Drum jellyfish spotted on Algarve beaches - do not touch!
The Drum Jellyfish has been sighted more than 120 times this week “on many beaches” in the Algarve, from Lagos to Vila Real de Santo António. The IPMA, advise not to touch the organisms.
In a statement on the IPMA website, they warn that the species , known as the Drum Jellyfish, “has been sighted in considerable abundance on many beaches in the Algarve”, and in the last week In June, more than 120 sightings of the species were received by GelAvista, IPMA's citizen science program, running since 2016.
The species is common on the Portuguese coast, especially in the Algarve, during summer and autumn, but IPMA thinks the increase in sightings of the jellyfish must be related to currents and winds we have been experiencing, which have helped transport the organisms on to the beaches.
The Drum Jellyfish is described as “a large jellyfish, whose bell can reach 60 centimetres in diameter. It is characterized by its short, leafy oral arms, with long, dark-coloured appendages at the ends."
It can give a significant sting, which in case of direct contact with the skin, ice packs should be applied for about 15 minutes, after washing and cleaning the affected area with sea water.
It is recommended to avoid touching the organisms, even when they appear to be dead on the beach.
The presence of the jellyfish and their locations have been communicated to lifeguards.
Albufeira: GNR slaps young drunk for trying to enter a GNR vehicle
An investigation process has been opened, against a soldier from the National Republican Guard (GNR) who slapped a young drunk man around the head when he tried to open the door of a security force vehicle on Avenida Sá Carneiro, in Albufeira last Friday night. (VIDEO)
The young man was seen walking with difficulty along the pavement, seemingly very drunk, when he decides to cross the road, not seeming to care about a car that was passing by at the exact moment, before trying to open a GNR vehicle door.
The GNR, following the publication of the images on social networks, reacted to what happened via a statement, saying that “the military in question belongs to the staff of the Public Order Intervention Group of the Intervention Unit, which, as a result of the Seguro Verão program, provides service in the Algarve and was responsible for the safety of the vehicle”.
The GNR also mentions that the time of occurrence corresponds to “one of the most critical and busiest periods on the street in question”, since it coincides with “the closing of most nightlife establishments”.
Members of the public shouted a warning to the GNR soldier that the drunk individual was trying to open the vehicle door, and the GNR “reacted immediately”.
"It was determined to open an investigation process, immediately after knowledge of the said video, with a view to properly ascertaining the facts", concludes the GNR statement.
Lagoa says a last goodbye to Joana, stabbed by her ex-boyfriend
The city of Lagoa said goodbye on Monday, to Joana Nascimento, the 26 year old young woman from Lagoa, who died a week after being attacked with a knife in the neck by her ex-boyfriend.
Dozens of people wanted to be present at the last goodbye to Joana Nascimento who died on June 23rd from an infection, a week after being stabbed outside her home in Lagoa by her ex-boyfriend. The young man could not deal with the end of the relationship and had already threatened JOana on other occasions, including in the workplace and at home. However, she never filed a complaint against him.
The man even ended up surrendering to the authorities, accompanied by a lawyer at the GNR in Lagoa, two days after the young woman was attacked, but remains free.
At the Mass held at the Igreja da Misericórdia, in Lagoa, dozens of members of the public turned out to show their respects, while friends and family dressed in white offered various heartfelt messages about the young woman, who was a well-known person in Lagoa.
After the service, several family members and friends launched balloons, amid applause. Joana's body was then sent to be cremated in Albufeira.
According to reports by newspaper Correio da Manhã, Joana's family is considering moving forward with a complaint against Portimão Hospital, who discharged the young woman, hours after the crime, with only medication.
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Faro: Car overturns, seriously injuring elderly pedestrian
A 37 year old man seriously injured a 73 year old man yesterday evening, after skidding and overturning his car next to the Municipal Library in Faro.
The man rolled his vehicle and ran over the elderly pedestrian, seriously injuring him. He was transported to Faro Hospital by INEM.
The accident occurred on Rua Carlos Porfírio, next to the library in Faro at around 19:25 yesterday evening, July 4th.
The driver was also injured, not seriously, but he was also taken to Faro Hospital for checks.
Fifteen operatives from the Public Security Police ( PSP ), firefighters from Faro and INEM attended the incident.
Lagos: PSP Officer saves a choking 15 day old baby
Pedro Leão, a PSP officer from Lagos, saved a 15 day old baby last week, when the distressed mother rushed into the police station with her, "not breathing and no longer with vital signs".
A car stopped at the roundabout next to the police station, around 1:30 pm, the officer said, “the mother came into the police station crying, saying that the baby was dying, that she was not breathing.” The baby had choked while being fed.
Pedro Leão said that he saw that the baby was purple, “she was not reacting and I immediately started the Heimlich maneuver," which he learned in his police training, a first aid procedure used in situations of suffocation due to airway obstruction. "After two minutes, the baby coughed and breathed again, much to everyone's relief."
The Lagos Volunteer Firefighters were called after another PSP agent called 112. The firefighters stabilised the child and transported her to the Portimão Hospital. The baby was discharged just a few hours after being admitted.
Asked about being called a “hero”, Pedro Leão said that “all of us who leave the house in the morning wearing this uniform are subject to this, being a hero is part of this profession”.
The officer had been involved two or three times in other similar rescues, but never with a child, which he described as a “different feeling”.
Is 'rotating operation' of maternity hospitals really a 'beautiful alternative' to closure?
The Minister of Health has described the rotating operation of maternity hospitals in Lisbon and Tagus Valley and in the Algarve as “a beautiful alternative” to their definitive closure, rejecting criticism from the opposition about the unpredictability of the adopted model.
“We have a rotating operating model in Lisbon and the Tagus Valley and in the Algarve, which is imposed on us by the shortage of professionals. This is a beautiful alternative to the definitive closure of these maternity hospitals. That would be a serious mistake and a serious loss for the population and for the formation of new resources”, said Manuel Pizarro in parliament.
“Six months have passed with the model in operation and the truth is that we have demonstrated that we managed to get all public maternity hospitals up and running. In the North, Center and now also in the Alentejo regions, where last year it was not possible to guarantee this”, said Manuel Pizarro.
According to the minister, the 'rotating' model adopted allows pregnant women to be assured that the birthing departments work with “quality, safety and predictability”.
On the other hand, IL MP (Liberal Initiative Party) Joana Cordeiro defended that the Government's “Born Safely” plan “does not give the slightest predictability to pregnant women, who do not know where their children will be born”.
BE deputy Joana Mortágua, accused the Government of “a pregnant woman not knowing whether a maternity hospital will be open on the day she goes into labour”, or if the “appropriate follow-up throughout the pregnancy” will be available. “Years of explaining to health teams, pregnant women, families, that it is necessary to humanise childbirth. As well as encouraging women and services to make birth plans, to combat obstetric violence, and now they are worthless ”, she criticised.
