The Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and Health, Antonio Lacerda Sales, is Friday in Quarteira, Algarve, to inaugurate the municipality’s network of automatic defibrillators. Speaking to reporters, Lacerda Sales clarified the issues related to the furloughing of health professionals, arguing that they “must be preserved” but everything depends on the epidemiological development. In the end, he also made an appeal for vaccination and made positive predictions saying the country “has all the conditions” to get 80% of its first vaccinations in September.
When asked if health professionals should forgo their leave for the second year in a row, Lacerda Sales stated that as long as there is “normal, scheduled care activity, health professionals’ leave should not be tampered with,” saying they “should keep it.” .
“This situation has to do with the functional scope of ACES boards and executives. We obviously don’t know the epidemiological evolution, and if, at some point, we have to stop scheduled assistance, we may have to consider that possibility,” he admits.
The case comes on the heels of the statements of the Minister of State for Decentralization and Local Administration and the Coordinator of the fight against COVID-19 in the Algarve, who on Thursday acknowledged the possible restrictions on holidays due to the high number of cases, depending on the decision of the “management”. of hospital administrators.
Algarve health professionals may have to ‘sacrific the holidays’
Lacerda Sales stated that it was aware of these issues in the Algarve, and said health professionals “have a firm personal and professional conscience regarding this matter,” he said. “They see the need to be in the ACEs and in the services and the right decisions are being made on this at the moment.”
The Secretary of State also made an appeal for the vaccination of the younger groups, which should start as early as next week, which provides a positive scenario regarding the vaccination process, stressing that the country has “all the conditions even during the month in August, it obtained 70% of the first immunizations and 50% of the full immunization schedule, and after one month, the ratio is up to 80% of the first immunizations and 60% of the full immunization schedule.”
It has been one of the issues most discussed since Prime Minister Antonio Costa, who has already been vaccinated, this week began a period of precautionary isolation after a cabinet member tested positive for Covid-19. The Secretary of State also clarified some of the issues related to this decision to take preventive isolation of vaccinated people, saying it is a “public health precaution.”
Antonio Costa is in protective isolation after a Cabinet member tested positive for Covid-19
“Apart from vaccination, regardless of testing, it sounds like a precautionary measure, and in fact, according to ECDC rules, there is always a risk assessment,” he explains, explaining that the decision was made according to CDC guidelines. The same center, the European Commission for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
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Actions vary depending on whether we are dealing with a high-risk or low-risk contact situation, which has happened to the Prime Minister and to many other citizens of this country. He pointed out that the Prime Minister is an exemplary citizen in this regard, and he has followed the directions of the health authorities. The Secretary of State also acknowledged the possibility of reviewing these rules.
