At the beginning of the week there were 70 active transmission chains, now there are more than 120, which is why the Regional Government fears losing control of the pandemic.
It was on the sidelines of the inauguration of a commercial establishment, in Funchal, that the President of the Government explained to journalists the more restrictive measures that will come into force in the coming days.
Urged to clarify whether the new rules were mandatory or just recommendations, Miguel Albuquerque made it clear that, regardless of their mandatory nature, they aim to prevent the collapse of health systems and avoid a new general confinement.
“Call what you want”, replied the head of the Regional Government, when questioned by journalists. At this point, or we meet the standards, if we lose the ability to control and monitor the transmission chains, we enter into a sanitary collapse. Going into health collapse means what, it means we’ve lost control of the pandemic. If we lose control of the pandemic, we have to move into confinement. If we go to confinement, everything ends and we do not have the capacity to respond from the health services”.
Miguel Albuquerque’s priority is to prevent and contain the expansion of the pandemic, for this it is important to “maintain the operational capacity of intensive care” and ensure that “the covid-19 zone has the capacity to receive people”. Only in this way will the Region maintain its “medical capacity to treat actual and potential patients”.
On the constitutionality of the measures, the President of the Government guarantees that everything was decided “in the framework of the contingency plan” and the “safeguard of public health”.
Active chains doubled in a week
In one week, Madeira went from 70 active transmission chains to 120, a reason that heightens the concern of the health authorities and the Regional Government.
Given these numbers, and if the population does not cooperate in complying with the announced measures, Miguel Albuquerque fears that the Region will lose control of the pandemic and Madeira will enter into “sanitary collapse”, forced to more drastic measures such as general confinement.
“We cannot, in Madeira, enter into a sanitary collapse, for if we don’t have to end it all and we have an uncontrolled situation in terms of disease transmission”.