The president of the District Civil Protection Commission of Viana do Castelo today asked the Government to activate the District Emergency Plan to combat the covid-19 in the region where, of the total infected, one third are elderly people and home employees.
“In the district of Viana do Castelo there are 64 institutions, with 2,328 elderly residents. At the moment, of the total infected in the district of Viana do Castelo [318], a third are home users and employees. It was necessary to give a new impetus to solve the problems that have been made public, namely, regarding the reception of elderly people who, being infected, do not show symptoms ”, explained Miguel Alves.
Speaking to Lusa, the socialist, who also chairs the Câmara de Caminha, explained that the activation of the District Emergency Plan was decided this morning at a meeting of the District Civil Protection Commission, and discussed this afternoon at a meeting of the Intermunicipal Community (CIM) of Alto Minho.
Miguel Alves said that the Government’s response should arrive today or Wednesday, however, “in the meantime, the opening of a 50-bed rear home at Pousada da Juventude is being worked on by the end of the week. from Viana do Castelo to support elderly institutions in the district that are unable to isolate infected elderly people, but without symptoms of the disease, or resources to ensure their monitoring ”.
“In the past few days, we have known several stories in the district of requests for help from institutions to comfort infected elderly people, but without symptoms, isolating them from others. The solution was not being found. There were institutional limits here, some mismatches of ideas and it was necessary to create a new coordination ”, he maintained.
Miguel Alves said that with the activation of the District Emergency Plan, he had “competence and power to establish a new coordination within the district”.
In today’s meeting of the Alto Minho CIM, attended by the Alto Minho Local Health Unit (ULSAM), the Public Health and Social Security delegate, it was decided to constitute “the first team of professionals that will make the center of operation operational. temporary accommodation to be installed at the Youth Hostel of Viana do Castelo ”.
“We are not changing the rules and guidelines of the Government and the Directorate-General for Health (DGS). In the first analysis, the golden rule is that it is the Private Social Solidarity Institutions (IPSS) that solve their own problems. In the event that the IPSS are demonstrably unable to separate users or human resources to accompany their users, they will have, as a last resort, from now on, the rear home that we are creating at the Pousada da Juventude of Viana do Castelo to support homes ”, he stressed.
Miguel Alves stressed that “it will be up to the health delegate to decide, after evaluating each case, whether or not the elderly person is able to stay at home”.
“Finally, we unlocked the institutional impasse that existed regarding the accommodation of asymptomatic positives with covid-19. We found a solution, helping to reduce the number of infected people in the Viana do Castelo district ”, he reinforced.
According to the president of the District Civil Protection Commission, “although the district of Viana do Castelo has a relatively low number of infected people per inhabitant, lower than the North and the country, it is in Alto Minho that more than a third of those infected is in homes ”.
“They are either users or employees. We know well where the biggest problem is, right now, in our district and we have a duty to attack it and that is what we want to do now with the contribution of all ”.
As for the rear hospital installed at the Cultural Center of Viana do Castelo, equipped with 120 beds, which can grow to 200 beds, he said that “it will remain in ‘stand-by’, for a situation of greater dimension because it is a logic more associated with health , as a complement to ULSAM ”.
Already the structure set up at the diocesan seminar by the League of Friends of the Viana do Castelo Hospital, in partnership with the local Diocese and equipped with 50 beds, Miguel Alves said that “it will serve for ULSAM to create a post-hospital unit, complementing the answer to covid-19 ”.
“It will serve for users who are discharged from the hospital and who do not have immediate reception conditions at home or at home,” he explained.
The new coronavirus, responsible for the covid-19 pandemic, has already claimed more than 120,000 deaths and infected almost two million people in 193 countries and territories.
Of the cases of infection, about 402 thousand are considered cured.
After appearing in China in December, the outbreak spread worldwide, prompting the World Health Organization (WHO) to declare a pandemic situation.
In Portugal, according to the balance sheet made today by the Directorate-General for Health, there were 567 deaths, 32 more than on Monday (+ 6,%), and 17,448 confirmed cases of infection, which represents an increase of 514 (+ 3%).
Of the infected, 1,227 are hospitalized, 218 of whom are in intensive care units, and there are 347 patients who have recovered.
Portugal, where the first confirmed cases were registered on March 2, has been in a state of emergency since March 19 and until the end of April 17.
News updated at 10:16 pm, to correct in the 1st and 2nd paragraphs the universe of infected by covid-19, wrongly transmitted by the source.
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