A team of 10 soldiers from the National Republican Guard's Emergency Intervention and Protection Brigade is this afternoon carrying out the decontamination of the 2nd floor of the Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Boliqueime Home, where 21 cases of Covid-19 were confirmed last week.
According to Captain Cerqueira, from the GNR Emergency Protection and Relief Unit, the agents involved in the operation, from Lisbon and the Algarve, are specialists in the «hazardous materials area» and will use «special products» to carry out the disinfection and decontamination from the 2nd floor of the nursing home.
Vítor Aleixo, mayor of Loulé, in a statement he read this afternoon to journalists present at the site (televisions and the Sul Informação), revealed that the decontamination of that area of the building is intended to “create an area ready to receive users in the future and when the competent authorities so deem”.
After, on April 3rd, positive cases have been detected in that home in Boliqueime, «the negative users were, on the same day, transported safely to a hotel», in Vilamoura, «where they remain in isolation, accompanied by a team of home staff», explained the mayor.
All these negative users are "in good health", added the mayor.
As for the "positive and inconclusive users, they remained at home, in separate areas," he said. Of these, only one needed to be hospitalized, while "the rest have not needed, so far, hospital care".
President Vítor Aleixo revealed that the decision to proceed with the decontamination of the 2nd floor of the home was taken «in a meeting with the various responsible entities at local and regional level – Local Health Authority, ABC – Algarve Biomedical Center, Municipal Civil Protection Commission, National Emergency and Civil Protection Authority, Social Security and Portuguese Red Cross».
To ensure safety, «yesterday, April 8, all users of the Home were moved to the 1st floor», with the collaboration of the Portuguese Red Cross. And today, the GNR Emergency Intervention and Protection brigade took action.
On the sidelines of reading his statement, Vítor Aleixo admitted that "the count of confirmed cases in this home in Boliqueime is not yet closed." In other words, more positive cases may be confirmed, particularly among people who, a week ago, had been tested as inconclusive.
On his visit to the outer area of the Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Boliqueime, the mayor Vítor Aleixo was accompanied by the Secretary of State José Apolinário, in his new functions of coordinator of the implementation of the Declaration of the State of Emergency in the Algarve, as well as by Vaz Pinto, Commander of Emergency and Civil Protection in the Algarve, Nuno Marques, director of the ABC, other mayors, elements of municipal civil protection and also responsible for the security forces.
Photos: Elisabete Rodrigues | Sul Informação
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