Madeira registers 29 more cases, and I’m having a rant….

Tobi Hughes·
Madeira News

The health authority of the Autonomous Region of Madeira reports today, November 1, 2021, another 29 new cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection in RAM, two of which were imported from Germany and the Region of Lisbon and Vale do Tejo, and 27 cases of local transmission. The Region now counts 12,138 confirmed cases of covid-19.

Today there are also 8 more people recovering from the disease to register, totaling 11,883 recovered cases and 178 active cases, of which 31 are imported cases and 147 are of local transmission.

So now I’m going to rant a little as its the same stupid comments all the time that pop up.

Many have been saying the numbers are getting high again, why so many coming in with the virus, blah blah blah….

Let’s just look at how well the island has done, and we have always been open for everyone, since the very first lockdown of 8-9 weeks.

Everything now has opened up, we have cruise ships coming almost everyday, we recently had the Flower Festival, Wine Festival and this last weekend the Legend Rally. No need to wear masks outside anymore. All the night clubs are open, and the curfew has gone.

Today we had almost 40 flight arrivals, tomorrow another 24 arrivals, so thousands a day coming to the island. For this time of year also the island is still extremely busy and business are recovering.

So is 30 cases or so a day really a lot…. PLEASE….

Also most these cases are local transmission so within families, more than likely from the continent, certainly not many tourists, and tourists coming on holiday have never been a big problem.

I also saw a post in one of the Facebook groups from someone wanting information on coming to the island for a few months and that they hadn’t been vaccinated, and were asking the rules, and some IDIOT put a comment saying to get jabbed as people like that are not welcome, I soon left him a stinking comment, and told him idoits like himself with no brain at all are not welcome to the island.

Madeira has, and always will welcome everyone, jabbed or not, and long may we continue.

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Tobi Hughes

37 Responses

  3. Yes I agree well said Toby and thank you for being on the right side of history supporting freedom of choice.

  4. Agree! Tobi speaks for many of us. Proud to live here, proud of how well we have done, proud of how well the island has done, is doing and will continue to do I believe. It is exciting to see businesses recover and the island so busy. Let’s all enjoy the light at the end of the tunnel!

  5. … Very well said Tobi ,, you have created you’re own vaccine shot against all the usual panicky paranoia spreaders ,, especially like you pointing out the obvious point that the majority of the still small numbers come from passing on the virus within family and friends which is often blindly overlooked ,, carry on the good work yourself and Madeira, using common sense and reason we have reached 90% normality with very few numbers of bad health effects and minimal deaths considering Madeira’s reliance on tourism,, the economy has bounced back and continues to grow ,, the Feel Good Factor now reigns supreme, Long may it continue …

  7. Bravo Tobi, well said agree totally. The lovely island of Madeira has much to be proud of. From the efficient, courteous staff at airport who have made us all feel safe in arrival to all the local people we have met who have followed the rules. Muito obrigada?

  10. Well said Tobi.
    The way the Madeiran government (RAM) has handled the pandemic right from the start has been brilliant.
    I’m a regular visitor in February each year (not 2021!) but from what I see just about the safest places on earth.
    Visitors got tested on arrival and now only if no proof vaccination. You’ve had quarantine under control.
    I look forward to February 2022.

    1. Had two holidays on the island and felt perfectly safe from Covid on both occasions. Odd thing is that a couple of days after we got back in late October we got emailed and texted by NHS Test & Trace to say we had been in contact with someone who tested positive. We can only assume somebody on our return flight tested positive. It’s annoying they don’t say when and where you were supposedly in contact with an infected person.

  12. It’s early doors and the virus doesn’t drop out of the sky and decide to land on the locals, we have seen as posted on here a steady increase and that is replicated in other European countries this hasn’t gone away and if we listen to the scientist its not likely to.Also posted recently on here and RTP was that the take up of the third vaccine is so low you can walk in and get one, no appointment needed another worry. So lets revisit this in a month and then we wil; have a better idea.

      1. We have just seen off the flower festival, that was our first tryout, memories are very short Tobi, we have only been back open again since May. Cruise ships only arrived from September. We all know that us the vaccinated can carry and transmit the virus, me and my wife caught it in Portugal having had the vaccines. We also know that the PCR and Antigen tests are not fool proof. People are going back from destinations and testing positive in their own countries after being on holidays abroad. I just think lets not race to say this is static.

  13. Nice rant!

    We’d all be a lot better off if people out there would actually do a bit of research and look into things to find out what may be causing what rather than making instant assumptions like “oh that group of people must be to blame”

  14. What encourages me to fly to Madeira is so few cases are imported. The weekly data is very interesting as it shows where the imports come from. Sorry to say UK sends a few each week. But what I conclude is that air travel must be quite safe as there would be an explosion of local transmissions from such visitors and that doesn’t seem to be the case.

  16. Having the vaccine and having Covid are not mutually exclusive. People who have had the vaccine can still get Covid, they just have a much lower chance of ending up in hospital. And that means that vaccination rates and covid infection rates mean nothing – it’s the outcome that matters. The only figures I look at are the hospital bed numbers. How many people are in the ICU. And that has looked OK for a long time. So if thousands have had covid and no one is in the ICU… Why are people concerned? It’s just like the flu every winter.

  17. Well done Tobi – nothing like letting off steam ! The doom-mongers are not just in Madeira, though – we have them here, and I feel desperately sorry for the folk who will probably never come out of their homes again for fear of the deadly bug.
    We need normality – most of all for the kids’ sake……

  18. I’m due to come over next Monday, after more than 2 years away. I feel perfectly at ease with coming to Madeira; the numbers of infections are very, very low, and it looks as if the island is doing a great job of matching safety with people enjoying the wonderful location. Thank you Tobi for doing such a great job keeping us all informed since the outbreak began.

  19. Tobi – I agree with you most of the time, but not on this one. As a travel agency owner, I recognize that we will NEVER get back to “normal” until everyone eligible is vaccinated. As much as I love the “all are welcome” mentality, science has shown that those who are not vaccinated are a danger to those who are. Portugal has the highest vaccination rate in the world and that is why we are bringing our group from the U.S. there instead of Egypt (that was planned). I think it is important to recognized that COVID is not over – and people who are unvaccinated are a risk to everyone.

      1. Those who choose not to get vaccinated are increasing the odds that they will be part of the infection transmission cycle in their communities that ultimately puts others at risk of illness and death. Even the vaccinated are at risk as vaccine efficacy, which never was 100%, wanes over time and may be less protective against evolving variants. It is true that most vaccinated people do not get as sick, but many do get sick, and some will die.

      2. We have learned that there are break through cases of COVID for people who have been vaccinated. The vaccine is not 100% effective. It is just common sense on top of science – that if someone is walking around during a pandemic unvaccinated, they could very well be spreading the virus even among those who are vaccinated.

    2. Agree with comment that science tells us that the unvaccinated remain a danger to the health and welfare of others. There is no denying this fact.
      As Phillip states the high vaccination rate in Madeira makes it one of the safest travel destinations in the world. The question of whether to require that all visitors be vaccinated is one for the residents of Madeira to decide. Personally I think it’s a good idea but given low number of Covid cases it’s hard to argue that the current testing option has not also worked well, at least for the time being.
      Looking forward to my upcoming 6 week stay this winter.
      Stay safe.

  20. I agree with Dan and Phillip. I understand and respect that some individuals cannot be vaccinated due to medical reasons. I am less understanding of those who choose not to get vaccinated and then expect to be able to travel freely. The risk is not just a purely medical one. Unvaccinated visitors can undo the hard won gains made by Madeira by being much more likely to transmit the virus if infected. If unvaccinated travellers are to be welcomed there needs to be a more rigorous testing regime for these individuals. This seems fair and just. The economy of Madeira needs as much protection from Covid as individual residents and tourists.

    1. But unvaccinated people have to be tested, do I don’t see any problem, and it’s certainly not tourists that are the problem in Madeira.

      1. Yes, and I applaud Portugal for requiring testing. Take a look at French Polynesia who has not always required testing and see how it worked for them. Open, then closed, then open, then closed. As a travel agency – it is really hard for us to sell a destination that “may or may not be open”. Testing and masking are great mitigating factors, but vaccination is the only way out of this plague.

  21. As I said don’t count your chickens, cases doubled yesterday to 51 and will go up again, a few were imported and also local cases,Why so many local cases, well these people are in the front line working in cafes etc. and many have seemed to forget that even whilst vaccinated it is transmissible.

    1. If you read the news, it’s a nursing home and schools, cafés, bars, restaurantes are not a problem, especially as most are outside seating still.

  22. I think it’s also a bit about the wider message that is sent to other countries. i.e “we are fully open for tourism but will do it in a responsible way acknowledging that the pandemic is still active”. Also to those choosing not to be vaccinated. “That is your choice but there will be controls applied that you will have to follow” until the pandemic is over.

    Anyway I think Madeira has done very well and I’m looking forward to my six week holiday December into January fully confident that I will be safe and not pose a risk to others however small. The latter being most important to me.

  23. What people have to realise is that the test is far from accurate so there is every chance that people are filtering through, if you are double vaxed then you don’t need to test but you can still be carrying it, me and my wife had to isolate after a girl brought it to a birdbath party in Portugal, If they want to glean a full picture they should test everyone on entry vaxed or not. It won’t stop it all but it will slow it. So is it better to do that or have another lock down which the President isn’t ruling out. Holland have announced they are going back to mask wearing, cases across Europe spiraling and now more people will be inside with the colder weather which will add to it.

  24. Ok thanks for picking up on that, I am dyslexic but that was a typo, should have been birthday but I am guessing you knew that and just wanted to blur the comment. Maybe now you can reply?

    1. No I genuinely didn’t know. I thought this was something I hadn’t heard of before. Predictive typing is sometimes very confusing. On the wider point I agree we still have to be cautious and responsible whilst getting on with life as normally as possible. Covid, unfortunately, will be with us to some extent for some time yet.

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