“I don’t see that it is necessary to re-impose restrictions in Portugal”
O virologist Pedro Simas does not consider it necessary to re-impose restrictions in Portugal because of Covid-19 and argues that vaccination levels allow for a “very calm” look at the new increase in cases.
“I don’t see that in Portugal it is necessary to re-impose restrictions”, he said, in an interview on Sunday to TVI24, also refusing the norm of new confinement or extraordinary measures at the time of Christmas and New Year.
The virologist explains that, as everything indicated at the beginning of the pandemic, the virus started to behave like all other coronaviruses and says that it is necessary that the Portuguese understand what is an endemic and what is an acceptable level of infections of an endemic.
Pedro Simas indicates that, in Portugal, the number of infections that have occurred is below the expected number for the seasonal period: “What was expected in this era that there were between five thousand and 12 thousand infections per day”.
According to the specialist, the country’s vaccination rate means that we have not yet reached these values, but “it is natural” that, with the first rains, “there is an increase in the flow of hospitalizations”.
“Yes, we are going to have a wave, not only of Covid, but a wave of other respiratory viruses, because we are in the seasonal endemic period”, said Pedro Simas, who added that the situation is now different.
It’s a completely different situation from last year. If last year you were trying to control a wave with just over 3% population immunity, now we have almost 90% of the population with full vaccination in Portugal
The virologist admits that, more than Covid-19, they are concerned about other viruses, not least because, as for SARS-Cov-2, in Portugal “they are doing everything well”, namely administering booster doses to the population. elderly and at-risk groups.
“The numbers will go up. We have to be careful, but let’s not go back to the past”, he concluded.
Also read: BY THE MINUTE: Vaccination in Portugal highlighted; Germany with new high