The covid-19 epidemic is again on an increasing trend in Portugal and there is already flu circulating in the country. With regard to covid-19, the reversal took place last week, when more cases were diagnosed nationwide than in the previous week. The first case of flu was confirmed in the laboratory also last week, at a time when patients with respiratory infections in the emergency room have increased, now returning to a pre-pandemic influx. On October 11, there were more than 20,000 emergency room visits in the country, which had not happened since March 2020 when the country was confined, close to 8% related to respiratory infections.

The National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge (INSA) indicates this Friday that the RT, the indicator that has been used to measure the strength of the covid-19 epidemic (above 1, is growing) is situation at the national level in 1.0, being again above 1 in the Centro region, in Lisbon and Vale do Tejo and in Alentejo. The calculation made by the INSA is an average of five days and the data released yesterday concerns the average between the 6th and 10th of October. Carlos Antunes, from the Faculty of Sciences of the University of Lisbon, who throughout the pandemic has characterized the RT with less time lag, confirms at Sunrise that the RT is already at 1.05, which confirms the reversal of the trend of Case Minies of covid-19.

The increase in infections is verified in particular in the age group from 20 to 49 years old, he adds, also registering in the older population, where a faster fading of the protection afforded by vaccines has been affected, considering that groups are needed age groups, namely in households, that there is greater risk. In relation to young people, the researcher considers the increase to be expected, due to greater contact and also because vaccination coverage in this age group, although high, is lower than the older population – above 50 years, vaccination coverage is close to 100 %, while under 25 has not yet reached 90%.

Data released by the DGS by age group, which Nascer do SOL analyzed, point in the same direction: in the last week, diagnoses of covid-19 increased by 4.7% nationwide, with increases of around 10% in the population between 20 and 50 years, which is concentrated in almost half of the cases, the pattern that has been experienced during a pandemic. Among the elderly, being less homely, there was a more expressive rise: in the last week of September 263 cases were detected in those over 80, rising to 414 last week (+57%). An evolution that could lead to an increase in the association associated with covid-19, says the researcher. The administration of the third dose of the vaccine has already started in homes and people over 80 years old and is taking place in parallel with the flu vaccination. The arrival of colder and rainy weather, after a warm September and October start, will tend to make the transmission of this and other viruses more favorable.

It is in the latest assessment of respiratory virus surveillance by the INSA, also up to October 10 and consulted by Sunrise sporadic and early flu season. Last year, the flu surveillance program identified more than 60,000 cases of respiratory infections. In the community, no cases were detected, and some cases were caught in hospitals – a residual circulation as happened in most countries with the covid-19 measures in force. In addition, more respiratory syncytial virus infections have been detected. Most of the time it means a mild constipation, but it can bring greater complications in more vulnerable people, such as children, associated with bronchiolitis in babies.

With regard to covid-19, Carlos Antunes points out that in the Center region there seems to be the beginning of a new wave, with an expectation that the transmission will have less force than last fall, when at this time the RT at the level it was over 1.1 nationally and there were about 2000 daily cases of covid-19, more than double the number now.