31 cases of coronavirus in Portugal including 6 children, the President of the Republic under quarantine
The epidemiological situation continues to worsen in Portugal. While the country had no cases of coronavirus just a week ago, 31 cases have now been confirmed by the Portuguese Directorate General for Health. Among the people infected with Covid-19, 6 are children aged 10 to 19 years. One of them is the first case of infection for the Algarve, a Portimão student who recently returned from Italy. For his part, the President of the Portuguese Republic Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa has placed himself in voluntary quarantine. Lisbob, the expatriate assistant in Portugal, tells you all about the latest developments in the coronavirus epidemic.
31 cases of coronavirus in Portugal including 6 children, the President of the Republic under quarantine
According to DGS data, 6 of the new cases counted this Sunday are hospitalized in Lisbon, at Curry Cabral hospital and in Dona Estefânia. It was in the latter establishment that a young student from Amadora was admitted. One patient is in Coimbra and 22 are in Porto (6 in Santo António and the rest in São João). The Norte region has the most cases, while the Alentejo has not yet registered any. The Algarve, for its part, records its first case, located in Portimão.
The bulletin published at the end of the afternoon by the DGS also reveals that cough, fever and muscle pain are the main symptoms of people infected in Portugal. There are currently four active chains of transmission, which means that four patients are responsible for the spread of the virus, particularly within their families and in the workplace.
By age group, there are five patients aged 10 to 19 years; between 20 and 39 years of age, there are six patients; in the 40-49 age group, there are ten cases; three infected are between 50 and 59 years old; four between 60 and 69 and two over 70.
The Covid-19 epidemic was detected in December in China and has already caused around 3,800 deaths among more than 109,000 people infected in over 100 countries and territories. Among those infected, around 60,000 have already recovered.
Evolution of coronavirus cases in Portugal
The President of the Portuguese Republic, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, has suspended all activity and will remain at home for 15 days, in what could be called a voluntary quarantine.
The decision was taken after the presidency learned of the internment of a student in a school in Felgueiras. "This afternoon, it was noted that a group from this school had gone to Belém, last Tuesday, as part of the initiative" Artists at the Palace of Belém ", during a session at which assisted the President of the Republic, having, in the end, taken photos with pupils and teachers, without however having greeted them one by one ", explains the Presidency of the Republic, in a note published on the site.
Despite the fact that neither the interned student nor his class were in Belém, the presidency explains that, having heard the health authorities, "the President of the Republic, despite the absence of viral symptoms, decided to cancel all his public activity, which included several presences with a large number of Portuguese, as well as his own visit to the Palace of Belém ", during the following two weeks.