The mandatory quarantine for passengers disembarked in Madeira will be eliminated from 1st July, with the obligation to present or carry out a test to the covid-19 on arrival, indicated the Regional Government today.
It should be remembered that the DIÁRIO today reported in the headline that Madeira admitted to testing those who arrive. Now official confirmation appears.
“For the month of July, it is assumed as a necessary condition to enter the Autonomous Region of Madeira, the presentation of a negative PCR test, performed in the last 72 hours, prior to disembarkation, or, alternatively, the performance of a PCR test at arrival ”, said the executive president, Miguel Albuquerque, in statements to the Lusa agency.
The cost of the test will be borne by the passenger.
The official also revealed that as of the month of June, all passengers who present a PCR test along the same lines are exempt from “any prophylactic isolation”, however, being subject to monitoring by health authorities through an application cell phone or regular contacts.
“Passengers who have a negative test, disembark and then provide voluntary monitoring, via their mobile phone, to the health unit, or are accompanied using traditional methods”, explained Miguel Albuquerque.
On the other hand, all passengers who arrive at Madeira airports without a PCR test during the month of June are still required to comply with quarantine in hotel units.
These measures are part of the action plan for the normalization of air connections to the Madeira archipelago, which will be presented next Thursday by the regional executive, from the PSD / CDS-PP coalition, within the scope of the deflation process in the face of the pandemic of Covid-19.
Currently, airport operation in the autonomous region is limited to two weekly flights and a maximum of 100 passengers can disembark.
The plan stipulates that the established conditions should be maintained until the end of May, with mandatory quarantine in hotels or prophylactic isolation in the passenger’s residence, in case the latter presents a negative test performed in the last 72 hours.
For the month of June, the executive foresees the beginning of the recovery of the tourism sector, with the reopening of some hotels, reason why it dispenses with “any prophylactic isolation”, upon presentation of a negative test and subsequent monitoring by the health authorities.
In July, the quarantine will be abolished for all passengers, but the obligation to present a negative covid-19 test or perform it on arrival will take effect, and monitoring by health authorities via mobile phone or contact application will also remain active. regular.
“The result [of the test carried out on arrival] will determine the passenger’s situation,” said Miguel Albuquerque. And he clarified: “If the test is negative, you can go on your way. If he is positive, he will undergo the respective treatment. ”
The President of the Regional Government explained that the plan was articulated with hoteliers and tourism agents in the region and is based on two assumptions: that the epidemiological situation in the region will remain controlled and residual and that there will be no changes in the evolution of the pandemic in the archipelago, where there are record of 90 positive cases, a number that has remained unchanged for 12 consecutive days and with 59 patients already cured.
“The idea is to make a gradual reopening, even to have mechanisms to control and monitor the situation, so as not to have any regression,” said Miguel Albuquerque.
In Portugal, 1,247 people died from 29,432 confirmed as infected, and there are 6,431 recovered cases, according to the Directorate-General for Health.
Globally, according to a report by the AFP news agency, the covid-19 pandemic has already claimed more than 318,000 deaths and infected more than 4.8 million people in 196 countries and territories.