According to the Directorate-General for Health (DGS), Funchal is the only Portuguese municipality still classed as at ‘extreme risk. Over the last 14 days the cumulative incidence of new cases has reached 960 cases of infection per 100 thousand inhabitants.
The bulletin warns, however, that information relating to the Autonomous Region of Madeira must be interpreted in view of the delays between the diagnosis and the notification, which can be more than 48 hours, as was experienced between the 24th of February and the 9th of March. As many are aware, there have been a major discrepancies between the numbers reported by the DGS and the Regional Health Directorate (DRS), while the regional authorities recently stated that “the the only reliable numbers are the ones reported by the Regional Health Directorate on a daily basis.”
An ‘extreme risk of infection’ rating occurs when a municipality has a cumulative incidence over 960 case of infection per 100 thousand inhabitants. According to the DGS, and in view of this caveat, Funchal recorded a cumulative incidence rate of 1,118 cases.
Furthermore, Câmara de Lobos (564), Santa Cruz (576), and Ponta do Sol (640) are deemed to be ‘very high risk area,’ that is, with cumulative Covid numbers between 480 and 959.9 cases per 100 thousand inhabitants.
