At the daily press conference of the Directorate-General for Health (DGS) on the pandemic, the Assistant Secretary of State and Health, Jamila Madeira, stated that the Lisbon and Vale do Tejo Region deserves “special attention” at this stage due to the “very significant number of cases” of infection with SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that causes covid-19 disease.

“In view of the evolution of data in this region, and in particular in the metropolitan area of ??Lisbon, the Government adopted a specific response plan started this weekend in conjunction with the local health authorities, municipalities, civil protection companies and the Authority for Working Conditions”, recalled the minister.

This plan seeks, by adjusting strategies, to respond to outbreaks of infection, which were signalled with a particular focus on the civil construction sector, supply, transport and distribution chains, characterised by “a type of work with greater turnover”.

"The strategy is to track, test, signal, break chains of infection and reinforce networked means and capacities and find alternative protection and security conditions whenever necessary," defended Jamila Madeira.

The Assistant Secretary of State stressed that "a fundamental effort" is being made in conjunction with all activities in the field work with "a strong intervention" from INEM, the Instituto Nacional Ricardo Jorge (INSA) and all the laboratories that work with health authorities from day one and that allow “an installed testing capacity of up to seven thousand tests daily, which will mean a capacity of up to 49 thousand tests in this first week alone”.

Asked if it would have been possible to start the intervention earlier to stop contagion in this region, Jamila Madeira said that the intervention was made when the situation demanded it.

“Every moment will always be a moment of anxiety. If it could have been the day before or the day after, what we can say is that the device was assembled, was working and had sufficient capacity for what were the signalled needs and that had to do with the deflation”, she underlined.

Jamila Madeira reiterated the call “to all Portuguese, and especially to those who live in this Region”, to maintain security measures.

"We all have to be aware of this indisputable reality, the battle is not won, we continue to need the commitment of all Portuguese people and this is particularly important to underline", she stressed, remembering that the virus "still has no cure", is "hidden and affects everyone without looking at age, professional activity, economic capacity or origin”.

"For this disease, there are no invincibles, there are no untouchables, there are no superheroes, there are only host transmitters that safeguard the subsistence of the virus and its spread everywhere", she stressed.