COVID-19 | Daily Update

Monday, July 13th | COVID-19 Daily Update

CURRENT OUTLOOK

The Portuguese General Directorate of Health (DGS) today advanced the registration, in the last 24 hours, of two more deaths and 306 new cases of COVID-19 infection in Portugal.

According to the institution’s epidemiological bulletin, the number of deaths rose from 1,660 to 1,662, while the number of confirmed cases increased from 46,512 to 46,818. 

The number of people recovered is now 31,065.

 

PANDEMIC IN PORTUGAL

After hosting the heads of Government of Spain and Italy in Lisbon last week to prepare the summit for the coming 17th and 18th of July at which the 27 EU Member States will try to reach a commitment on the EU Economic and Social Recovery Plan in the face of the crisis of COVID-19, António Costa travels today to the Netherlands. 

Meanwhile, a new outbreak was detected at the Geberit factory, in the industrial zone of Carregado, in the municipality of Alenquer. So far, there have been 38 positive cases among workers at the Swiss multinational plant.

The President of the Council of Portuguese Communities disputes the Portuguese Government’s “lack of timely information” about the order that enforces those travelling from the USA or Portuguese-speaking countries to test COVID-19, 72 hours before the trip.

It is now known that the director of services at the Paderne Social Center in Melgaço is expected to make statements this week as a defendant before Portuguese Justice regarding the “kiss of the cross” on Easter Sunday.

 

PANDEMIC IN EUROPE AND THE WORLD

British health officials are working to suppress more than 100 localized outbreaks of COVID-19 a week in the UK, Health Minister Matt Hancock said today regarding yet another phase of easing restrictions.  

In Spain, hours after new partial confinement was decreed for the city of Lérida and seven other municipalities in the Catalonia region, the main Investigating Judge in Lérida decided to cancel the decision of the Generalitat de Catalunya, claiming that the regional government exceeded its powers. 

In France, all passengers coming from countries “at-risk” will be systematically tested, said the spokesman for the French government, Gabriel Attal, yesterday. 

At the same time, travellers entering Belgium from the Alentejo and the Algarve will be subject to “greater surveillance” due to the pandemic, says the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs website, which does not specify the measures to be applied.

The United States reported 426 deaths and 57,794 infected by COVID-19 in the past 24 hours, according to a report by Johns Hopkins University.  

Meanwhile, it is known that the leader of the COVID-19 combat team in the USA, Anthony Fauci, seems to have been removed from the screens by the White House, at a time when the country registers more than 60 thousand cases per day and is moving towards the 100,000 infected daily – just as the chief-epidemiologist predicted.

In a report released today, Amnesty International calls for governments to be held responsible for the deaths of health workers during the pandemic period. The NGO reports that more than 3,000 medical doctors, nurses and auxiliary personnel died worldwide – a number, however, that Amnesty considers to be inferior to the real one.

 

MEDICAL PROGRESS

Australian scientists today began human trials of a potential vaccine for COVID-19 developed by the University of Queensland. The volunteers received the first dose of the vaccine this morning, but preliminary results will not be revealed before September.

A team of researchers from Thailand wants to start, in the fourth quarter of the year, to carry out human tests of a vaccine against COVID-19 which, if it has good results, could be distributed in 2021.

Scientists from Mexico, USA, Spain, and Italy, led by a team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, are building a database with thousands of coughing sounds from people of all ages, with and without COVID-19.  

These sounds will be analyzed using an algorithm and artificial intelligence to distinguish the sound of the cough of someone who is not infected from someone who is, said the person in charge of the project in Mexico, Bárbara Vizmanos.

 

ECONOMIC IMPACT

The pandemic has had a strong impact on the labour market, with data released today by Eurostat showing a “record number” of 3.9 million European employees who moved into the inactive category in the first quarter.

Regarding the impact of the pandemic on the economy, the National Council of Financial Supervisors warned that measures to support families, such as credit default, as well as support for companies and banks, should be kept until the economy recovers. 

Inflation in the Madeira region, measured by the Consumer Price Index, reached -0.8% in June, maintaining the same level as the previous month, according to data from the Regional Statistics Directorate. 

Concerning consumers and payments, Banco de Portugal announced today that the limit of 50 euros for making “contactless” payments will permanently become the new maximum value allowed for purchases using this technology. 

They come from seven countries and have in common the fact that they have large fortunes. In an open letter, super-rich people asked governments to raise the tax burden on the wealthiest to help finance the global recovery from the pandemic crisis.

The stock of Cape Verdean public debt issued internally skyrocketed in May to a new historical peak, of almost 742.5 million euros, more than half held by commercial banks.

Peter Wilhelm, of the European Council of Shopping Places, warns about the potential impact of reduced rents in shopping centres. A too sharp reduction in the income of shopping malls can cause a domino effect on the economy if it reaches banks, warns the head of the association.

 

FINANCIAL MARKETS

The shares of EDPRenewables, EDP, and Jerónimo Martins today led the falls on the Lisbon Stock Exchange, which was down by 0.34% to 4,449.46 points, with other European stock exchanges trading higher. 

Of the 18 listed on the main Portuguese stock index, 12 were rising, four were falling and two were unchanged.