Henceforth Coimbra and Faro will now have teams from the National Institute of Medical Emergencies (INEM) fully prepared to transport people suspected of being infected with the new coronavirus (2019-nCoV) to be treated at hospital, the entity announced yesterday. Previously, specialized transportation of people suspected of being infected with the new coronavirus was only provided by two teams in Lisbon and Porto.
The reinforcement of transport with two more teams, one in Faro and the other in Coimbra, was put in force on Wednesday, and was announced yesterday by the president of INEM, Luís Meira, at a press conference in Lisbon, where a new assessment was made on the '2020-nCov' infection, detected in China in December.
The four suspected cases that have been validated to date in Portugal have all yielded negative results for the presence of the new coronavirus, which can cause viral pneumonia. Luís Meira, accompanied by the director general of Health, Graça Freitas, said that the "reinforcement of measures is being prepared and planned" in line with the evolution of the outbreak, denying the lack of protective material for the teams that provide transportation to the reference hospitals.
A week ago, the World Health Organization declared the outbreak of the new coronavirus an international public health emergency due to the high risk of spreading '2019-nCoV' on a global scale. The international emergency implies the adoption of prevention and coordination measures worldwide to block further advancement of viral spread.
However, on a lighter note, the World Health Organization has come out today to reveal that the number of new cases of coronavirus has declined in the past two days, admitting that, although the reduction represents good news, it is necessary to wait some more time to see if the trend continues. Whatever the case, current estimates for the mortality rate stands at 1.99% after infection, down from 3.11% on the 25th of January, meaning that despite a media obsession with sensationalising the virus, as long as you follow good hygiene practices and keep yourself in good health, you will most likely be fine.
