“We are on the way to a complex situation and, above all, with a lot of uncertainty and associated ignorance”, warned the minister, referring to the “possibility of duplication (of the virus) every two or three days, according to different scenarios”.
“What most of us all wanted to understand is what the consequence of transmission is in terms of the severity of the disease. As we don’t know that, we had to take measures”
Marta Temido admits that the barrier of 16,432 cases, reached on January 28 this year, can be overcome.
“We can break the records we’ve had so far because (high transferability) is a feature of this variant”, stated Marta Temido, calling for prevention.
Referring to that “there are no numbers on admissions caused by this variant.”, Marta Temido emphasizes that, with Ómicron, even estimating the numbers of cases of infection “may be artificial”.
“In the case of this variant, everything happens quickly”, underlined the minister, since a case in late November quickly turned into 2 percent. “Yesterday it was 46 percent and it should reach 50 percent by Christmas.”
“Contradictory” measures
Asked to comment on the closing of the clubs, but the authorization of a private party with three thousand people, the minister conceded that, throughout the pandemic, the Government had to make decisions that “may sound contradictory”. However, he notes that the concentrations allowed at this time are subject to a very specific context, such as testing enforcement.
“We can’t ask people for everything because they probably give up (…) There is a more dangerous virus than Covid, which is the lack of adherence”, noted Marta Temido.
Regarding the possibility of the Government re-determining the use of mask in public spaces, Marta Temido added that the executive has a legal framework to take this measure, but it is necessary to “balance the individual effort”. The difficulty lies in finding a balance between measures that control transmission and guarantee the population’s adherence, noted the minister.
Admitting that she would have liked to have had more children in the first weekend exclusively for the youngest, “to preserve a pediatric environment”, Marta Temido announced that this Thursday there is an Open House for those over 63 years old.
400 beds contracted to the private sector
The increase in cases will imply greater pressure on the Health Line 24, the increase in tests and epidemiological inquiries, noted the minister, to ensure that the Government “is reinforcing these aspects”.
“Just yesterday, the President of the Republic enacted a legislative measure, approved by the Council of Ministers last week, which allows the hiring additional trackers“, he announced.
Another measure to combat the exhaustion of health professionals was the attribution of days off and vacations during the Christmas period, days when fewer people are expected to attend vaccination centers.
The Minister of Health announced that 400 beds were contracted with the private sector for a possible increase in the number of admissions.
Reinforcement of self-scheduled vaccine for the 50-59 age group in January
In an interview with Telejornal, Marta Temido estimated that the booster of the vaccine, by self-scheduling, for the population aged 59 to 50 years should start “in the first days of January”.
For who took the vacina Janssen, those over 50 can seek reinforcements at the Open House this Thursday.
Covid-19 has caused more than 5.36 million deaths worldwide since the start of the pandemic, according to the latest report by Agence France-Presse.
In Portugal, since March 2020, 18,823 people have died and 1,242,545 cases of infection have been recorded, according to data from the General Directorate of Health.
A new variant, Omicron, classified as a concern by the World Health Organization, has been detected in southern Africa, but since the South African health authorities raised the alert on 24 November, infections have been reported in at least 89 countries across the country. the continents, including Portugal.
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