Twenty-one residents of the Lar da Santa Casa da Misericórdia care home in Boliqueime have been revealed to be infected with COVID-19. The information was relayed by Vítor Aleixo, Mayor of Loulé, in a statement to the press outside that care home.
According to the mayor, of the 59 elderly residents tested, “33 were negative, 21 positive and 5 were inconclusive”. Of the cases that were positive, "most have no symptoms and there is no one to requiring greater care," said Vítor Aleixo.
With regard to the 70 employees, “17 had a negative test so far, 6 were inconclusive and the rest await the result”.
In view of this situation, Loulé Council has already activated a contingency plan with several aspects. "Residents testing negative are being transported to a hotel, where they will be kept in isolation, accompanied by a team of home staff," explained Vítor Aleixo. Those who tested positive, "remain at the home, but in areas totally separate from residents whose results were inconclusive".
As for the employees who are awaiting results and "those who were inconclusive, they are in isolation in their homes".
Finally, the "negative-tested employees were divided into two teams - one will be working at the care home and the other at the hotel with negative-tested residents".
RTP says that, in addition to the 21 residents diagnosed with COVID-19, the director of the home and her 2-year-old son are also infected.
In this statement to the press, made in Boliqueime, Vítor Aleixo guaranteed that the “Loulé Council is monitoring the situation closely and will take all necessary measures to guarantee the health and safety of the citizens”.
"In view of the current pandemic, I recall that it is up to everyone to adopt responsible behaviours, following the recommendations of health authorities," he concluded.
At a press conference, held this morning, Ana Cristina Guerreiro, regional health delegate, had said that the Algarve also registered cases of COVID-19 in some other care homes, similarly to what is happening in other parts of the country.
