Covid-19 outbreak at Faro hospital causes pediatric emergency department to close

The pediatric emergency department at Hospital de Faro was without doctors yesterday, due to an outbreak of covid-19 in the unit, resulting in temporary closure of the department.

All pediatric urgent care was diverted to Portimão’s Barlavento Hospital, about 60 kilometres away.

According to the Centro Hospitalar Universitário do Algarve, there are 100 health professionals currently infected with covid-19, of which are 10 of the 13 doctors.

The situation is not helped by an ongoing shortage of clinical staff in general. In recent months, there have been “serious problems” with staffing at the pediatric emergency department in Faro, which receives, on average, over 40,000 emergency cases each year. 

Photo: ALGARVEPHOTOPRESS / Global Images/Arquivo