COVID-19 | Weekly Update
September 11, 2020
Friday, September 11th| COVID-19 Daily Update
CURRENT OUTLOOK
Today, Portugal had almost 700 new infections, making it the 13th worst day since the beginning of the pandemic.
According to the epidemiological report released today by the Portuguese General Directorate of Health (DGS), over the last 24 hours, there were three more deaths and 687 new cases of infection in Portugal.
The bulletin reports that the number of fatalities rose from 1,852 to 1,855, while confirmed cases increased from 62,126 to 62,813.
A total of 203 more people recovered from the disease were registered, increasing the number of recovered to 43,644.
PANDEMIC IN PORTUGAL
Mainland Portugal will enter a contingency situation nest Tuesday, September 15th.
Yesterday, at a meeting of the of Ministers’ Council, a set of measures was approved that will be applied from next Tuesday, to “control the pandemic”, with the implementation of “preventive measures”, considering the period of return to schools and workplaces.
The President of the Republic called for self-restraint by the Portuguese by complying with the measures adopted by the Government, so that public health and the economy are protected at the same time.
The Secretary of State for Health, António Lacerda Sales, assured yesterday that the Government fulfilled its duty to protect the elderly, during the meeting with the permanent commission in the Parliament.
João Costa, Deputy Secretary of State for Education, said that teachers who are at risk of illness and are entitled to 30 days of excused absences per year, cannot perform remote work, having to be discharged from their duties.
Civil servants who are not telecommuting, however, maybe working in places other than their usual workplace, imposed by the employer, in response to the pandemic prevention needs of COVID-19, said the General Directorate for Administration and Public Employment.
PANDEMIC IN EUROPE AND THE WORLD
The World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called for greater solidarity between countries, especially the world’s greatest powers, in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Brazil reached 129,522 deceased and 4.2 million cases of infection with the new coronavirus, informed the Brasilian Government. Of that total, 983 dead and 40,557 newly infected were recorded within 24 hours.
The USA is the country with the highest number of deaths and also with the most confirmed cases of infection. There were 1,000 deaths from the new coronavirus and 37,356 infected in 24 hours, according to an independent count from Johns Hopkins University.
In Europe, according to the latest data released by the General Directorate of Health, France recorded 9,843 cases of infection with the new coronavirus within 24 hours.
India recorded 96,551 new cases of COVID-19 since yesterday, a new daily high, in addition to 1,209 deaths. According to the Ministry of Health, the total number of cases in India has reached 4.56 million, with the number of deaths from the disease rising to 76,271 since the beginning of the pandemic.
MEDICAL PROGRESS
British medical magazine “The Lancet” announced that it had asked for clarification on the Russian vaccine Sputnik V, after doubts raised about the veracity of the results of two clinical trials, which were released in the publication.
Meanwhile, the British pharmaceutical group AstraZeneca said that the vaccine against COVID-19 that is being developed in partnership with the University of Oxford may still be available until the end of the year, despite the interruption of clinical tests.
A study carried out in Portugal, but not yet peer-reviewed, confirmed that antibodies against the new coronavirus remain in the body until five months after the infection, according to immunologist Marc Veldhoen, coordinator of the work.
ECONOMIC IMPACT
The financial rating agency Standard & Poors is due to release its assessment of Portugal’s rating today, after reaffirming the BBB rating (investment level) for long-term public debt in April.
September was the month when more Britons visited Portugal in 2019. There were more than 262,000, many of whom slept in the Algarve. However, London announced yesterday that it again considered mainland Portugal an unsafe destination. The Algarve is one of the most affected regions, with a significant financial impact from this decision made by the UK.
TAP has not been renewing fixed-term contracts since the pandemic began and, in the coming months, it should not renew contracts with more than 300 workers. At the end of September, the Portuguese airline will have 600 fewer workers than it did last year.
The Singapore Airlines group announced that it will have to lay off about 2,400 employees due to the impact of COVID-19 and also due to the forecast that the volume of international passengers will not recover until 2024.
FINANCIAL MARKETS
The Portuguese stock exchange is trading today for the second consecutive session, with the PSI-20 depreciating 0.19% to 4,317.46 points.
Of the 18 companies that make up the main national index, eight are down, five up and five unchanged.
In Europe, the trend is also negative, with investors reflecting concerns about the evolution of the pandemic, especially in Europe, and the re-opening of tensions between the USA and China.
