Portugal once again surpassed the maximum number of daily tests on Wednesday, with 249.834 tests performed and a 5% positivity rate, revealed today the National Health Institute (INSA) Ricardo Jorge.
According to the INSA, 186.136 (74,5%) of the tests carried out on Wednesday were rapid tests of antigen for professional use, carried out in the network of laboratories and pharmacies.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, nearly 24,5 million Covid-19 diagnostic tests have been carried out in Portugal, a balance that does not include self-tests.
Between December 1 and December 22, more than three million Covid-19 tests were performed in the country, of which 2,1 million were rapid antigen tests in laboratories and pharmacies.
This value, according to the INSA, is related to measures that impose "the need to present a negative test for SARS-CoV-2 when accessing certain services or locations, as well as the increase in testing points throughout the country".
The previous daily testing maximum had been reached last Friday, the 17th of December, with more than 227 tests.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, around 16,1 million RT-PCR tests and 8,4 million antigen tests for professional use have been carried out in Portugal.
Tests for antigens for professional use were once again free in laboratories and pharmacies that adhere to the state reimbursement scheme on 19 November and will be in force at least until 31 December, highlighted the INSA.
The measure now covers the entire population, enabling each user to carry out up to six free tests per month, with the aim of intensifying the control of the pandemic, by identifying and isolating the detected cases.
Covid-19 has caused more than 5,37 million deaths worldwide since the start of the pandemic, according to the latest report by Agence France-Presse.
In Portugal, since March 2020, 18.840 people have died and 1.253.094 cases of infection have been recorded, according to data from the General Directorate of Health.
The respiratory disease is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, detected in late 2019 in Wuhan, a city in central China, and currently with variants identified in several countries.
A new variant, Omicron, classified as a concern by the World Health Organization (WHO), has been detected in southern Africa, but since the South African health authorities raised the alert on 24 November, infections have been reported in at least 89 countries from all continents, including Portugal.
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