“The expansion of this capacity to carry out tests is fundamental and, for that reason, in less than 24 hours the Chamber initiated a logistical operation to establish all the conditions for the operational of a mobile tracking centre”, said the president of the municipality, Isilda Gomes, cited in a press release.

According to the mayor of the district of Faro, the screening centre will operate in a 'drive-thru' model, that is, people do not need to get out of the car to perform the analysis, being “the service provided through the vehicle window”.

The post for covid-19 screening in Portimão will be the third to be installed in the Algarve, after a centre next to the Algarve Stadium, between the municipalities of Faro and Loulé, started operating last Monday and announced a another for this week in the municipality of Silves.

Isilda Gomes said that the partner entity in the project, the Algarve Biomedical Centre (ABC) foresees that the screening for the disease is “technically ready to operate this week, with properly qualified professionals”.

Portimão was the first municipality in the Algarve to register infections with the new coronavirus, with a total of 12 infected cases so far, according to data provided by the mayor.

Isilda Gomes warned “for the continuation of the increase in cases over the next few days, either through the spread of covid-19, or by carrying out more diagnostic confirmation tests”.

The mayor said that, in addition to actions to disinfect public spaces and facilities in the municipality, "efforts are being directed to ensure responses in support of the social and health areas".