Portuguese hospitals have not yet reached the limit. The guarantee was given today by the Director-General of Health, Graça Freitas, at the usual press conference of the Directorate-General for Health (DGS) and the Ministry of Health.
“The data we have and collect daily indicates that the maximum of our potential has not yet been reached, which also reflects the evolution of the epidemic”, explains the Director-General of Health. “We have seen daily growth in the number of confirmed cases that have not it is very accentuated ”, says Graça Freitas, warning, however that“ we can never be rested with these numbers ”.
Even so, it recognizes “a plateau”, where “there has not yet been a need to expand the installed capacity, which has been, to date, sufficient to respond”. Graça Freitas thus responds to the SAPO24, at the press conference in Lisbon, where the covid-19 numbers in Portugal were updated.
This week starts with a decrease in the number of inpatients in intensive care. According to the DGS bulletin, of the inmates, only 188 (40, -17.5% less than yesterday) are in Intensive Care Units. In total, of the 16,934 people infected with the new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), the vast majority, 16,747 (1,339 more than on Sunday), are recovering at home. 1,187 people are hospitalized – more than ten this Sunday (+ 0.8%).
“The Ministry of Health remains very attentive to these numbers”, says Graça Freitas, adding that the aim is “to return to normality, but always monitoring what it is to return to normality, with the evolution of the epidemic”. It is a balance that will have to be found, he explains.
Fans have also arrived for the needs
Present at the conference, the Minister of Health spoke about the issue of ventilators, stating that, “at this moment, there has not yet been any situation that could not be resolved by articulation” between the hospitals of the National Health Service and the Response Commission in Intensive Care Medicine at covid-19.
“There were situations of greater constraint at the Hospital de Aveiro”, but “the situation at the time was overcome with other hospitals in the SNS network”, he stressed.
Marta Temido stressed that “in general the number of patients in intensive care is decreasing”.
“In the last 24 hours, we recorded 40 outings of intensive care, mostly for general inpatient units,” he said.
There are 10 more people hospitalized in a general inpatient unit, the difference being justified mainly by discharge from home, ”explained Marta Temido.
For the minister, these numbers are “an encouraging sign”, but she said that they cannot “be completely calm” and that is why the State continues to bet on receiving the order of fans already made.
“We know that this disease will remain with us until new treatment or a vaccine and, therefore, the capacity to reinforce our intensive care units is very important. And it is so much more important as we know that we need to resume the programmed activity of responding to other pathologies ”, he underlined.
He also stressed the importance of being able to stabilize the equipment that is dedicated to one and another area of activity and to resume the response to the normality of non-covid diseases, guaranteeing that “if something gets complicated, there is a fan available for everyone”.
“This will be a step in the direction we want to accomplish and we will continue this effort”, stressed Marta Temido.
There is still no socio-economic portrait
In Portugal, according to the figures released today by the Directorate-General for Health, there were 535 deaths, 31 more than on Sunday (+ 6.2%), and 16,934 confirmed cases of infection, which represents an increase of 349 ( + 2.1%). However, little is known about these people other than sex, age and place of residence.
Graça Freitas explains that although these variables are not usually collected by health authorities, it does not mean that they are not important information.
At the moment, only the professions of those infected are being collected – and “it was not even mandatory” to appear in the bulletin. “Most of these people, in any case, are retired and, therefore, their professional situation will no longer come”, explains the director-general of Health.
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