COVID-19 | Weekly Update
November 13, 2020
Friday, November 13th | COVID-19 Daily Update
CURRENT OUTLOOK
Over the last 24 hours, 69 people died in Portugal and there are 6,653 new cases of COVID-19 infection, making it the new record of confirmed infections in a single day.
According to data released today in the Portuguese General Directorate of Health (DGS) epidemiological bulletin, there are now a total of 204,664 confirmed cases in the country (100,000 of which were added over the last 26 days), with 3,250 deaths still since the beginning of the pandemic. About 1/3 of the total deaths in Portugal happened in nursing homes.
As for the number of people who recovered from the disease, 3,693 cases were recorded, increasing the total to 117,382.
PANDEMIC IN PORTUGAL
The Government yesterday updated the list of municipalities that will have tighter rules to contain the evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic. There are now 191 counties with tighter restrictions.
The information was released yesterday by the Prime Minister, who explained the measures that the Executive will take to try to slow down the second wave.
The President of the Republic sustained that there were failures at different levels in the reaction to the pandemic, which should serve as a lesson for the strengthening of multilateralism and the capacity for action.
In an interview with Lusa news agency, the director-general of Health acknowledged that the fact that there are many emitters of information about COVID-19 can confuse the messages and mess up the public, contributing to the pandemic fatigue.
Portugal is now completely “painted” in red on the latest risk map for infection with the new coronavirus, which was updated yesterday by the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control. In this sense, the Portuguese Guild of Medical Doctors suggests considering the chances of putting in place “selective confinements”.
A Government order published today in “Diário da República” extends on Sunday, for another 15 days and until the last day of November, measures restricting air traffic from outside the EU, such as requiring negative tests to COVID in the 72 hours before departure.
PANDEMIC IN EUROPE AND THE WORLD
The COVID-19 pandemic has already claimed at least 1,297,000 deaths and more than 53 million cases of infection worldwide, according to an assessment by AFP news agency.
The United States recorded more than 150,000 infected in a day for the first time and Germany more than 23,000. Brazil exceeded 164,000 deaths.
France has overtaken Russia and is now the European country with the highest number of cases of COVID-19.
Italy, on the other hand, recorded 636 more deaths associated with the disease, the worst daily number since April, while the United Kingdom detected an additional 33,470 new cases, an increase of 46% over the previous day.
China has again detected coronavirus in food imported from Brazil. An analysis carried out in Wuhan on a package of frozen meat tested positive for SARS-CoV-2.
In the last 24 hours, Africa recorded an additional 233 deaths related to COVID-19, increasing the total number of fatalities to 46,505.
MEDICAL PROGRESS
There is a new rare syndrome closely related to infection with the new coronavirus, which affects children and adolescents who test positive for SARS-CoV-2. It’s called MIS-C and there are already young people with this condition in Portugal.
A study by the University of Oxford reveals that inhaling the Beta-1a protein from Interferon may double the chances of recovery for hospitalized patients because of COVID-19 and reduce the development of severe symptoms. In the USA, a team of scientists found a mysterious gene – ORF3d – in the genetic code of the new coronavirus.
The company Hindu – Technical Textiles, from Famalicão, launched a self-hyphenizing tissue capable of preventing the spread of the new coronavirus.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
The Portuguese State Budget for 2021 accommodates the effects that the pandemic is having in terms of partial confinement and economic impact in the first six months of the year, the Finance Minister said yesterday, during the parliamentary debate that closed the discussion on the document.
The Prime Minister revealed that restaurants with activity limited by the application of the state of emergency will be compensated by 20% of the loss of turnover at the weekends.
After the strong contraction recorded in the second quarter, the Portuguese economy recovered between July and September, due to a smaller fall in private consumption and a recovery in exports, revealed INE (PT Statistics Office) today.
However, GDP remains below that achieved in the same period last year. Meanwhile, Eurostat indicated that the Eurozone’s GDP is expected to have grown 12.6% in the third quarter of this year, compared to the previous three months.
According to the consulting firm GfK, the majority of consumers have changed their habits (83%) regarding the technological goods market and are concerned about the economic crisis (85%) resulting from the pandemic.
FINANCIAL MARKETS
The Portuguese Stock Index PSI-20 started today’s session to lose 0.49%, with nine quoted shares devaluing, four tradings higher and three unchanged.
The main European exchanges opened mixed, with investors fearing the increase of contagions by COVID-19.
This morning, the London and Frankfurt markets were down 0.61% and 0.11%, while those in Paris, Madrid, and Milan were up 0.15%, 0.24%, and 0.08%, respectively.
At the foreign exchange level, the euro opened higher in the Frankfurt exchange market, at 1.1814 dollars. Brent’s barrel for January delivery opened with a negative trend, at $ 42.90 at London’s ICE.
