In view of the new daily record that exceeded 2 thousand cases, in less than 24 hours, Miguel Castanho expressed, in an interview with TVI24, a surprise in the exponential increase in cases without reaching the peak of winter. According to the words of the FMUL Professor and iMM Researcher, "It happened earlier than expected".

The biochemist also takes the opportunity to comment on the fact that there is a great focus on remediation and not on measures to curb contagion, which could have a direct impact on the epidemiological curve. Regarding the 8 measures announced yesterday by the Portuguese Government, Miguel Castanho referred to the measures should be guided by more assertive and non-generalist and or prohibitionist criteria - which raise doubts for the population, leading to a lack of adhesion.

Regarding the will of the Government of António Costa to make the use of a mask in public spaces mandatory, whenever it is impossible to maintain social distance, and the use of the Stay Away Covid app, the Professor says he is “curious that there was an intense campaign to publicize the app and not the correct use of masks ”. See more here .

Regarding the advances and setbacks of pharmaceuticals, especially Johnson & Johnson, with regard to the development of a vaccine for Covid-19, a topic addressed in the Sic Notícias channel, the Professor also points out that forced pauses do not compromise the outcome, because according to his own words: “they are our daily bread for those who develop medicines and vaccines”, but they compromise the calendar. Also in the expert's opinion it would be interesting to know the reason why the pharmaceutical company suspended the development of the vaccine. Find out more here .