The Original Madeira Island News Blog
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JM leads with a report that Madeira has moved very close the “very high risk” classification after registering over 120 infections yesterday – reported here. In so doing it became the third region in the country with the highest incidence rate, being surpassed ............
Madeira yesterday recorded 120 new cases of infection by Coronavirus in the previous 24 hours, according to the latest data released by the Regional Directorate of Health.
According to the daily epidemiological bulletin, 116 are cases of local transmission, with the remaining four being imported. 89 ............
The Times reports that doctors and nurses in the UK have vented their anger as unvaccinated Covid cases delay them from conducting vital operations
The NHS has a backlog of 5.8 million waiting for surgery and specialists are increasingly frustrated at how the unvaccinated have left them unable to tackle ............
The BBC among others report tonight that travel rules for those heading to the UK have been tightened. Arrivals will now have to take a COVID-19 test before their departure in an effort to limit the spread of the virus, the government has said.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid said the tightened requirements ............
Resident nautical expert Jaime is determined not to let the JM or Diario get the steal on the blog this time: The next notable visitor to Funchal is the Queen Mary 2 due 07:00 am on 9th Dec – after 18 months “laid up” due to the pandemic and an overhaul in Germany she’s back in ............
JM reports that traders at Mercado dos Lavradores have applauded the new measures for Market Night. The Mayor of Funchal, Pedro Calado confirmed the news yesterday about the occasion proceeding but with the elimination ............
JM leads with the story that the traditional Market Night will go ahead before Christmas but it will proceed without the food and drink stalls that are a key part of the event in “normal times”.
The ............
Madeiran Cristiano Ronaldo now stands alone as the first player in football history to achieve 800 career goals – in waht the Sun describes as “a ludicrous feat” that has not been matched by anyone past or present.
He became the first player in history to score 800 top-level career ............
Açoriano Oriental reports that passengers coming from the Azores and Madeira to the Portuguese mainland will be exempt from submitting a negative test for COVID-19 to board from Wednesday, according to press agency Lusa, quoting a source at the Presidency of the Council of Ministers.
Last Thursday, ............
The Guardian reports that the EU must consider mandatory jabs in response to the spread of the “highly contagious” Omicron Covid variant across Europe, the European Commission president has said.
In a call to action, Ursula von der ............
JM reports that from 6:00 pm last night, “Funchal is a city flooded with lights of various colours that call for peace, harmony, happiness and fraternization, values that are always present but lived with much more intensity during the festive period of Christmas”.
The Christmas lighting ............
JM reports that on a public holiday, shopping centres in Madeira experienced a flood of customers yesterday.
The newspaper reports that customers entering these premises are not being controlled as would be expected under the new regulations that came into force last weekend, including the presentation ............
Various sources report that the Portuguese Health Service digital vaccine passport app was coming up as temporarily unavailable on the very same day that it was required for restaurants and events on the mainland.
A quick simulation on the SNS website demonstrates the impossibility of accessing and ............
The Telegraph reports that some EU countries could be added to the travel red list, according to the health minister, as she pledged the Government would take “immediate action” in the face of a spike of the new omicron variant.
Gillian ............
The Diario reports that with the transmission chains now under the control of the Health Authorities, the Regional President Miguel ............
More site problems this morning and as a result of the site error, yesterday morning’s backup has had to be restored. As a result, a number of posts and comments have been lost – apologies to all.
It is possible, at a time when the blog is being even more widely copied, that some of the ............
The Diário de Notícias on the mainland reports in detail on the couple who have become infamous across the world after being accused of trying to flee quarantine in the Netherlands. They are a Spaniard and a Portuguese, accused by the Dutch authorities ............
JM reports that a 22-year-old woman of Indonesian nationality was rescued today from a cruise ship “Mein Schiff 4”, which was sailing 135 nautical miles (about 250 kilometres) south of Madeira.
Following the alert received at 11:15 yesterday morning, after the ship informed authorities ............
Eduardo Jesus, regional secretary for Tourism and Culture, says that the forecast for the hotel occupancy rate for the end of the year is 85%.
There is an expectation that the occupancy number could go up. However, the forecast is precisely the same as last year.
It remains to be seen whether the recent ............
Volcano Discovery reports that several new vents opened yesterday morning at the northern and northeastern base of the main cone of the La Palma volcano, producing lava fountains ............
Diário de Notícias on the mainland reports this morning that the Doctor Ricardo Jorge National Health Institute (INSA) has identified 13 cases of Ómicron, the new variant of the coronavirus, in Portugal, which was announced today.
In a joint statement from the INSA and the General Directorate ............
JM reports that yesterday, the PSD Parliamentary Group highlighted the Regional Government’s commitment to the tourism sector, namely in terms of promotion, with the objective of securing and conquering key markets for Madeira as a destination. Hopefully, new variants and self-isolation for ............
JM leads with a report that the replica of the boat that made the original connection between Madeira and Porto Santo was built in 1998 and cost €275,000.
After the universal exhibition in Lisbon, the boat was handed over to Clube Naval do Porto Santo ............
