"Right now, we have more than 12,250 people placed in institutions, through a special programme that we have created exactly for this, to help institutions have a reinforcement of human resources" to face Covid-19, she said.

But, questioned by journalists in Mora (Évora), Ana Mendes Godinho acknowledged that "the lack of human resources, particularly in this area of response to the pandemic," is "a cross-cutting problem" that exists "throughout the country.

"The great demand and the moment we are experiencing is also a great difficulty, often to find human resources that may be available", she said.

At the start of vaccination in the Integrated Continued Care Unit of Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Mora, the Minister of Labour, Solidarity and Social Security admitted that, "it is difficult, especially in the interior regions of the country, to find people available to participate in actions of support and response to outbreaks.