This is the biggest daily increase in deaths and infection since the pandemic began in March 2020, exceeding the maximum of 98 deaths and 10,027 cases recorded in December.

The DGS epidemiological bulletin also indicates that the number of hospitalised patients has also reached its daily maximum with 3,451 people, 118 more than on Thursday, of which 536 are in intensive care, that is, 22 more.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Portugal has registered 7,590 deaths and 466,709 cases of infection by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, 98,938 of which are currently active, 5,578 more than on Thursday.

Regarding the 118 deaths recorded in the last 24 hours, 44 occurred in Lisbon and Vale do Tejo, 34 in the North region, 26 in the Centre region, nine in the Alentejo, three in the Algarve, and two in Madeira.

According to the data, most of the new cases reported today are in the region of Lisbon and Vale do Tejo (4,291) and in the north (2,969).

Health authorities have 5,390 more people under surveillance than the previous day, for a total of 109,161 contacts.

The bulletin also reveals that another 4,480 people were reported to have recovered, totalling 360,181 since the beginning of the pandemic.

Also according to the DGS bulletin, the region of Lisbon and Vale do Tejo registered 4,291 new infections by SARS-CoV-2 in the last 24 hours. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the region has recorded 152,634 cases of infection and 2,645 deaths.

In the northern region, a further 2,969 infections were reported, accounting for 228,926 cases and 3,407 deaths so far.

In the Centre region, there were 1,963 more cases, with 57,486 infections accumulating and 1,119 deaths.

In the Alentejo, 433 more cases were reported, totalling 13,833 infections and 297 deaths since the beginning of the epidemic in Portugal.

The Algarve region has today reported 400 new cases, totalling 9,584 infections and 82 deaths.

Madeira registered 65 new cases. This autonomous region accounts for 1,970 infections and 18 deaths due to covid-19.

In the Autonomous Region of the Azores, 55 new cases were registered in the last 24 hours, totalling 2,287 infections and 22 deaths.

Confirmed cases are distributed across all age groups, with the highest number of infections between 20 and 59 years of age.

Of the total fatalities, 3,956 were men and 3,634 women.

The largest number of deaths continues to be concentrated in the elderly over 80 years old, followed by people aged between 70 and 79 years old.

The Government decided to “extend the rules currently in force” in the fight against the pandemic in the continental territory, within the scope of the new state of emergency enacted until the 15th, also determining a “precautionary measure” next weekend for the municipalities with the highest risk.

This measure includes the ban on movement between municipalities and the curfew from 13:00 until 05:00 the next day during the next weekend, measures that apply in the municipalities with more than 240 new cases per 100 thousand inhabitants.