Today is the second day with the highest number of new infections per day. The highest figure was reached on 23 January, when the authorities registered 15,333 cases of infection in 24 hours.

The epidemiological bulletin also reveals that 6,603 people are hospitalised, 131 more than on Tuesday, which represents a daily maximum of admissions, of which 783 in intensive care units (18 more in the last 24 hours).

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Portugal has registered 11,305 deaths associated with Covid-19 and 668,951 cases of infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and 172,893 cases are now active, 5,512 more than on Tuesday.

The bulletin also notes that a further 9,268 people have been reported as recovered, bringing the number of recovered since the beginning of the pandemic in Portugal to 484,753.

The health authorities have 220,256 contacts under surveillance, 4,486 more than the previous day.

Of the 293 deaths recorded in the last 24 hours, 136 occurred in Lisbon and the Tagus Valley, 66 in the Centre region, 59 in the North region, 26 in Alentejo, five in the Algarve region and one in the Autonomous Region of the Azores.

In the Lisbon and Tagus Valley region 7,605 new infections have been reported, the highest daily number since the beginning of the pandemic, with 235,498 cases and 4,267 deaths so far.

The Northern region has registered 3,959 new SARS-CoV-2 infections in the last 24 hours and since the beginning of the pandemic there have been 293,171 cases of infection and 4,258 deaths.

In the Centre region there have been a further 2,309 cases, with 94,073 infections and 1,942 deaths.

In Alentejo, a further 484 cases were reported, totalling 23,208 infections and 597 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic in Portugal.

The Algarve region has today reported 500 new cases, totalling 16,029 infections and 183 deaths.

Madeira has registered 191 new cases. This autonomous region accounts for 3,663 infections and 34 deaths due to Covid-19.

In the Autonomous Region of the Azores 25 new cases were registered in the last 24 hours, totalling 3,309 infections and 24 deaths.

The confirmed cases are spread over all age groups, with the highest number of infections recorded being between 20 and 59 years old.

The new coronavirus has already infected at least 301,916 men and 366,832 women in Portugal, according to DGS data, 203 cases of unknown sex are under investigation as these data are not provided automatically.

Of the total number of fatalities, 5,901 were men and 5,404 women.

The highest number of deaths continues to be concentrated in the elderly over the age of 80, followed by the 70-79 age group.

Of the total of 11,305 deaths, 7,600 were over 80 years old, 2,336 were between 70 and 79 years old and 946 were between 60 and 69 years old.

The Covid-19 pandemic has already caused at least 2,159,155 deaths from more than 100 million cases of infection worldwide, according to a review by the French agency AFP.