Portugal has a lower mortality rate than most of Europe

Revelation made today at the daily press conference

Portugal has a mortality rate of about 5,5 per 100.000 inhabitants due to covid-19, said today the Secretary of State for Health, noting that this figure is lower than that of most European countries.

At the daily press conference to monitor the covid-19 pandemic, António Lacerda Sales referred that this indicator is lower in Germany and Austria and considered that Portugal should “responsibly take on the plateau curve” of the epidemic's progress.

“We don't compare with other countries, this is a global fight, it's not a dispute of numbers or countries”, he added, considering that the status of covid-19 in Portugal “is a consequence of the excellent behavior and the excellent sign of civility that the Portuguese people have given”.

The deputy director-general of Health, Diogo Cruz, reaffirmed that the accounting of fatal victims of covid-19 in Portugal could mean “a greater number of deaths compared to other countries” that account for them in a different way.

“We are currently considering and classifying covid mortality, for the purposes of this particular outbreak, all persons who die by covid, regardless of underlying cause” of death established by the international classification of mortality.

The head of the Directorate-General for Health declared that Portugal is “with the widest possible mesh in relation to the countries of Europe”.

"What we have seen so far is, in fact, the flattening of the curve and that the measures taken were adequate, at least for what we proposed", he said, without putting forward any forecast of when the measures to restrict movement population could be alleviated.

Diogo Cruz stated that the DGS has been "studying with a very large group of academics, and beyond, on what measures and when they can be alleviated".

“It is a work that has been done for over a week, which we will continue to do and we will say when we have these conclusions”, he guaranteed.

António Lacerda Sales also did not comment on scenarios for alleviating the most restrictive measures: “Today, a reassessment of the state of emergency is being carried out and it will be up to the entities, namely the President of the Republic, to take decisions afterwards based on some technical aspects that will be presented”.

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