Passersby in Lisbon on January 15 MARIO CRUZ / EFE
Portugal has registered this Monday a new daily record of deaths from coronavirus since the pandemic began: 167. Hospitals are at the limit, pressured by a high increase in the number of admitted.
The country was an example of pandemic control in the first wave, in the first half of 2020. Now it is one of the most affected by the virus.
Two million deaths in the world
The latest balance of the Portuguese Directorate General of Health (DGS) shows that the country chains its eleventh consecutive day above 100 deaths - a figure that had never been reached in the first two waves -, with a new daily record that exceeds the previous maximum, the 166 of Saturday.
In addition, 6,702 COVID-19 infections have been reported, a decrease compared to previous days, but influenced by the effect of the weekend, when fewer tests are carried out and processed, which means that Mondays are usually the day with fewer cases .
This Monday's figure is higher than the previous Monday, when there were 5,604 infections.
In total, Portugal - with about 10 million inhabitants - has accumulated 556,503 cases since March, of which more than 135,000 are active and 9,028 have died.
Compared to other European countries, Portugal is one of the most affected by the virus.
According to the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), Portugal reports a cumulative incidence of 901 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in the last two weeks.
The Spanish Ministry of Health considers that the pandemic is not at extreme risk in a territory when this indicator does not exceed 250 and that it is under control when it is less than 25. The situation is even worse in the Czech Republic (1,513) and Ireland (1,254).
In Spain, the incidence, according to the ECDC, is 495.
The situation in Portuguese hospitals, which are on the edge, has worsened again: there are 5,165 people admitted for coronavirus, 276 more than on Sunday, of which 664 are in intensive care units.
The number of hospitalized patients has not stopped growing since the beginning of the year and in just 18 days the number of admitted patients has increased by more than 80%.
"Extreme situation"
The Minister of Health, Marta Temido, already warned this Sunday after visiting a hospital that public health is "in an extreme situation, in overexertion": "There is a limit and we are almost reaching that limit," he said.
The Portuguese Government has convened for this Monday an extraordinary council of ministers to adjust the confinement that began last Friday and about whose success there are doubts, after images showing many Portuguese in the street have happened this weekend.
Information about the coronavirus
- Here you can follow the last hour on the evolution of the pandemic
- Restrictions search engine: What can I do in my municipality?
- This is how the coronavirus curve evolves in the world
- Download the tracking application for Spain
- Guide to action against the disease
