Mortality in Portugal has registered a peak since last weekend, while Christmas Day this year was the day on which the most people died in the last 10 years, according to official data.
Data from the mortality information system (SICO) in Portugal, based on the electronic register of death certificates, show that 440 people died on Christmas Day, a number that has never been reached on December 25th in the last 10 years.
According to the same information, on Thursday mortality was “much higher than expected”. 448 people died, a figure that had not been reached on the same day since the first year of the pandemic in Portugal (2020), when on December 28th there were 453 deaths recorded.
The information available on the SICO website also indicates that in the last seven days there were 325 excess deaths recorded. Excess mortality is mortality above that expected by authorities for the same day.
The authorities consider that there has been excess mortality, compared to expected, since Christmas Day, however, on December 24th more people died (415) than on the same day in the last seven years (449 deaths in 2016).
General mortality data in Portugal shows an increase from December 24th.
Excess mortality continued after Christmas, remaining 27% higher than expected on December 26, the day on which 470 people died, the highest number in the last 10 years.
On the 27th, the system recorded an excess of 21,1% in mortality, with 449 deaths, a number that, on the same day, was only surpassed in 2016.
According to the National Institute of Health Doutor Ricardo Jorge (INSA), the incidence of influenza showed an increasing trend in the week of December 18th to 24th, with 910 positive cases being identified, 837 of which were type A.
Since the beginning of October, “85 cases of coinfection with the flu virus and SARS-CoV-2 have been detected”, according to the latest Epidemiological Surveillance Bulletin.
Flu cases have helped fill hospital emergency rooms, especially in the Lisbon region, where this week there have already been waiting times for urgent patients of around 18 pm.
To respond to the peak in demand, Line SNS 24, which received 204 thousand calls in December, will also open two new call centers.
According to the Shared Services of the Ministry of Health (SPMS), SNS Line 24 received more than 204 thousand calls this month, with more than 26 calls being answered on the 9.500th alone (4.000 more than the previous day) and on the 27th about 10.200.
To cope with a predictable increase in footfall this festive season, the authorities kept hundreds of health centers operating with additional hours over the weekend and on Christmas Day, a measure that will be repeated throughout the New Year.
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