Portugal has just delivered its latest 24-hour bulletin on the development of Covid-19, showing 5,839 new infections and 78 further deaths.
The only ‘saving grace’ of these numbers is that the country hasn’t reached the 45% increase predicted for this week (click here). Indeed, in the last 24-hours only nine new patients have entered hospital nationally (and there are in fact eight less in ICUs).
Deaths were in the main in the north (+45) with Lisbon/ Vale do Tejo next in the scale (+25), followed by the central region (+6),and Alentejo (+2).
The Algarve, Madeira and Azores have not registered any deaths in the last 24-hours, though the former is braced for ‘more bad news’ later today when the Council of Ministers is due to announce additions to the 121 ‘blacklisted’ boroughs that will have to endure weekend trading lockdowns over the next two weekends.
As to the rest, it’s ‘not looking good’ but there is no way forwards but forwards.
Admit reports, Christmas and New Year look like being devoid of the habitual sparkle: ice rinks, concerts, multimedia shows, fireworks – even in some cases gigantic Christmas trees – they’re all likely to be less and less visible, with ‘street illuminations’ possibly the only features that remain.
In Lisbon, the traditional Christmas Tree in Terreiro do Paço will be ‘switched on’ at the end of November. But there’ll be no ‘official inauguration to avoid agglomerations’, reports Diário de Notícias.
Porto won’t even have a tree this year, says the paper, as the town council feared it might ‘attract agglomerations’, so decided to drop the tradition from the festive programme altogether.
Not stressed in reports so far has been that Portugal now officially recognises that 113,689 people have recovered from Covid-19, while there are 81,141 active infections.
