COVID-19 | Weekly Update
April 9, 2021
Friday, April 9th | COVID-19 Daily Update
CURRENT OUTLOOK
According to The Portuguese General Directorate of Health (DGS) data, 694 new cases of infection and five deaths associated with COVID-19 were recorded in the last 24 hours in Portugal.
Today’s epidemiological bulletin indicates that there are now 826,327 confirmed cases and 16,904 deaths since the start of the pandemic.
As for recovered patients, 628 more were counted, increasing the total number to 783,523.
PANDEMIC IN PORTUGAL
Portugal has reached the milestone of two million vaccines against COVID-19 administered to the population since December 27, 2020, announced yesterday by the task force coordinator responsible for the vaccination plan.
According to Vice Admiral Henrique Gouveia and Melo, around 400 thousand vaccines from AstraZeneca have already been administered in Portugal, with a reserve of “around 200 thousand”.
Like other countries in the European Union, Portugal will start administering the AstraZeneca vaccine only to people over 60 years of age. The decision was later confirmed by the Director-General of Health, who assured that it will not change the vaccination plan.
Already today, the Minister of Health said that the decision on the second intake of the AstraZeneca vaccine, in people under 60 years of age, “is a very important decision”.
Marta Temido transmitted that she is waiting for quick complementary information about the effective risks of the vaccine of AstraZeneca that allow refining this criterion for the exclusion.
It should also be noted that in the last week the country did not register deaths caused by COVID-19 in nursing homes, for the first time since the pandemic began, Minister of Labor Ana Mendes Godinho announced yesterday.
However, a 61-year-old woman with pre-condition of heart disease died after being vaccinated against COVID-19, revealed the Northern Regional Health Administration.
In parallel, the Azores estimate to receive 99,250 doses of vaccines against the new coronavirus in May and June, communicated the regional director of Health, adding that it will be possible to conclude the first phase of vaccination before that.
PANDEMIC IN EUROPE AND THE WORLD
People under 55 who received in France the first dose of the vaccine from the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca against COVID-19 should receive the second dose of another vaccine, said the French Health Minister.
Olivier Véran’s statements came before the official announcement on this matter, scheduled for today.
In Brazil, the number of fatalities caused by the new coronavirus continues to increase – the country recorded a new record of 4,249 deaths in the last 24 hours. As for the incidence rate of the disease, it is now 164 deaths and 6,319 cases per 100 thousand inhabitants.
Concerning the USA, the Americans reported 999 deaths due to COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, in addition to 80,823 cases, with President Joe Biden forecasting that the country will register in total more than 600 thousand deaths due to the new coronavirus.
Australia announced on Friday that it had agreed to purchase an additional batch of 20 million doses of the vaccine from the pharmaceutical company Pfizer, abandoning the previous vaccination plan against COVID-19 with that of AstraZeneca.
Hong Kong revealed that it asked AstraZeneca to suspend its order for the SARS-CoV-2 vaccine for fear of side effects and concerns about its effectiveness against new variants of the coronavirus.
MEDICAL PROGRESS
The National Institute of Health Doctor Ricardo Jorge announced yesterday that the fieldwork of the second phase of the national serological survey to COVID-19 is completed, and the results of which will be known in May.
This study will allow us to know the distribution of specific antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 in the population residing in the country by age groups and health regions, as well as to monitor their evolution over time and to estimate the fraction of infections by the new coronavirus in asymptomatic people.
Moreover, Portugal is one of the European countries with the least reports of adverse reactions to vaccines, namely that of AstraZeneca. Most of the situations reported to specialists relate to that of Pfizer because it is also the most used so far.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
The balance of payments of the European Union recorded a surplus of 110.3 billion euros in the last quarter of 2020, a result that compares in year-on-year terms with the 66 billion registered in 2019, as shown in the Eurostat publication this Friday. market. This figure represents 3.2% of the European Union’s GDP.
According to Banco de Portugal, the total net debt of the Portuguese economy increased from 228.4 billion euros (ME) in September to 232.3 thousand ME in December 2020. Last year the financing capacity of the Portuguese economy was 0.1% of GDP (down from 1.2% of GDP in 2019).
The Portuguese Government, on the other hand, recognizes that the extraordinary support for workers’ income was below the desired level. Yesterday, the Ministers’ Council approved a series of retroactive amendments that, according to the Minister of Labor, Ana Mendes Godinho, result from the assessment that has been made of the application of the support so far.
Regarding IRS reimbursements, they can start as early as the end of next week. The news was advanced by António Mendonça Mendes, Secretary of State for Tax Affairs. “The IRS campaign is going on with complete tranquillity and normality, with security, with simplicity, and that is very relevant”, says the government official.
On the hotel, restaurant, and similar front, the association that represents this economic sector again asked for more support, taking advantage of the hearing in the national Parliament to emphasize the need to stimulate the recovery of the sector, a request based on the conclusions of the monthly surveys of its associates, whose conclusions were also presented yesterday.
FINANCIAL MARKETS
The Portuguese stock exchange opened today in a slight drop, with the PSI-20 sliding 0.11%, to 5,024.45 points.
In Europe, the main indexes also continued with a negative trend, after the new historical highs reached in yesterday’s session, and the investor sentiment being affected by the signs of increasing price pressure coming from China.
