COVID-19 | Daily Update

Thursday, July 9th | COVID-19 Daily Update

CURRENT OUTLOOK

The Portuguese General Directorate of Health (DGS) announced today that, in the last 24 hours, there were 13 more deaths (+0.80%) and 418 new cases of COVID-19 infection (+0.93%). 

This is the highest daily increase in Portugal since June 1st.

According to the entity's daily epidemiological bulletin, the number of fatalities increased from 1,631 to 1,644, while confirmed cases increased from 44,859 to 45,277. 

The number of people recovered increased from 29,714 to 30,049, 335 more than yesterday (+1.13%).

PANDEMIC IN PORTUGAL 

After 128 days and ten sessions, meetings with public health and epidemiology experts on the COVID-19 pandemic ended without notice for most of those present at it. 

The Prime Minister said that meetings with epidemiologists at Infarmed, in Lisbon, will continue, but the following was not scheduled because the pandemic situation in the country is stabilized and there is no relevant new information to share.  

The largest number of cases continues to concentrate in Lisbon Area, but there seems to be a trend towards stabilization and greater identification of transmission chains. 

Portugal is one of the countries that discovers the most asymptomatic cases of COVID-19, said the Director-General of Health, pointing out that they are an "increased risk" of disease transmission because they do not protect themselves or allow others to protect themselves.

The Portuguese Guilds of Medical Doctors and Pharmacists are astonished by the creation, by the Ministry of Health, of a Working Group for the Proximity Delivery of Medicines that left out both healthcare professionals.

In the face of the pandemic, the Lisbon City Council implemented the “A Rua é Sua” program, which provides for the widening of sidewalks and waiting areas and also the creation of pedestrian-only streets.

In Évora, the Portuguese Guild of Medical Doctors sustained the hospitalization of users of the Reguengos de Monsaraz nursing home with COVID-19, claiming to know about the refusal of clinicians to work in a space that "has no minimum conditions".

PANDEMIC IN EUROPE AND THE WORLD

Portugal and Spain were excluded from the list of 39 countries exempt from quarantine on arrival in Scotland, which includes France, Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, among others, announced the Scottish Prime Minister, Nicola Sturgeon and whoever comes to Portugal in tourism and returns Belgium will have to be subject to, or mandatory quarantine, testing or other health checks.

As of today, in Spain, the use of the mask in public spaces is mandatory throughout the Catalonia region. The fines to those who break this rule will be worth 100 euros.

In Brazil, the positive examination for COVID-19 released by Jair Bolsonaro to three television stations chosen by the president himself is fueling conspiracy theories, since he did not show the official test result. In the last 24 hours, Brazil recorded 1,223 fatalities and 44,571 people diagnosed with the new coronavirus, informed the Ministry of Health. The focus of the pandemic is concentrated in the state of São Paulo.

Due to the pandemic, 11 African countries are among the main points where the risk of extreme hunger is estimated that, in the Sahel region alone, an additional 50 million people are in a food crisis.

According to data from the virus worldwide, the United States has surpassed the barrier of three million confirmed cases after registering more than 55,000 infections in the last 24 hours, according to a report by Johns Hopkins University, which also added that the total number of infections worldwide is now of over 12 million since the first case was declared.

Germany has a total of 197,783 cases and the Government once again reinforces the importance of wearing a face mask. 

India recorded 487 deaths and almost 25,000 new infections, according to official data.

MEDICAL PROGRESS

Multiple studies are stating that the new coronavirus can cause serious brain damage. Researchers call for large-scale studies to assess the frequency of this type of side-effect. 

In the USA, an investment of 1.4 billion euros was announced to the company Novavax for a vaccine against COVID-19, guaranteeing the United States priority in the first 100 million doses. 

Announced in April, Stayaway COVID mobile app was promised to be available by the end of May. Two months later, the experts revealed to the Government what still needs to be done until the Portuguese can download the application.

ECONOMIC IMPACT 

The new analysis of the ENSP (National School of Public Health) COVID-19 barometer disputes the British decision to exclude Portugal from tourist corridors, using projections from researchers in the United Kingdom. When considering the underreporting of cases, Portugal has not had more cases than England, concluded the authors.

In the second quarter, the Portuguese economy will have fallen by 13% after a contraction of 3.8% in the first three months of the year, according to NECEP - Católica Lisbon Forecasting Lab estimates released today.

CaixaBank BPI warns that Jerónimo Martins (Portuguese wholesale retailer) is also facing a "difficult year" since the pandemic will have a "severe impact on the main geographies where Jerónimo Martins operates".

In South America, Brazil lost 33.74 million euros in foreign investment, breaking a historic record. The negative balance was due to the escalation of the pandemic in the country, mainly in March.

FINANCIAL MARKETS 

The Portuguese stock exchange opened higher today, following a positive sign for the fourth consecutive session. 

With nine stocks up, seven down, and two unchanged, the main national index advances slightly by 0.09% to 4,478.11 points. 

In Europe, the day is also one of the gains, after yet another positive session for Chinese stocks, with investors confident that governments and central banks will continue to support the recovery of the economy, even when the pandemic has eased.