Just four cases yesterday
The recent downward trend in the number of positive cases of Covid in Madeira continued yesterday, with the Institute of Health Administration IASAÚDE announcing that just four cases had been identified in the previous 24 hours. This continues a trend over the last week – detailed here as always – that generally reflects a downward trend (20; 18; 6; 7; 13; 13; 8).
All of the new cases of Covid in Madeira were attributed to local transmission, and another 22 cases were classified as recovered. There are currently 105 active cases in the Region, 32 imported and 75 by local transmission. Four cases are currently in the main Dr Nélio Mendonça hospital in Funchal, none of these being in intensive care.
30 people are currently being accommodated in a specialist hotel unit – the Pestana Casino Studios in Funchal – with the remainder being in their own accommodation.
Update September 21:
Today saw 5 new cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection reported in Madeira. One case was imported from the Lisbon/Vale do Tejo region and 4 cases were of local transmission. There were another 16 recovered cases reported. The net result is that there are now fewer than 100 active cases in the Region for the first time since the beginning of July.
Update September 22:
Today sees 9 new cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection reported in the Region. These are 2 cases imported from the UK and 7 cases of local transmission. There are another 20 recovered, leaving Madeira with 83 active cases, of which 21 are imported and 62 are of local transmission.
Update September 23:
The Region registered 14 new cases of COVID-19. These are 3 imported cases (2 from the United Kingdom and 1 from the Region of Lisbon/Tagus Valley) and 11 cases of local transmission There are 16 more recovered cases to report.
Update September 24:
The Region registers this Friday 12 new cases of covid-19 in the previous 24 hours. This is 1 case imported from the Kingdom United Kingdom and 11 cases of local transmission. There are currently 8 more recovered cases to report.
There are currently 85 active cases, of which 19 are imported cases and 66 are of local transmission. Regarding the isolation of active cases, 6 people are hospitalized at the main Dr. Nélio Mendonça Hospital (6 in Polyvalent Units and none in the Intensive Care Unit dedicated to COVID19) and 15 people are in isolation in a dedicated hotel unit, with the remainder in their own accommodation.
Update September 25:
Today the Region registers 11 new cases of COVID-19. This is 1 case imported from the Island of Guadeloupe and 10 cases of local transmission. There are 10 recovered cases.
Update September 26:
Nine cases of covid-19 were reported today in Madeira. These are 3 cases imported from the UK and 6 cases of local transmission. This Sunday eight recovered cases were also reported.
Update September 27:
The health authorities of Madeira registered 14 new cases of infection by SARS-CoV-2 in RAM, so the region now counts 11673 confirmed cases of COVID-19. These are 1 case imported from the UK and 13 cases of local transmission. In the last 24 hours, 10 more recovered cases were registered.
Update September 28:
Madeira registered 21 new cases with the new coronavirus and seven more patients recovered in the last 24 hours. Three are imported (United Kingdom, Costa Rica and USA) and 18 cases of local transmission.
The same document states that the region has identified 105 active cases today, of which 17 are imported cases and 88 of local transmission.
These infected people are undergoing isolation, with four people being admitted to the Dr. Nélio Mendonça Hospital, three of whom occupy the multipurpose units dedicated to covid-19 and one is in intensive care.
19 people are also confined in a hotel unit and the rest are staying in their own accommodation.
Update September 29:
There are 14 new cases of infection by Covid registered in the last 24 hours. These are all cases of local transmission. There are 8 more recovered cases to report
Update September 30:
There are a further 22 new cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the Region reported in the previous 24 hours These are 5 imported cases (3 from the UK, 1 from France and 1 from the Netherlands) and 17 cases of local transmission. There are 7 more cases recorded as recovered.
Update October 1:
A further 9 new cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection were reported today in Madeira. These are 4 imported cases (2 from the UK, 1 from the US and 1 from Lithuania) and 5 cases of local transmission. There are 10 more cases recovered. The Region currently has 125 active cases, of which 18 are imported cases and 107 are of local transmission.
The graphic below is from the Diario and shows the total number of active cases of COVID-19 each day since the start of the year. The progress of the vaccination program is also now tracked:
COVID-19 in Madeira: previous daily updates can be found in an earlier post
The fat lady is still singing but much more quietly.
Portugal prepares to tackle threat of “twindemic”
Just saw this article in the Portugal Resident site. Portugal prepares for the flu:–
https://www.portugalresident.com/portugal-prepares-to-tackle-threat-of-twindemic/
Thanks as always Maurice
I’ve been saying since March 2020 that all this masking and social distancing will have the opposite to the intended consequence: we will lose immunity to colds and flu and thereby create the next health crisis. And so on, forever. If a person is infected, with covid, flu or whatever, ordinarily they would get rid of the particles from their lungs, but, with masks, they collect those particles which haven’t escaped through the sides or through the fabric and then re-breathe them, thereby increasing the amount of pathogens in their lungs. Masks were never recommended for long-term public use. They are political tools for fooling the public that it’s “safe” to go in the shops. That’s why the WHO caved in to politicians and reversed its guidance that masks should not be used routinely.
As masks are worn to protect people other than the wearer, presumably you are in favour of people going around infecting one another?
If your theory is correct, how come there was so little ‘flu around last year? Surely, those who caught ‘flu and wore a mask would be more likely to get it get it more severely and ultimately spread it more easily?
Of course, there is the alternative theory that masks actually do help to prevent the spread of respiratory viruses and therefore continued use will help to prevent spread of both Covid and ‘ flu.
Caroline:
And one more thought re your comment that masks are designed to protect others.
The scariest aspect of this kind of comment (and I’m not saying you buy into this because I have no evidence) is the risk of mask-wearing as virtue signalling. It goes like this:
Mask wearing protects others. Therefore a mask wearer is a caring person. I wear a mask therefore I am a caring person. You do not wear a mask therefore you are not a caring person and should be blamed.
The truth, I would contend, for reasons described, is that there is more than one way of determining what caring is, and it can be a caring approach to argue that masks don’t work and harm people.
The appalling Cressida Dick fuelled this by arguing for vigilante action in “policing” mask wearing by the general public as it was not the job of her staff.
Caroline:
Masks do not protect others. They leak “brow jets” which infect others to the sides and behind. Viruses are so tiny that they will get through the finest fabric. It’s like using a chain link fence to keep out mosquitoes. Only N95 masks work and they are not designed for lengthy use. People put all their faith in masks and thus stand too close to others, thereby infecting them. Most people don’t know how to wear or dispose of masks and they wave them about, thus infecting others.
I am not in favour of people infecting others and your comment that I may be is fatuous. I am pointing out that lots of research (Google the Danish study, which was suppressed by mainstream media) shows that masks have the opposite effect to what our politicians tell us. I want to protect people. Masks are a comfort blanket and a political tool.
With regard to last winter and the prevalence of flu, two thoughts: flu levels vary from year to year. Many cases of flu may well have been missed and wrongly diagnosed as covid, given the likelihood that PCR tests tend to find false positives by excessive cycling of the test procedure.
The logic of your claim that masks work against flu and covid is that we will need now to carry on wearing them forever, with the risks I have already described, plus the psychological risks caused by the inability to see faces. A close relative is a paediatric speech therapist and has described massive damage to children’s speech and cognitive development due to masks.
Masks don’t work – summary of research-based evidence:
https://www.primarydoctor.org/masks-not-effect
Does that imply that surgeons have been wearing masks during surgery for no reason at all – and that during decades?
And 2 more questions:
1/ How did the Chinese get rid of covid before vaccination was introduced?
2/ So we were simply lucky that last winter there was no flu going around? What a strange coincidence.
John:
I expected that kind of comment. Surgeons are leaning over open body cavities with the potential for their own bodily fluids to enter the patient. Actually, there are quite a number of surgeons who do not wear masks during surgery. The evidence for their effectiveness is not clear. But the point is that we are not all in operating theatres and our fellow citizens do not have open body cavities!
If it helps, I am a retired nurse.
And how did the Chinese get rid of covid without vaccines?
John:
Maybe the Chinese didn’t. Do you trust their propaganda?
If they did, it may well have been by a harsh lockdown, of the kind only a totalitarian state could impose. Or is that what you would want for the Western world? Lockdowns of course cause massive destruction: deaths from medical neglect of other illnesses, damage to education, businesses destroyed. All this to prevent a disease for which the average age of death is 81.5 years.
When assessing the value of Peter’s comments, it pays to look up his source: Naturopathy. Google is your friend.
John:
And your problem with that is what?
If you look at the article for which I posted the link you will see that it is closely referenced to more than 30 publications of scientific research. At a quick glance, they are clearly published by journals with high integrity in the conventional medical world, such as the BMJ. In other words, no matter what you think of naturopathy (and I have no real knowledge of it), the article I linked to is based on mainstream medical research published in widely respected journals.
“Google is your friend”. Yes, it helps. As well as being a retired nurse, I have a science degree and am capable of assessing the validity of research published on the internet or elsewhere.
Absolutely correct, Peter.
Both of the UK’s deputy chief medical officers advised against mask wearing (said it would do more harm than good). They bowed to political pressure and stopped saying this when the government introduced masks. As you say, governments of many countries / regions (including the UK and Madeira) did this purely in an attempt to look like they were doing something and to provide a false sense of security to the public.
I would guess that masks have prolonged covid.
QUOTE: I would guess that masks have prolonged covid.
That remark makes your previous comments – by association – worthless.
I think we are getting to a time where reporting daily figures could come to a halt. The figures are low and the situation seems to be under control. I would suggest they only be reported if and when there is a surge in numbers or maybe an outbreak in a specific area.
What would be a “surge in numbers”? Back to daily 20-25?
Something like that.