There are 37 confirmed cases of monkeypox in Portugal and there are still more suspected cases awaiting results. 35 of these cases have been detected in the region of Lisbon and Vale do Tejo. The two other cases have been detected in the North of Portugal and the Algarve. According to the Directorate-General of Health of Portugal  (DGS), the confirmed cases belong to a less aggressive subgroup of the virus monkeypox. Last week, there were only 5 confirmed cases of monkeypox. 

The DGS has said that the 37 confirmed cases in Portugal are being monitored by the health services and remain stable. Those with suspected symptoms should avoid “physical contact with other people and sharing clothes, towels, sheets, and personal objects while having lesions or other symptoms”, according to the DGS.

Monkeypox can be transmitted via broken skin like a wound, the respiratory tract, or the mucous membranes (eyes, nose, or mouth). Margarida Tavares,  the director of the National Program for STDs and HIV for DGS has told the public to look out for symptoms such as fever, myalgia, headaches, and skin or mucosal lesions.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) confirmed 85 cases in the European Union on Monday and has recommended that countries update their diagnostic and tracking methods.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has said that the monkeypox virus outbreaks are containable in countries outside of Africa, where the virus is usually not detected. Experts say the overall risk to the broader population is very low, according to the BBC. 

Belgium has been the first country in Europe to introduce a mandatory quarantine of three weeks. The United Kingdom has recommended a three-week quarantine, but this is not mandatory.

People Animals Nature’s (PAN) proposal for a menstrual leave for up to 3 days for “people with a uterus that suffer severe pain during menstruation” has not passed in Portugal’s parliament. The Socialist Party (PS), the Social Democratic Party (PSD), the Liberal Initiative (IL), and Enough (Chega) voted against the proposal. The Portuguese Communist Party (PCP) voted in favor of the menstrual leave, while the Left Bloc (BE) and Free (Livre) abstained.

No dia em que se inicia a votação do #OE2022, o PAN viu rejeitada a proposta da Licença Menstrual com os votos contra do PS, PSD, Chega e IL e abstenção do BE. pic.twitter.com/nREnYGeDUx

— PAN (@Partido_PAN) May 23, 2022

Ines Sousa Real, the only member of parliament for the party PAN, said that the proposal allows missing work for up to 3 days of the month, without “losing any rights, except for remuneration”. In essence, the menstrual leave would allow people to miss work, but not be paid.

MulherEndo, a Portuguese association that supports people with endometriosis told TSF that although it is a shame the proposal did not pass, PAN’s document did not go far enough. Susana Fonseca, the President of MulherEndo said that “the leave in the proposal by PAN did not include remuneration” and that other parties should reformulate the proposal in a more complete manner.

Moreover, under the failed proposal, to benefit from menstrual leave, workers would need to present a declaration from a doctor, health center, or hospital. Moreover, Ines Sousa Real said that “presenting to an employer a fake medical declaration” would warrant the legal conditions for firing an employee.

A member of parliament for the Socialist Party, Miguel Costa Matos argued on Twitter that the proposal was “redundant” as Portugal already has a medical leave measure with the same terms of three days, without remuneration through a doctor’s note.

The proposal by PAN was one of 1,400 amendment proposals to the State Budget 2022 drafted by parties. The members of parliament began voting on Monday on these amendments.

PAN’s proposal came after the Spanish government approved last week a draft law that grants workers the right to paid sick leave for menstrual pain derived from illnesses such as endometriosis.  The menstrual leave would allow access to leave without a limit of days and be fully paid for by social security. If this leave is enacted, Spain would be the first country in Europe to provide paid menstrual leave. Countries such as Japan, Taiwan, and South Korea already provide paid menstrual leave.

Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa arrived in Kyiv on Saturday and met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. During his one-day trip, Costa announced that Portugal will provide lethal and non-lethal materials to Ukraine, including “military, humanitarian, and financial equipment”. The Portuguese Prime Minister called Zelensky “a leader that inspires the world” and “an example of determination and courage”.

The Prime Minister told Zelensky that Portugal is available to participate in the reconstruction of schools and kindergartens in Ukraine and the reconstruction of a “geographic zone”.

Antonio Costa also said the European Union (EU) must remain united in the sanctions against Russia and invest in alternative fuel options for Europe. He also said that Portugal will support Ukraine in its adhesion to the EU, promoting that Ukraine is welcomed “with open arms”. Ukraine took the first official steps to join the EU on April 18, completing an initial questionnaire for its membership application.

The Prime Minister of Portugal also confirmed a 250 million euro financial support to Ukraine and signed an Agreement on Financial Cooperation.

O Primeiro-Ministro reuniu hoje com o Presidente @ZelenskyyUa, reafirmando a posição de #Portugal ao lado da #Ucrânia. @antoniocostapm salientou que Portugal irá reforçar o apoio humanitário, financeiro e militar a este país.#StandWithUkraine️ pic.twitter.com/i6BAKERv78

— República Portuguesa (@govpt) May 21, 2022

Before heading to Kyiv, Costa headed to Irpin, a city that had 70% of its territory destroyed by Russian troops. Costs said that “seeing it in person is absolutely devastating due to the brutality of the attack, the cruel way cars were destroyed, with people inside. In fact, it is very hard to see”. He says that although we already know war is dramatic, this is not a “normal” war as it involves helpless civilians.

A visit to the Portuguese embassy in Kyiv was also made, with the Prime Minister thanking staff for never closing the embassy in Ukraine, despite uncertain times. Representing the President of the Republic Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa, Costa also attributed the Order of Freedom to Andrii Putilovsky for his work in the repatriation of citizens during the first days of the war.

Condecorei hoje, em #Kiev, um funcionário ucraniano da nossa Embaixada que, no fundo, representa o trabalho de toda uma equipa. É uma honra poder atribuir, em nome do senhor Presidente da República, as insígnias da Ordem da Liberdade a Andrii Putilovsky. pic.twitter.com/71LWA6qC9f

— António Costa (@antoniocostapm) May 21, 2022

Antonio Costa’s visit was accompanied by the Secretary of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation Francisco Andre and the ambassador of Portugal in Ukraine, Antonio Alves Machado. Costa accepted the invitation to visit Kyiv at the beginning of May. The Prime Minister of Portugal also visited Romania and Poland this weekend, congratulating Poland for its support for refugees.

The Director-General of Health Graça Freitas has recommended that people wear masks indoors and in high frequented places, as Covid-19 cases increase. On April 22, the government announced that masks were no longer mandatory in most situations. However, in the face of a sixth wave of the pandemic, Freitas has asked people to once again wear a mask, although this is not mandatory.

Confirming the predictions of the National Institute of Health (INSA), Freitas argued that Portugal would potentially reach 60,000 daily cases by the end of May, as well as 50 daily deaths. A new variant of the omicron is behind the increase in cases that “is more contagious than the original omicron” and causes harsher symptoms. She told the media that “reinfections can happen and we know of people infected for the first time with omicron that have been infected with the new variant”.

The Minister of Health Marta Temido has also said: “Wearing a mask is not mandatory, but that does not mean it’s not recommended. I have people around me that have tested positive and I have been wearing a mask. I have never tested positive and will continue to wear a mask while cases are at this dimension”.

Similarly, Freitas said that she has a mask in her pocket at all times. “If I am sitting in my office alone, with the window open, I do not wear a mask. If someone walks in, I put on my mask”.

The government has said that vaccination will accelerate in the next few weeks. Over 12,000 people over the age of 80 have received their second boost vaccine.

So, are face masks required in Portugal? Not in most places, but they have now been recommended. However, face masks are still mandatory in mainland Portugal, Madeira, and the Azores in public transport, taxis, as well as when visiting nursing homes and health facilities.

Entering Portugal: Covid Restrictions & Current Measures

The Ministry of Education confirmed on Wednesday to CNN Portugal that a cyberattack occurred where the National Examinations Jury platform was targeted by a Portuguese hacker. However, the ministry has said that all personal data related to national exams are safe and that the information hacked was already public information. Multiple public infrastructures were hacked and the police warned the government.

The Portuguese hacker responsible for the cyberattack is known as Zambrius who accessed multiple pages of critical infrastructures such as Health, Education, and Defence. The hacker had alleged accessing over 100 systems of the Ministry of Education and sent documentation and photographs to CNN Portugal with evidence.

Nuno Mateus Coelho, a specialist in cybersecurity and professor at Lusofona University told CNN that “all the photos published by the hacker show that it is possible to hack into essential infrastructures of the state which is incredibly dangerous”.

The 21-year-old hacker accessed a platform that manages the financial resources of the national health service (SNS), the Garcia de Orta Hospital, a transport service, the National Examinations Jury platform, and other infrastructures. At 16 years old, Zambrius had already hacked some of the largest companies and infrastructures in Portugal and Brazil.

There have been multiple cyberattacks in the last few months in Portugal, particularly against essential services. For example, there were cyberattacks against the telecommunication service Vodafone which suspended essential services.

The government already announced in early May that measures to fight cyberattacks against the state are already underway. However, it is unclear what these are.

In February 2022, in a report on the countries most affected by cyberattacks conducted by S21sec, Portugal ranked 31st place, in a total of 101 countries. The United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada were the top 3 countries on the list.

The Directorate-General of Health of Portugal (DGS) has told CNN that the five cases of monkeypox identified in Portugal constitute an outbreak. Margarida Tavares, the director of the National Program for STDs and HIV for DGS said on Wednesday in a press conference that “we can use the word outbreak because we can mention an outbreak anytime there is an increase in cases above what we expected. We did not expect any case in Portugal. If we have 5 confirmed cases we can mention an outbreak”.

The 5 cases of monkeypox in Portugal were confirmed in Lisbon and Vale do Tejo. The authorities do not yet know the origin of the infections and the cases are not related. According to Margarida Tavares, the cases were all identified in STD clinics and all those infected are men. The cases are all mild and none of the infected men have been hospitalized.

Although only 5 cases have been confirmed, DGS has confirmed that there are over 20 suspected cases in the month of May in the region of Lisbon and Vale do Tejo.

Monkeypox can be transmitted via broken skin like a wound, the respiratory tract, or the mucous membranes (eyes, nose, or mouth). Margarida Tavares has told the public to look out for symptoms such as fever, myalgia, headaches, and skin or mucosal lesions.

According to the WHO, within 1 to 3 days after the appearance of fever, infected people often begin developing a rash. Monkeypox usually lasts between 2 to 4 weeks.

Monkeypox is a rare disease that is caused by the infection of the monkeypox virus and was first discovered in 1958 in colonies of monkeys. The first human case was recorded in 1970 in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

Monkeypox cases have been confirmed in other countries in Europe. Seven cases have been confirmed in the United Kingdom and eight men have shown symptoms in Spain.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) was the first to report a case of monkeypox in Europe. They have stated that those infected all self-identify as gay, bisexual, or other men who have sex with men. Dr. Susan Hopkins, the agency’s chief medical adviser, has said “we are particularly urging men who are gay and bisexual to be aware of any unusual rashes or lesions and to contact a sexual health service without delay”.

However, many Portuguese LGBT+ activities have criticized this framing, stating that monkeypox can spread in humans regardless of sexual orientation and many are making references to the media’s rhetoric during the AIDS crisis. Renato Duarte from Renascença Radio posted an Instagram post that said “establishing a cause and effect relationship between the virus and the LGBTQIA+ community is dangerous, irresponsible, and immoral. It has no scientific backup and contributes to the stigma… No type of infectious virus is exclusive to individuals from a sexual orientation”. He also argued that it is in fact dangerous to send this message, allowing for a false sense of immunity among heterosexual individuals.