Portugal’s virus numbers are rising so exponentially now that warnings about an imminent return to a State of Emergency seem to be everywhere.
Today’s figures – another 28 deaths and 3,299 new cases of infection – has seen Público calculate that the last week has seen more new infections than in the entire month of September.
Deaths too are vastly increased on the September tallies of relatively few every day (often less than 10).
The worst situation remains in the north, where 12 of the deaths in the previous 24-hours were registered, along with 63% of the new infections (2,076).
Seven people died in the Lisbon/ Vale do Tejo area, which registered 961 (29% of) new infections. Five people died in the Alentejo; four in the centre.
There were no deaths in the Algarve, although the situation in the south is being closely monitored considering the rise in infection numbers. The positive aspect here is that no current Covid patients in the Algarve have reached a point where they need to be ventilated.
Hospital admissions however creep continually upwards: another 75 people today, with 13 new entries into intensive care. Taken in total, this means there are now 1,747 people in hospitals suffering from the effects of Covid-19, and 253 in ICUs.
Figures for patients deemed recovered however are also ‘high’. Says Público, the country registered the second highest tally in this regard since May, with another 2,388 people given the ‘green light’ to return to everyday ‘circulation’ in the last 24-hours.
This was where the paper explained that in the last week (October 20-27) “the country registered 22,572 cases of infection, a number superior to the total number of cases registered in the entire month of the previous month, from September 1-30: 17,530”.
As we wrote this text another story flashed up, citing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs advising all nationals in Italy to “return rapidly to Portugal”. The situation in Italy has reached the point where frontiers could be closing and flights in and out of the country could be grounded”.
