The Deputy Secretary of State and Health Lacerda Sales said today that classes will even resume on January 10, ruling out the possibility of being postponed due to the increase in cases of covid-19.
“I think that measure [postponement] is certainly not on the table. And, therefore, classes start on January 10th for children, because this is a fundamental measure for the physical, mental, social and psychological health of our children», said the government official, in Coimbra.
The secretary of State answered questions from journalists on the sidelines of the reception ceremony for the intern physicians of the Hospital and University Center of Coimbra (CHUC), having considered that face-to-face teaching "is essential for children".
Stressing that there are no changes in planned measures, the Deputy Secretary of State and Health referred, however, that later, according to the epidemiological evolution, the Council of Ministers will assess the situation.
In response to journalists, the official also said that the country has the capacity to test covid-19, through more than 1.400 participating pharmacies and 700 laboratory testing posts, noting that Portugal is the fourth European country with the most tests performed.
According to Lacerda Sales, Portugal has more than 26 million tests carried out and that on Thursday, December 30th alone, more than 400 thousand tests were carried out.
"We have testing capacity, we have tests, many institutions to test, so we want people to test themselves, because it is very important for us to control this health crisis," he said.
The Deputy Secretary of State and Health also appealed to the population not to go to hospitals and emergencies to carry out covid-19 tests, "because having this capacity for testing in other places can free up time for health professionals for more serious situations" .
“The appeal I make is that when the Health Service 24 passes the test, they go to the respective places where they can be tested: laboratories or pharmacies”, stressed Lacerda Sales.
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