COVID-19 | Daily Update
June 17, 2020
Thursday, June 18th | COVID-19 Daily Update
CURRENT OUTLOOK
The data released today by the Portuguese General Directorate of Health (DGS), in the daily epidemiological update, indicate that in the last 24 hours there was one death and 417 new cases of COVID-19 infection in Portugal.
The number of fatalities rose from 1,523 to 1,524, while confirmed cases increased from 37,672 to 38,089.
The number of people recovered increased from 23,580 to 24,010.
Lisbon and the Tagus Valley have 325 confirmed cases, thus remaining the most problematic region in Portugal.
PANDEMIC IN PORTUGAL
The President of the Republic emphasized that the fact that Portugal was the chosen stage for the final phase of the Champions League in a month in which “all countries are fighting for the return to international tourism” is an event that “is priceless”.
Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa recalled that Portugal has already received, in other editions, the final of this event, but that this is “a unique and unrepeatable case” due to the context of the pandemic of COVID-19.
Roque da Cunha, secretary-general of the Independent Medical Doctors Union considered it a “very serious mistake” for the Government to try to “sweeten” the COVID-19 case numbers and affirm that there is no growth in the pandemic in Lisbon and the Tagus Valley.
Regarding the outbreak in the Algarve, the president of the South chapter of the Portuguese Guild of Medical Doctors, Alexandre Valentim Lourenço, says that the region does not have enough human resources to deal with an epidemiological situation such as the one that is happening in Greater Lisbon Area. That is why he advocates strict measures during the summer.
The Lisbon Oncologic Institute guaranteed yesterday that the outbreak of COVID-19 detected in its facilities, with 20 positive cases among health professionals and patients, is under control.
The Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Cinfães nursing home registered 55 positive cases of COVID-19 earlier in the evening, 33 users, and 22 employees, according to the municipality.
Portugal was the fourth European country with the highest percentage of prisoners released as a measure to prevent the spread of COVID-19, behind Turkey, Cyprus, and Slovenia, according to a report released by the Council of Europe.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs suggested yesterday that the Portuguese favour holidays in the national territory and advised against travel outside European space and to exotic destinations without frequent connections to Portugal.
The nightlife businessmen are today holding a demonstration in protest against the Government’s delay in legislating on the reopening of spaces such as bars and night clubs, closed since March in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.
PANDEMIC IN EUROPE AND THE WORLD
The World Health Organization (WHO) warned yesterday that dexamethasone is not “a treatment or prophylaxis” for the new coronavirus, noting that the drug successfully tested in the UK should only be used in patients with severe cases of COVID-19.
The Brazilian Ministry of Health announced that 32,188 new cases of COVID-19 were diagnosed. In two days, Brazil registered more than 67 thousand cases and is approaching fast the 1 million infection cases.
The United States recorded 840 deaths, bringing the number of fatalities in the country to more than 117,000 since the epidemic began, Johns Hopkins University said.
China today admitted the “urgent need” to improve hygiene in its supply markets and the food supply chain, after a new outbreak of COVID-19 in Beijing, which has already confirmed 158 cases.
The death toll from COVID-19 in Africa has risen to 7,197, a further 198 in the last 24 hours, in about 267,000 cases, according to the most recent data on the continent’s pandemic.
Venezuela registered 236 new cases of coronavirus, the highest number since March 13, when the first patient with COVID-19 was detected in the country.
Denmark will authorize the entry of European citizens from countries with low rates of infection with the new coronavirus as of June 27, the Foreign Minister announced today. Portugal and Sweden are the exceptions, as they do not meet the criteria.
MEDICAL PROGRESS
The WHO chief scientist said today that she expects two billion doses of a vaccine against COVID-19, by the end of next year, reserved for “priority populations”.
Another vaccine designed and developed by the University of Oxford against COVID-19 is also already being produced by the British Jenner Institute to be distributed in December after its effectiveness has been proven.
The SARS-CoV-2 vaccine, which has been in development since the beginning of the year in Chile, has advanced to the pre-clinical testing phase, in an attempt to discover immunity against the new coronavirus.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
Since the beginning of the pandemic crisis, around 113.5 thousand companies have asked to join the simplified lay-off regime, according to official data from the Ministry of Labor, updated until yesterday. This means that less than two-thirds of the orders submitted have been approved.
In April, tourism activity was “practically nil”. The data now confirmed by INE (Portuguese Statistics Bureau) is in line with the scenario already advanced by the hospitality industry that pointed to revenue drops between 1.28 to 1.44 billion in four months.
The president of Turismo de Lisboa, Vítor Costa, reveals that the Champions League Final can be fundamental to bring confidence and some resumption now.
The speed at which different European economies will emerge from the crisis caused by the pandemic will depend on their respective demographic structures, warns the European Commission in the first European report on the matter.
The airline company Air France is preparing a plan to reduce thousands of jobs to face the collapse in air traffic because of COVID-19, but without resorting to redundancies, union sources said today.
Uber will dismiss 30% of the qualified workers of its Lisbon Center of Excellence.
FINANCIAL MARKETS
The national stock exchange opened in a fall today, with the PSI-20 falling 0.36% to 4,434.66 points and the majority of those listed with a red light, while the main European stock exchanges opened today lower, very pending of the new outbreaks of COVID-19 worldwide, which could jeopardize the return of activity and economic recovery.
