Results from the first week since the easing of lockdown restrictions in Portugal have been encouraging, said health minister Marta Temido over the weekend.
“We are almost at the end of the first week of de-confinement and in general I think what has been perceived by all of us and the information that results from reports that we are producing is encouraging”, she told the regular press briefing on Saturday.
The ‘mortality curve’ of Portugal’s outbreak has been showing “consistent reduction” since April 15 – though the ‘R’ number (relating to transmission) remains “relatively constant” and still slightly higher than authorities would like (around 1.04).
Thus the message – very much in line with advice coming out in the UK over the weekend – is that people should stay vigilant, and take all necessary care with their day-to-day behaviour.
As of Sunday, Portugal had recorded 1,135 deaths from Covid-19; 2,549 people have recovered, numbers in hospital – either on general wards or in intensive care – are falling, while 27,581 people have tested positive for the virus out of a universe of 517,660 tests performed to date.
