LISBON, Portugal (AP) – New daily COVID-19 cases in Portugal have risen to over 14,600 to set a new national record Wednesday as the country experiences one of the worst pandemic spikes in the world.
Health authorities officially reported 14,647 new infections – about 3,600 more than the previous daily record four days ago.
The rise is showing no signs of slowing down, and the government and health experts predict it will peak next week.
The number of COVID-19 patients in the hospital and intensive care unit also rose to new record highs, with 5,493 and 681, respectively.
“The seriousness of the situation is clear to all,” Health Minister Marta Temido told reporters.
The public and private health sectors and the military are all working together to meet the needs, she said, but added that “resources are finite.”
The pandemic has gained momentum in Portugal since Christmas, when restrictions on meetings and travel were relaxed for four days.
Portugal has the world’s highest seven-day average of new cases per 100,000 residents and the second-highest number of new deaths, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University through Tuesday.
In total, with 10.3 million people, the country has 581,605 confirmed cases and 9,465 confirmed deaths.
In another concern for Portuguese authorities, a study by the country’s leading disease control agency said that a new variant of the virus first identified in South East England said 60% of new COVID-19 cases in Portugal within two weeks could represent.
The study by the Dr. Ricardo Jorge National Institute of Health, based on data collected since December 1, was published Tuesday.
The surge is pushing the public health system, especially hospitals, to its limits, and the government is doing everything it can to keep pace.
Assistant Secretary of Health for Health António Lacerda Sales said the system is running at full speed.
“We are doing everything we can to increase the capacity of the system,” he told reporters.
A 58-bed field hospital was set to open in the capital later Wednesday, on the grounds of the campus of the University of Lisbon.
To further ease pressure on hospitals, authorities are opening more temporary medical facilities in locations outside the health sector.
The government said on Wednesday that facilities in places like hotels, university residences and church buildings will soon have 2,300 beds where patients can be kept under observation.
Meanwhile, authorities launched a program of rapid COVID-19 testing in schools in the hardest-hit areas amid a severe increase in the number of cases.
Portugal is in jail, but the government is reluctant to close schools. It says that when schools close, there will be children who don’t get proper meals, don’t have a computer, don’t have access to the Internet, don’t have their own room at home, and don’t get help with their studies.
However, some teachers are dissatisfied with the policy and are pushing for a nationwide closure of schools.
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