José Apolinário, regional coordinator of the fight against Covid-19, visited this Thursday, April 30, São Brás de Alportel to learn about the work that this council has been developing to face the pandemic.
Apolinário was accompanied by Vítor Vaz Pinto, District Operational Commander for Civil Protection, and Lieutenant Colonel Bartolomeu, liaison officer of the Portuguese Army.
«This visit demonstrates the interest of the national authorities in the work carried out in our municipality and allowed the Municipality to show how it has been adapting to this reality and to the demands of the new times, always having as its main mission the protection of our community and with our eyes set on a future that is known to be challenging but which is intended to be promising», framed Vítor Guerreiro, Mayor of São Brás.
After a first meeting at the Hall of the City Hall, where the Civil Protection Subcommittee Command Post – Covid-19 is located, the visit began at the Arts and Crafts Center, currently transformed into the Coordinating Nucleus of the Project for the Creation of São Brasenses Social Masks.
José Apolinário «had the opportunity to meet the team responsible for pre-production, made up of municipal workers and volunteers, and the municipal team that coordinates the vast production network of social masks, which began to be distributed to the population this week, for free. through the delivery points installed in the buildings of the Covered Municipal Swimming Pools and the Municipal Pavilion».
This project currently has a network of 75 producers, including seamstresses, tailors, artisans, volunteers and municipal workers, who accepted to change roles and embrace this mission, to protect the population and boost the local economy.
As the municipality says, "São-Brasense social masks protect twice: the community against the virus and the local economy against the crisis."
At the Arts and Crafts Centre, it was also possible to learn about elements of the “Apoio Maior” Youth Volunteering project that is underway in the municipality, an initiative of the Parish Council in partnership with the municipality.
The delegation then visited the delivery points for the social masks: the Municipal Covered Swimming Pool Building, where the general delivery takes place and where the coordination and delivery center of the Solidary Network for the Production of Protection Visors is also based, which have already surpassed the 4000 produced, and the Municipal Pavilion, where the delivery of groups takes place, through purchase lists filled in by the citizens, with the collaboration of local entities and condominium management companies, which allows reducing travel to the delivery point of people who belong to risk groups'.
During the visit, it was also possible to visit the Population Support Zones (ZAP) created in the Municipal Pavilion and the Sports Pavilion of the Secondary School, under the coordination of the Municipal Civil Protection Service, with support from a number of local entities.
Also at the Secondary School, the delegation that included the mayor and other members of the municipal executive full-time, the Commander of the GNR Territorial Post, the coordinator of the Municipal Civil Protection Service and some elements, the 2nd Commander of Volunteer firefighters and the health delegate had the opportunity to visit the School Refectory, where meals are being prepared to support food for needy students and vulnerable families.
This is a project developed in partnership between the Municipality's Social Services and the José Belchior Viegas School Group.
On the occasion, Secretary of State José Apolinário also had the opportunity to learn about the actions that are being developed in partnership with the municipality to ensure that all children and young people have access to information technology to monitor the school at home.
In addition to the acquisition of computers and internet devices provided by the municipality, a solidarity campaign is underway with the community, so that all students from the 2nd cycle onwards are guaranteed the availability of a computer, with internet, in your house.
At the Community Support Centre, the delegation had the opportunity to see how the Psychosocial team is working, coordinated by the Social Services Unit, which is on the ground supporting the most vulnerable population, with a special concern centered on isolated seniors.
On the occasion, the team witnessed the exit to the field of one of the teams, which has the reinforcement of a volunteer doctor, during visits to the senior population. This integrated social support project is joined by a group of volunteers who graduated from the Medicine Degree at the University of Algarve, providing very important support in these social visits.
To prevent these at-risk groups from leaving their homes, the psychosocial team takes food and medicine purchases to two homes and from today, May 1st, it also takes the social masks, which reach the senior population in the areas. most isolated in the county.
«The visit ended in the atrium of Santa Casa da Misericórdia, where the provider Júlio Pereira had the opportunity to explain how the entire process of adaptation to this new reality and the imperative mission of protecting users and employees of this institution, which since the first hour has been set in motion an integrated plan of prevention through the duplication of teams, in a mirror and the creation of a team of volunteers for possible reinforcement».
In partnership with the City Council, Santa Casa is the second delivery point for food aid, in a new service in a “take Away” format, in the Cantina Social style, aimed at a vulnerable segment of the population, without school-age children.
On the occasion, the provider also presented the new project “Apoio COMVIDa” which was one of two selected in the Algarve to receive support of 20 thousand euros from the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, as part of a support program for institutions dedicated to the care of seniors.
Through this project, Santa Casa, in partnership with the municipality, namely with the Senior Intervention Group, will provide, free of charge, advanced domiciliary support, which will make it possible to combat the isolation of São Brasenses seniors.
«On this visit, I want to value the great effort of the Municipality and all Civil Protection and Security structures, Social Institutions, employees of the Municipality of São Brás de Alportel who managed to implement a set of good practices in this area. production and distribution of social masks and visors, with the mobilization of society, and also the good practices of the Santa Casa da Misericórdia, which has just been chosen by the Gulbenkian Foundation for the development of an innovative project in the area of home support», he said, in the end, José Apolinário.
«I take from here the recognition and appreciation of good practices in the social area that are being developed by the Municipality and institutions of the municipality», he concluded.
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