The portuguese National Health Service (SNS) updated, in March 2020, the first aid recommendations provided by citizens to victims of drowning, choking or cardiorespiratory arrest, due to the pandemic context. The document, which has not yet been revised, says that:
- In case of choking, those who help should keep a distance of two meters (because the victim must remove a mask) and verbally encourage him to cough. “During the Covid-19 pandemic, it is not recommended to perform clearance maneuvers such as blows on the back or abdominal compressions due to the associated risks of contamination”
- In the event of drowning, if the victim is in the water, he must throw a floating object so that the victim can grab it; if out of water, keep a safe distance of two meters from the victim or protect yourself with a mask.
- If you are facing a victim of acute myocardial heart attack and if you have a surgical mask and the victim too, you can approach, otherwise, keep a distance of two meters and remain under surveillance.
The recommended distance in the face of a rescue situation that can be fatal for the victim goes against the national law that says: “Whoever, in case of serious need, namely caused by disaster, accident, public calamity or situation of common danger, who endangers the life, physical integrity or freedom of another person, fails to provide the necessary assistance to remove the danger, either by personal action or by promoting assistance, is punished with imprisonment for up to 1 year or with fine up to 120 days.” However, the “failure to help is not punishable when there is a serious risk to life”.
The new directives are based on new recommendations from the European Resuscitation Council . These indicate that SARS-CoV-2 is “highly contagious” and cite a systematic review that points to a fatality rate of 3.1%. This percentage does not correspond to the most current revised figures.
The most recent estimates of the risk of those who are infected dying are:
- 0.05% under 70 years old according to a study published by the WHO
- 0.05% 18-49 year old at best CDC estimate
Both forecasts include people with previous serious pathologies, they do not refer exclusively to a mortality rate in healthy people.
The recommendations of the European Resuscitation Council make no distinction between adults and children, symptomatic or asymptomatic, age groups or surroundings.
The use of a mask is referred to as a safe method for approaching and helping the victim, but according to the WHO:
“… the use of a mask alone is not sufficient to provide an adequate level of protection against Covid-19 ” and, despite recommendations for use, the organization admits that “currently, there is no direct evidence (from studies on to Covid-19 and healthy people in the community) on the effectiveness of universal use of masks by healthy people in the community to prevent infection with respiratory viruses, including COVID-19.”
The SNS recommendations are for the public and not for health and relief professionals.
