The Council of the Government approved today new rules for passengers arriving in the Region, who will no longer be subject to prophylactic isolation from Friday, maintaining the need for a negative test made prior travelling or a screening test for COVID-19 on arrival in the Azores, announced Vasco Cordeiro.

"The main change concerns the 14-day prophylactic isolation. With the greater awareness we believe that exists regarding the care that each one should have, this is no longer a requirement," said the President of the Government. 

Vasco Cordeiro spoke after the meeting with CCIA-Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Azores and AICOPA-Azores Building Industry and Public Works Association, as part of a series of contacts with various sectors that began last week. On the occasion, he stated that this measure was approved by the Government Council, which met today by video conference, in conjunction with the Regional Health Authority. 

"We maintain the need for testing as essential, whether the test is carried our prior to travelling or on arrival in the Azores. Passengers are required to wait for the test results within a maximum period of 48 hours," said Vasco Cordeiro. 

The need to carry out tests on the 5th and 13th days after arrival will also be maintained, if the stay in the Region is extended for more than 7 or 14 days, respectively. 

"This aspect is quite relevant at this moment, because, with more flexible rules as of Friday, it will allow us to keep strict surveillance on these situations," noted the President of the Government. 

According to Vasco Cordeiro, this change in procedures for those arriving in the Region took into account the fact that the pandemic situation is evolving positively, the fact that the transmission chains are contained or extinct beginning of the pandemic and the fact that “people are much more aware of the care and precautions they should take than at the beginning of the pandemic." 

The President of the Government stressed that this measure may be reversed according to the evolution of the COVID-19 situation in the Azores, taking into consideration not the emergence of a new positive case, but rather the ability to determine the full context of that transmission chain. 

As regards the gradual and progressive resumption of SATA Air Açores' operations, the authorisation from the Regional Health Authority will no longer be required from Friday. The availability of flights will be now subject to demand. 

Speaking to journalists, the President of the Government stated that the meeting with CCIA and AICOPA gave us the opportunity to analyse the measures already implemented for the maintenance of employment and the recovery of the regional economy. 

"In terms of the measures under implementation, both national and regional, we are talking about a sum made available to companies that reaches about 405 million Euros," stressed Vasco Cordeiro.

According to him, this was done bearing in mind the primary goal of maintaining employment. The most recent data released by the Institute for Employment and Vocational Training (IEFP) and the National Statistics Institute (INE) show that, so far and at this stage, this goal has been accomplished. 

"Nonetheless, we must create all possible mechanisms to ensure that employment is maintained in the future. This is also what the Agenda for the Social and Economic Recovery of the Azores intends to achieve with regard to the measures that can work for the benefit of the regional economy in this second phase of the recovery," said the President of the Government.
 
In the public works sector, Vasco Cordeiro reiterated the importance of this public investment component in the Region, revealing that, to date, the works in progress and those at tendering stage represent a regional public investment of 244 million Euros.