COVID-19 | Weekly Update

Friday, October 23rd | COVID-19 Daily Update

CURRENT OUTLOOK

In the last 24 hours, 31 people died in Portugal and there are 2,899 new cases of infected with COVID-19, being today the second day with more cases of infection counted since the beginning of the pandemic. 

According to the data released today in the Portuguese General Directorate of Health (DGS) epidemiological bulletin, there are now a total of 112,440 confirmed cases in the country, with 2,276 deaths since the first one was announced.  

As for the number of people who recovered from the disease, 1,349 cases were recorded, for a total of 65,880.

 

PANDEMIC IN PORTUGAL 

The Government clarified yesterday that anyone who needs to travel between October 30th and November 3rd, when circulation between municipalities will be prohibited, needs a declaration from the respective employer. The exceptions are the same as those applied last Easter.

Also yesterday, the Minister of Health revealed that each COVID-19 patient in Portugal currently infects 1.26 people and has also pointed out the Centro region as the most worrying and Lisbon with the lowest risk of transmission. 

Today, the National Parliament approved the PSD bill that imposes the mandatory use of face masks in public spaces for the next 90 days, a measure that can be renewed. 

The Government yesterday authorized the DGS “to make the expenditure in 2020 and 2021 related to the acquisition of the medicine Veklury with the international common name Remdesivir”, which is indicated for the treatment of “adult patients and adolescents with pneumonia who need supplemental oxygen”, it is also “authorized in the EU for COVID-19”.

Calls to the NHS Line Saúde24 increased again in October and the person in charge of the Shared Services at the Ministry of Health believes that today the current record should be broken.

 

PANDEMIC IN EUROPE AND THE WORLD

Germany again registered more than 11,000 infections in a single day and 49 more deaths from COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, while Belgium accounted for 16,746 new cases and 49 deaths. 

Today, Russia broke a new daily record for COVID-19 infections, registering 17,340 new cases in just one day.  

In France, the Prime Minister announced that curfew measures to combat the rapid spread of COVID-19 cases will be extended to 38 more regions, including the overseas territory of Polynesia.  

The Spanish Government also decreed the curfew in Madrid today as of this weekend, after Spain hit a new record of infections with almost 21,000 new cases. 

In the USA, 1,035 deaths and 72,158 cases of infection were recorded in the last 24 hours. In parallel, the North American drug agency granted full authorization to use the antiviral drug Remdesivir for patients hospitalized with COVID-19. 

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) announced a collaboration with Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia of free access and community participation, to disseminate reliable and up-to-date information about COVID-19, to campaign against a “disinformation pandemic”.

 

MEDICAL PROGRESS 

The American pharmaceutical company Moderna announced yesterday that it has completed the registration process for a potential vaccine against COVID-19 in the final phase (phase 3) of clinical trials, for which 30,000 participants are registered.

 

ECONOMIC IMPACT

Eurostat revealed that the weight of the Portuguese debt grew more slowly than the Eurozone average.  

Between the first and the second quarter, Portugal accumulated the equivalent of another 6.6% of GDP in debt, while in the Euro Zone, the increase reached 8.8% of GDP.

The Government will make available a line of credit dedicated to micro-companies linked to events, announced yesterday by the Minister of State, Economy and Digital Transition, in the National Parliament.  

The credit line will have an allocation of 50 million euros and will enable the conversion of part of the non-repayable loan. 

At the same time, Pedro Siza Vieira also defended that the inclusion of measures for the reduction of the IRC (corporate tax) in the proposal of the State Budget of the next year would not bring advantage to the businesses of the country that were more penalized by the pandemic.

In the meantime, the European Central Bank (ECB) is going to inject more money into the economy, given the increase in the number of COVID-19 cases and the return to confinement in some European countries. According to a survey of economists conducted by Bloomberg, the bank is estimated to increase the so-called economic “bazooka” by 500 billion euros. 

Commercial activity in the Eurozone contracted in October, dragged by the services sector due to the worsening of the pandemic, ending three consecutive months of growth.

 

FINANCIAL MARKETS

The Portuguese Stock Index PSI-20 was up 0.60% this morning, to 4,142.76 points. Outside, Paris was up 1.11%, Frankfurt 0.85% and Madrid 0.99%.

On the other hand, the Shanghai Stock Exchange, China’s main financial market, closed today to fall 1.04%, to 3,278 points.