The coronavirus epidemic is accelerating in Portugal. The Portuguese Directorate General for Health released these figures today with a total of 642 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Portugal. 289 are in the northern region, 243 in the Lisbon region, 74 in the central region and 21 in the Algarve. The Azores have 3 cases, Madeira one there are two first confirmed cases in the Alentejo. Only three patients have so far fully recovered from the coronavirus. Lisbob, the expatriate assistant in Portugal, tells you all about the evolution of the coronavirus epidemic.
642 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Portugal (+196 in 24 hours), the second fatal victim is the president of Santander
There are 642 cases of infection with the new coronavirus in Portugal, 194 more than Tuesday, according to the latest epidemiological bulletin published by the Directorate General of Health (DGS), which updates the figures daily.
There are two cases in Alentejo, the only region in Portugal where no case had been registered before this Tuesday. There are currently 24 active transmission chains, five more than yesterday. There are cases of infection in all regions of the country.
This second death was recorded in Portugal: the chairman of the board of directors of Banco Santander Portugal, António Vieira Monteiro, died after contracting the new coronavirus. He was about to be 74 years old. The second death in Portugal still does not appear in the DGS bulletin because cases from the previous day are generally recorded there.
The first fatal victim of covid-19 disease in Portugal was a former masseuse from the football club Estrela da Amadora, now missing: Mário Veríssimo, 80, a chronic patient with pulmonary pathology. It was one of the cases detected a few days after his admission, when the Santa Maria hospital in Lisbon began testing patients with pneumonia to conclude that two were suffering from the disease caused by the new coronavirus.
Situation of coronavirus outbreak in Portugal on 18/03 - Source: DGS
Cases are increasing day by day. As Health Minister Marta Temido said, "it is predictable that the epidemiological curve will increase at least until the end of April". By Tuesday, a total of 448 confirmed infection cases had been recorded, with three recovered cases registered.
There were 19 active transmission chains. And he had only one death in the Lisbon and Tagus Valley region. In the municipality of Ovar, a public calamity was declared and, from this Wednesday, the municipality closed its doors.
According to the Director General of Health, Graça Freitas, people in critical condition tend to be elderly and with an associated pathology. The age and existence of chronic diseases - such as diabetes, heart, respiratory tract - are a risk factor for this disease. According to the available data based on the analysis of the epidemic in other countries, this is where the highest case fatality rate is concentrated. This led health authorities to make special recommendations for these groups, such as not living with young people.
