Portugal today recorded more than 17,000 new cases of Covid-19 in 24 hours, an absolute record since the beginning of the pandemic, according to data released by health authorities.
The Directorate-General for Health announced 17,172 new, confirmed infections. The previous record, with 16,432 cases, was set on January 28, when Portugal was swept by the wave caused by the Alpha variant.
According to estimates announced by Health Minister Marta Temido, the number of new cases could reach as high as 37,000 around January 7th. The resurgence of the pandemic is putting “enormous pressure on some services”, especially on tracking contacts and transmission chains, he said.
Portugal, where the Omicron variant became predominant before Christmas, has one of the highest vaccination rates in the world, at 89.3% – the second largest in the world, behind only the United Arab Emirates. Of the 10.3 million inhabitants, almost 2.4 million have already received the booster dose of the vaccine.
Today, 936 patients are hospitalized, of which 152 in intensive care units. By comparison, at the peak of last winter’s wave, there were about 7,000 hospitalized patients and 900 of them were in critical condition.
As of Sunday, the government has imposed new measures, such as mandatory teleworking and the closure of bars and nightclubs, to stop the spread of the Omicron variant. To limit contacts, after the Christmas and New Year holidays, it has already been announced from November 25 that the school holidays will be extended until January 9.
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