Lockdown ending in Portugal

There is a clear risk when lockdown ends in Portugal. Apart from a below standard vaccination campaign (less than 10% of people received the first shot), nothing has been done - we still don't have contract tracing working efficiently, we still don't know the source of 84% of covid19 cases, the app is not working effectively. So, when Portugal unlocks... the risk of a new pandemic wave in the country is quite high.

The mental health toll on teenagers

The pandemic and the lockdown are an explosive cocktail for mental health - especially when we are talking about brains and personalities that are in an accelerated development stage, where stimuli and socialization are (even more) key for happiness.

Publico published a great article about the mental health toll this past year is taking on children and teenagers in Portugal.

Simply terrifying

 

Covid 19 vaccination progress

February 17th. 3.3% of the Portuguese population has received at least one shot of covid-19 vaccine. Too low. (albeit aligned with the 3.2% of the UE average).

Source: OurWorldinData

A friend

A good friend of mine. Owns a modern and small, but successful restaurant chain in Southeastern Asia. The concept would be very relevant in Portugal - and different from what we can currently find. It would probably be a success. As he s Portuguese, he started looking for options and opportunities to establish a branch in Portugal. 12 months of watching how the Portuguese Government handles the pandemic were enough for him to decide that the bureaucracy, inefficiency and risk were too high - he gave up. He might keep his expansion plans in SEA and maybe Spain - but not Portugal.

And this is just an example - I guess there will be several others, across industry. Very high taxes funding inefficiency - too high a risk for entrepreneurs. 

70%

The question nobody is answering: inoculating 70% of the population until Autumn - is that enough to guarantee a normal Summer, in a country that is so dependent of seasonal tourism?

Acceleration

 Digital acceleration enhanced by covid19. A chart from McKinsey.