There is more 36 infected with covid-19 at the Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Mértola home (SCMM), and 31 users and 5 officials.
In total there are already 68 infected with the new coronavirus. The carriers of the new cases have already been transferred to the “field hospital” set up in the Municipal Sports Pavilion.
Confirmation of new positive cases (Daily report 26-12-2020) was known last night and this Saturday morning the operatives of the Mértola Volunteer Firefighters (BVM) began to move the sick from the home to the pavilion.
Not global two 68 infetados, 52 are users and 16 are employees, remaining only 19 users in the Santa Casa home facilities. About a dozen employees have been sleeping in the BVM Noble Hall to avoid family contagions.
The situation in Mértola, classified as very high risk municipality, became "explosive" after the past day 18 December the first positive case of covid-19 was identified in a male, user of the Santa Casa home following a visit to the Beja Hospital, where I would end up staying. Tests were carried out for the entire community of the institution, They were detected 32 positive cases, 21 users and 11 officials.
Given the seriousness of the situation, the Municipality of Mértola installed the “field hospital”, where the 32 infected during last Wednesday morning. In view of the proximity of the home and the sports pavilion, a sleeve and plastic campaign tents were installed to allow the patients to travel safely.
According to data from the Local Health Unit of Baixo Alentejo (ULSBA) to 24 hours of Christmas Day, 25 of December, the municipality of Mértola recorded a total of 85 active invite-19 cases.
To avoid dismemberment of the device that is on alert due to the predictability of bad weather, the Mértola Fire Command, requested on Saturday morning the collaboration of 12 of its operational staff who were out of service to assist in the transportation of users and home employees. Jorge Santos, commander of the Fire Department, highlighted the spirit of sacrifice and mutual assistance of his subjects who “immediately answered affirmatively”, justified.
Given the restrictions that the municipality of Mértola suffers from being of high risk, the village restaurants ended their 13,00 hours, having the owner of one of the two open establishments available to prepare meals for the operational personnel involved in the patient's transport operation and deliver to the barracks.
The total number of infected 13 municipalities in the ULSBA's area of influence that does not include the municipality of Odemira, it was yesterday night 1.998, the highest number ever since the pandemic began, having in the last 24 hours been known new 70 cases. At the José Joaquim Fernandes Hospital, in Beja, there is now 22 patients hospitalized in a covid ward and three in the Intensive Care Unit (UCI). In the total number of deaths, there is 54 deaths, 22 of which in Beja and 17 Serpa.
Teixeira Correia
(journalist)
