In an interview with TVI 24, Miguel Castanho, Professor at FMUL and Principal Investigator at the iMM, stated that the “new variant is already spread all over the world”, recognizing that “the new cases that are emerging now may be related to Christmas , and that matches the period that mediates the infection and the appearance of the first symptoms”, he explained.

In turn, the cases of hospitalizations and victims are related to the period before the Christmas season, “so, unfortunately, we will have a worsening of the situation in the coming days and we will also have a period when we will have the first cases of infected persons during New Year's Eve festivities”, said the Professor.

With the certainty that we have entered the beginning of a “critical period”, which will extend over the next few weeks, Miguel Castanho commented on the impact of the new variant of the virus, detected in the United Kingdom, in the exponential rise of Covid-19 cases. “This is a big question, that is, if we are adding the new variant to the effect of the Christmas and New Year festivities. Studies and more screening will be needed to have a clearer idea of what is happening, but we cannot exclude that hypothesis, because it is in fact much more contagious than others”, said the researcher, mentioning the cases of this infection registered in Japan coming from travellers from Brazil.

According to Miguel Castanho, this new highly infectious variant “will override all others”.

When asked about the new general lockdown as the possible answer in the face of an unprecedented epidemiological situation in our country, Miguel Castanho understands that “when a very serious situation is reached […] there is a very fine line that separates this type of situations from the total debacle and, at that point, it is necessary to take measures that are very fast and effective, which means that, in the absence of another hypothesis, total or partial lockdown”.

It was as a Lecturer that Miguel Castanho said he understood “that the possibility of not closing schools is being considered, because the social, cultural and training sacrifice is enormous”.

He also stated that “we are sacrificing an entire generation when we close schools”, emphasizing that “distance learning is not the same thing”.

This is, therefore, an "extremely difficult" decision, in the Professor's opinion, since "what the school represents in society is infinitely more than merely economic activity", which weighs substantially on both scales, in a situation that requires maximum containment.

Miguel Castanho concluded the interview with an analysis of vaccines and the evolution of Covid-19 therapy, referring to the existence of “two drugs, which had been developed for rheumatoid arthritis, but which can be used effectively for Covid-19, and help save lives and reduce hospital stay […], based on antibody technology”. A promising announcement that comes to us from the health authorities of the United Kingdom, a country that is suffering a severe blow with the current pandemic, but “is also a country that produces science and technology”, where both “are highly valued”.

Find out more and read the full interview HERE.