COVID-19 | Daily Update
June 7, 2020
Wednesday, June 7th | COVID-19 Daily Update
CURRENT OUTLOOK
In Portugal, 5 more deaths and 342 new people infected with COVID-19 were registered in the last 24 hours, according to the Portuguese General Directorate of Health (DGS) daily epidemiological bulletin.
The data revealed shows that the number of fatalities went from 1,474 to 1,479 (+0.34%), while confirmed cases increased from 34,351 to 34,693 (+1.00%).
The number of recovered is now 20,995 (+0.90%).
PANDEMIC IN PORTUGAL
The Minister of Health justified yesterday the growth of new cases of COVID-19 in the region of Lisbon and Tagus Valley with the adoption of an intensive screening strategy, with 14,000 tests performed in the last days.
However, the authorities are becoming concerned with the pandemic situation in Lisbon, and above all with the behaviour of asymptomatic young adults.
The Government will allow the reimbursement of expenses incurred for the direct needs of the organizers of congresses, fairs, exhibitions, conferences and the like in the amount equivalent to the VAT deducted from the Tax Authorities and, by the end of the legislature, intends to have at least 25% civil servants working remotely.
The National Maritime Authority made a positive assessment of the start of the bathing season, yesterday, on the beaches of the Algarve, Almada, Cascais, and Nazaré, under rules of social distance and maximum occupancy.
Hundreds of people gathered yesterday in the streets of Lisbon and other cities in the country to protest against racism. By the way, the director-general of health warned that the face masks “do not give immunity” and the president of the Association of Public Health Doctors recalled that concentrations of more than 20 people are not allowed in the country and even less in the area of Lisbon and Vale do Tejo, where the limit is ten people.
PANDEMIC IN EUROPE AND THE WORLD
Spain has been excluded from a European alliance that aims to achieve the development and large-scale production of the coronavirus vaccine by a block of European countries.
In the last 24 hours, France recorded 31 deaths in hospitals in the context of the pandemic, bringing the total number of deaths in the country to 29,142.
Brazil recorded 904 deaths and 27,075 thousand cases of the new coronavirus. Altogether, the country has already confirmed 672,846 cases and 35,930 deaths caused by COVID-19.
The Brazilian Government has decided to restrict the disclosure of information about the impact of the new coronavirus. In this country, one person dies every minute due to COVID-19.
In the USA, 749 deaths were registered, bringing the total number of deaths to almost 110 thousand.
In Africa, the death toll has passed the 5,000, with more than 183,000 cases in 54 countries, and China recorded the first case of local contagion with COVID-19 in two weeks, an infected person on the island of Hainan.
Pakistan has now exceeded 2,000 deaths and is approaching 100,000 cases of infection, prompting the prime minister to warn the population that they will have to learn to live with the virus.
Greece has prolonged the confinement, imposed since March in overcrowded migrant camps for another two weeks to contain the spread of the coronavirus while preparing for a resumption of tourism, an essential sector for the country’s economy.
The pandemic has already infected almost seven million people. It is now known that the number of fatalities worldwide has now exceeded 400,000, according to official data from John Hopkins University.
MEDICAL PROGRESS
Sklifosóvski Hospital, one of the most prestigious in the Russian capital, started using hyperbaric chambers in the treatment of COVID-19. The measure is also being studied in Portugal at the Center for Underwater and Hyperbaric Medicine of the Portuguese Navy.
A project led by Águas de Portugal (Public water supplier) and with scientific coordination from the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon created a method to quantify traces of SARS-CoV-2 in domestic effluents. The idea is to estimate the number of infected people in the population from viral load in wastewater.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
The Portuguese government expects to spend 713 million euros on the second phase of the lay-off that will replace the simplified regime from August.
The government estimates a drop in GDP of 6.9% this year, due to the pandemic, and foresees a growth of 4.3% in 2021, according to the Economic and Social Stabilization Program and also foresees an unemployment rate this year of 9,6% and 8.7% in 2021 and a 15.4% drop in exports this year.
Another measure designed by the government is based on the value of 38 million euros for support until the end of the year for workers without social protection and also the extension of public credit default. In other words, migrants are also covered and consumer credits for education are included in this law.
The national association of Portuguese restaurants PRO.VAR classifies the measures of the Economic and Social Stabilization Program as “positive”, but “very insufficient” to survive the crisis caused by the pandemic.
Shopping at the supermarket is already reflecting the drop in household income: more private brands are being purchased from distribution chains and promotions are once again gaining expression on supermarket shelves, weighing over 30% in sales.
The larger cinemas estimate a loss of 45 million euros, creating a “very complicated” scenario in an activity with average monthly costs of three million. The risk of bankruptcy is real.
Chinese foreign trade fell 4.9% in May compared to 2019, according to data published today by the General Administration of Customs, reaching 2.47 trillion yuan (about 308.9 billion euros).
FINANCIAL MARKETS
Most investors in the UK stock exchanges want a shorter time for stock trading which could improve the liquidity and diversity of the industry, according to the results of a London Stock Exchange survey.
