The National Institute of Health Doctor Ricardo Jorge (INSA) announced today, 31 December, that «all regions have a coronavirus transmissibility rate higher than 1. The Algarve is the region with the lowest R(t) in the country.
The INSA weekly report on the epidemic curve states that the five-day average of the R(t) – which estimates the number of secondary cases of infection resulting from a person carrying the virus – has registered a “sharp increase” since 12 December , now being 1,35 nationally.
By region, this indicator is highest in Lisbon and Vale do Tejo (1,42), followed by the North (1,40), the Azores (1,39), Alentejo (1,28), Madeira ( 1,26), the Center (1,18) and the Algarve (1,06).
"Portugal presents an accumulated notification rate of 14 days superior to 960 per 100 thousand inhabitants and an R(t) superior to 1, that is, a very high notification rate with an increasing trend", says the report.
The average number of daily cases of infection in the last five days increased to 12.407 in the country, when in the previous week it was 5.255, being higher in Lisbon and Vale do Tejo (5.888), followed by the North (3.876), in the Center (1.389) , Algarve (370), Alentejo (283), Madeira (363) and Azores (115).
On Tuesday, Health Minister Marta Temido, estimated that Portugal is expected to reach 37 thousand new cases of infection with the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus in the first week of January, due to the Omicron variant, considered by experts to be more transmissible than Delta.
With regard to the accumulated incidence of new cases at 14 days, the INSA report indicates that the North, Lisbon and Vale do Tejo, Algarve and Madeira regions have an incidence rate above 960 per 100 inhabitants, while the Center and Alentejo are between 480 and 959,9 cases and the Azores between 240 and 479,9 infections.
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