Covid-19 hospitalisations hit 10-month high in Portugal

Lisbon, Jan 5 A total of 1,203 Covid-19 patients have been hospitalised in Portugal in the last 24 hours, the highest number in the last 10 months, said the country's Directorate-General for Health.

An additional 36 people were hospitalised on Tuesday, with 147 patients in intensive care units.

Meanwhile, 25,836 new infections and 15 more deaths were reported nationwide, bringing the national tally to 1,460,406 and 19,015, respectively, Xinhua news agency reported.

The Omicron variant is responsible for nearly 90 per cent of Covid infections in the European country, said the National Institute of Health's (INSA) Dr Ricardo Jorge in a report on Tuesday.

In just a month after the first Omicron cases were detected in the country, there was a "sudden increase" in Covid infections, according to the report.

Since December 6, the proportion of probable Omicron cases has been growing, the report said, noting that it reached an estimated 89.6 per cent on January 3.

After analysing 24,638 sequences of the genome obtained from samples collected in over 100 laboratories, hospitals and institutions, the INSA found that the community circulation of this variant in Portugal is similar to the "scenario observed in other European countries."

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