Lisbon will continue to pay tests, but Carlos Moedas says the Government “must do its part” – Observer
The mayor of Lisbon, Carlos Moedas, said this Tuesday that the chamber will continue to ensure free tests for Covid-19 in pharmacies, but the Government “You have to do your part”.
We will continue and pay for the tests., now, the Government has to do its part. The Government has to pay for the first four tests. Afterwards, when people can test more, we will be there to pay for these tests, absolutely nothing has changed, nor will it change”, he stated.
Carlos Moedas was speaking at the Lisbon Municipal Assembly, in response to questions from the BE bench about the new rules, in force since Saturday, without access to Covid-19 tests paid for by the council.
Under the new rules, the City of Lisbon only has free testicles in pharmacies after the user has used up the four monthly reimbursed by the SNS (which will go to six, according to an announcement this Tuesday by the Government).
On the other hand, both in pharmacies and in fixed testing posts in the chamber, the testicles reimbursed by the municipality could now be done only every three days.
These changes were criticized by the denomination’s benches in the Municipal Assembly, which Consider a limitation in access to testing at a time of a worsening pandemic, parties and increasing testing requirements and recommendations.
Carlos Moedas (PSD), who took office 64 days ago, as he mentioned this Tuesday, was this afternoon answering the deputies’ questions about his first Written Information to the municipal assembly.
Most of the three hours of debate were filled with the pandemic and the concentration of vaccination in two centers (Ajuda and Parque das Nações), an option criticized by the parties of the left (in the nomenclature).
The mayor reiterated that the sites made available by various standards can be used for vaccination with the “reopening of the economy”, by be scored for activities and services that operated there before the pandemic.
To this, he said, he joined the winter arrival and the need to find a space (Parque das Nações) that would guarantee “comfort” for users and professionals, while at the same time increasing the testing capacity.
According to Carlos Coins, the center in Parque das Nações can manage more than 12,000 vaccines in one day, if necessary, with extended hours, contrary to the argument that this Tuesday that with the various posts that existed before it was possible to vaccinate more people in a day than now.
The mayor stressed that “in September” the municipality, then still led by the Socialists, already knew that the vaccination centers had to leave the spaces where they were operating and stated that this matter was part of the mass passage made by its predecessor (Fernando Medina).
The center of Parque das Nações is working without problems and has been praised by authorities and health professionals, he assured.
The municipal unoccupied property was another of the issues raised by the deputies and, in response to questions from the PAN and the Liberal Initiative, councilwoman Filipa Roseta (PSD) revealed that there are about 2,000 fires located that are “empty” or “unassigned”, including vacant buildings, some unduly occupied and others “empty”.
The councilor said that a situation will be presented at the first meeting of the Municipal Housing Council, which is in the reactivation phase.
In response to a question from the PEV about asbestos in school buildings, Filipa Roseta said the situation “It’s not resolved nor dared to resolve”, because the process was not conducted in the “most evident way” by the previous executive.
As he explained, they are concerned 13 schools and works for five million euros, who is a beneficiary of the program created by the Government to remove asbestos from these buildings.
However, the previous executive chose to carry out a single undertaking, for all schools, which deserved a lead by the Court of Auditors, with “back and forth options” for a year and a half, in a situation that remains blocked and it puts government funding at risk, as the works should have been done during confinement and vacations, when there were no classes.
According to the councilor, there is still hope of a positive response from the Court of Auditors, but the chamber communicated with a “Plan B” and it is doing individual projects for each school, in addition to having already met with the Ministry of Education to try to keep the funding.
Filipa Roseta added that this is, however, a public health problem that will always have to be resolved, even if government funds are lost.