Given Up

I watch this MSNBC piece on the recent rise in COVID-19 cases, and am taken by the graphs as well as the comments by Dr Siouxsie Wiles, a specialist in infectious-diseases at the University of Auckland in New Zealand:

It really does feel like the U.S. has given up.

I can't imagine what it must be like having to go to work knowing it's unsafe. It's hard to see how this ends. There are just going to be more and more people infected, and more and more deaths. It's heartbreaking.

The US vs EU graph looks astonishingly familiar – my little, unofficial contest between Georgia and Portugal. I note that there are about a hundred million more people in the EU than the US. In fact, the case numbers in Georgia are spiking, and have hit their highest-ever seven-day average at 889.4 new cases per day, with a seven-day average of 31.1 deaths per day. Case numbers in Portugal average 326.3 cases, with 3.1 deaths.

Two recent articles help to explain the differences in the numbers. First is this piece from Newsweek that highlights Portugal's immigration policy that allowed people awaiting visas and asylum seekers to stay put, and put them on the national health service (SNS) in case they needed medical care. This affected me, when my appointment at SEF was cancelled on March 26th and my visa expired. When the country began to re-open in early May, SEF called me in and I now have my residency card and am legal for two years. Meanwhile, the US has continued deportation during the pandemic, including hundreds of deportation flights between early February and late April.

Despite outbreaks of Covid-19 in US immigration detention centers and government travel restrictions the world over, the US has continued deportations with little regard for the consequences. With these reckless deportations, the Trump administration is contributing to the spread of Covid-19 and endangering public health globally. (Nicole Austin-Hillery, US program director at Human Rights Watch)

In addition to Portugal's effective stay-at-home policy and their wide-spread testing, another interesting aspect of the SNS is their approach to treatment. According to this article and video piece from CNN, Portuguese ICU's were early in using anti-inflammatory steroids in acute patients.

I am also officially registered with the SNS and have my Portuguese driving license. So, despite the pandemic and the stay-at-home orders, we've been able to get things done – a practical government and a working healthcare system are a wonderful things.

cases: 8,800,796 global • 2,298,108 USA • 38,841 Portugal

deaths: 463,450 global • 121,424 USA • 1,528 Portugal

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UPDATE: Georgia's latest daily case total is 63,809 – a daily increase of eighteen hundred. Including today's totals, Georgia's seven-day average is now 1,001.1 cases per day. Portugal reported 38,841 – a daily increase of 377, for a seven-day average of 339.7 cases.

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FRIDAY: It's a wonderful early summer day, and we make plans to walk to a few tourist sites. We pass through the streets of two popular Lisbon neighborhoods Arroios and Graça while taking in the architectural shapes and colors. The crowds are extremely light, as we head to one of the most popular spots in the city, the Castelo de São Jorge. I feel almost self-conscious, taking pictures, as no one else is joining me; the tourists have vanished.

First, we stop at the Igreja Paroquial de Graça and the miradouro there.

 

 

 

 

 

We've been to the miradouro before, during sunset, but today the air is spectacularly clear, and the Ponte 25 de Abril is super sharp. Within the city, just below the near pylon of the bridge, is the ruined church of Igreja do Carmo, and just below that is the Elevador de Santa Justa. On the horizon to the right is the dome of the Basílica da Estrela, one of the first places we visited when we arrived last August.

Inside the Igreja, the quality of light is remarkable, with the painted ceiling adding warmth and rhythm. Floating along, between the dormer-like vaults, are angels with Latin inscriptions for the Hail Mary prayer: Ave Maria gratia plena, Dominvs tecvm, Benedicta tv in mvlieribvs, Benedictvs frvctvs, Ventris tvi Iesvs – super handy if you don't have your Latin prayer book with you. The shallow faux-dome contains a double-headed eagle holding the sun and moon. I cannot determine the meaning of this image, but it sure looks cool.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The sun and moon re-appear in the entry to the Convento de Nossa Senhora da Graça, along with a fantastical image of an arm and hammer emerging from the clouds over a pile of heads (sculpted heads?). Passing through the portico, there is a entry lobby with stone seating looking out to the miradouro, and decorated in spirited, poly-chrome. This leads to the long chapter Room, with extra-long tile panels illustrating more gruesome scenes, including nooses and sword-play. It also houses an enormous display of figurines assembled to model A Procissão do Corpo de Deus; this year's procession (June 11th) was cancelled.

 

 

 

We finish the day at the Castelo de São Jorge. It's been almost exactly three years since we last visited the Castelo, when it was blustery and bustling. Today, it's calm and empty – it's almost creepy. The walk up is not nearly as bad as I remember, but of course, we are already at the height of the hill at Graça. When we reach the Castelo, there are no tuk-tuks, no taxis, and no people – there aren't more than a dozen other visitors.

 

 

Much of the Castelo is roped off and some of the best views are not accessible, but we have the place all to ourselves – no waiting for people to get out of your shot, or squeezing along the tops of the narrow walls. By now the sky is absolutely clear as well.

Three years ago, when we first arrived in Lisbon and stood on these walls, the city seemed considerable, crowded, and chaotic. Recognizing landmarks, knowing the distance between them, Lisbon feels manageable. I'm no longer in awe, which may be a loss at some level, but I'm comfortable. This calmer version of Lisbon continues to impress; it's a beautiful city.