“The Rt (viral susceptibility index) presents values above 1 at the national level (1.14) and in all health regions, indicating an increasing trend. This increasing trend is further demonstrated in the region of Lisbon and the Valle do Tejo, which has an Rt of 1.20 ” Presents the covid-19 pandemic “red lines” report released today.
According to the document of the Directorate General of Health (DGS) and the National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge (INSA), while maintaining this growth rate of infection, it is time to reach a cumulative infection rate of 14 days out of 120 cases per 100,000 population will have less than 15 days at the national level In the Algarve region.
The Lisbon region and the Valle do Tejo region “may exceed the 14-day cumulative infection threshold of 240 cases per 100,000 population in less than 15 days”, state health authorities, estimating that in the coming weeks, the delta variant, linked to India, “may overlap with the strain Alpha linked to the UK which was prevalent in Portugal in May.
“As of June 16, 157 cases of the delta strain have been identified (65 more new cases since the last report). There is community transmission of this variant, and it is most pronounced in the Lisbon and Valle do Tejo region,” according to the DGS and INSA report.
The data also shows that the daily number of people infected with COVID-19 admitted to intensive care units (ICUs) on the continent has shown an increasing trend, corresponding to 36% of the critical value set for 245 occupied beds, up from 29% recorded last week.
On Wednesday, 88 patients were admitted to the intensive care unit, aged between 50 and 59, and the Lisbon and Valle do Tejo region account for 65% of all ICU admissions for each COVID-19.
In terms of tests, the percentage of positives rose from 1.3% to 2.3% within a week, but remained below the set threshold of 4%, according to the report.
Last week, there was also a decrease in the number of tests for SARS-CoV-2, with a total of 287,212 tests across the country, 9,094 down from 296,306 tests conducted in the previous seven days. It was an increase in Lisbon and the Valle do Tejo.
“Given the increase in the frequency of the delta variable, possibly with increased transmissibility, the projected time lag between the increase in the number of infections and the number of ICU admissions, the increasing trend of various indicators at the national level, and their approximation to ‘red lines’ thresholds, warrant greater attention of evolving infection and virus indicators and impact,” the report said.
The document also calls for attention to “increasing the level of resource preparation at the regional and subregional level for epidemic control and mitigation in Portugal, especially in the unvaccinated population or without a full vaccination schedule.”
In Portugal, 17,061 people have died out of 862,926 confirmed cases, according to the latest bulletin from the Directorate General of Health.
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