– lusa.
The prime minister called on the population this Saturday to reinforce the preventive measures to contain the risks of contamination by the coronavirus Covid-19, stressing that it is important to be aware of the risks and avoid alarmism.
“I would like to reinforce the call for all of us to have the same preventive care in terms of this epidemic risk and to avoid unnecessary alarmism,” António Costa told reporters, on the sidelines of the inauguration of the Regional Command for Emergency and Civil Protection (CREPC) Algarve of the National Authority for Emergency and Civil Protection (ANEPC), in Loulé, in the district of Faro.
According to the Prime Minister, prevention is a risk that makes the entire population responsible, “everyone can collaborate for what is most important, which is to reduce the risks of contamination and infection”.
“It is necessary that we all strive to count the risks, contributing to washing our hands, avoiding excessive contact, putting our hands in our mouth, nose or eyes”, stressed António Costa. According to the prime minister, “the authorities work with scenarios to prepare what has to be prepared in the event of an eventuality, but which cannot be confused with a prediction of what will happen”, in an allusion to the predictions advanced by the director General of Health that about one million Portuguese could be infected by Covid-19. “In fact, the lady director-general of Health has already had the opportunity to clarify that scenarios are not to be confused with predictions”, she reinforced.
António Costa presided today at the International Civil Protection Day ceremonies that took place in the municipality of Loulé, where he inaugurated two infrastructures of ANEPC, CREPC do Algarve, located in the city of Loulé, and the Logistical Support Base (BAL) in Quarteira. The new CREPC facilities will add the command of emergency operations, civil protection and relief, the institutional and operational coordination of the regional Civil Protection structure, the integrated command of all fire departments and the management of emergency means and resources.
BAL will support emergency, protection and rescue operations, with equipment storage capacity, supply and parking of reinforcement means, as well as the installation of an immediate response force from the municipal firefighters of Loulé, with relief, combat fire and medical emergency.
The investment in the two structures amounted to 2.6 million euros, supported by 85% by community funds, with the Câmara de Loulé secured the remaining 15%. In Portugal, so far, the 59 suspected cases tested in hospitals have all been negative for coronovirus, which gives rise to Covid-19 disease. The outbreak of the new coronavirus, which gives rise to the disease, detected in December in China, and which can cause respiratory infections such as pneumonia, caused at least 2,916 deaths and infected more than 84,000 people, according to data reported by 57 countries and territories.
Of the infected people, more than 36,000 recovered. In addition to 2,835 deaths in China, there are fatalities in Iran, South Korea, Italy, Japan, the Philippines, France, Hong Kong and Taiwan. Two Portuguese crew members of a cruise ship are hospitalized in Japan with confirmation of infection. The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the Covid-19 outbreak as an international public health emergency and increased the risk to “very high”. The DGS maintained on Friday the risk of the epidemic for public health at “moderate to high”.
