

In New Zealand, for the first time since the outbreak of the new coronavirus began, hospitals have no inpatients with COVID-19.

 

MEDICAL PROGRESS 

The British drug agency has authorized the use of Remdesivir for patients with COVID-19 in an attempt to reduce the time that some patients spend in the hospital.

The French Government signed a decree banning the use of hydroxychloroquine for the treatment of COVID-19.  

Panama will remove hydroxychloroquine, chloroquine, and azithromycin from health protocols to combat COVID-19, due to a study that associates them with “cardiac toxicity”, which can lead to death. 

A team of scientists at the University of Lethbridge, Canada, says they have discovered strong strains of cannabis that can help prevent COVID-19 and treat the disease.

According to a study by the National Institute of Infectious Diseases in Japan and two Japanese universities that analyzed 11 outbreaks of contagion in the country, the risk of contagion with the SARS-Cov-2 coronavirus is 19 times higher in closed spaces than in open-air ones.

 

ECONOMIC IMPACT 

According to the Portuguese Ministry of Finance, public administrations recorded a deficit of 1,651 million euros until April this year. These results already show the effects of the pandemic.  

At the same time, in the first three weeks of trade reopening after the state of emergency, in Porto the drop is around 50%, and, in Lisbon, it reaches 70%. 

In the meantime, the support line for microenterprises launched under the Adaptar program, with a budget of 50 million euros, and whose notices were only launched on May 15, is already exhausted. 

A survey released yesterday by the service contracting platform Fixando highlights the cash flow difficulties that the Portuguese are facing because of the new coronavirus. One in ten Portuguese had to apply for a new loan to pay bills.

Former Labor Minister José Vieira da Silva argues that the telecommuting regime should not remain the norm after the pandemic since it can increase situations of excessive working hours that are difficult to control. 

CP (Public Railways) is facing severe financial difficulties due to a drop in the number of passengers and revenues due to the pandemic, in addition to not having yet received the annual state compensation for the public service provided. 

Concerning state aid, the European Commission (EC) admits that countries like Portugal, with less budgetary capacity, are “at a disadvantage” in state aid in times of crisis, urging the application of “additional measures”. 

Paolo Gentiloni, European Commissioner for the Economy, revealed today that the EC will propose a Recovery Fund of € 750 billion for Europe to overcome the crisis caused by the pandemic. 

The European Central Bank (ECB) president has already set aside the scenario of a drop in GDP in the Eurozone of just 5%. The scale of the recession will lie somewhere between the medium and the most severe scenario.

The French economy may contract 20% in the second quarter of this year, which represents one-fifth of the GDP of one of the main drivers of the European economy.

 

FINANCIAL MARKETS

The main European stock exchanges were trading high this morning, with tensions between Washington and Beijing rising and waiting for the EC’s economic recovery plan and the US Federal Reserve’s “beige book” (Periodic report on US economic conditions per region). 

In Lisbon, the stock exchange maintained the trend and the PSI-20 advanced 0.48%.  

EuroStoxx 600 was up 0.16%. The London, Paris, and Frankfurt stock exchanges advanced 1.02%, 0.72%, and 0.37%, respectively, as well as the Madrid stock, which advanced 0.80% and 0.94%. The exception is Milan, which was down 0.58%.