What was the only territory of Portugal still in the 'orange' zone, is now covered in 'red' (which means 'high risk') in ECDC maps of combined indicators, covering case notification rates in the last 14 days, the number of tests performed and the total positives, which are updated weekly on Thursday.

The 'red' category means that, in these European regions, the cumulative rate of notification of cases of infection in the last 14 days ranges from 75 to 200 per 100,000 inhabitants or is greater than 200 and less than 500 per 100,000 inhabitants and the rate test positivity is 4 percent or more.

Before, Madeira was in the 'orange' (category referring to territories where the notification rate of new infections is 50 to 75 per 100 thousand inhabitants in the last 14 days or between 75 and 200 per 100 thousand inhabitants and the positivity rate of tests is 1 percent or 4 percent or more, respectively), after reaching 'green' (less than 50 new cases and a positivity rate of less than 4 percent, or less than 75 cases but with a rate of positivity of less than 1 percent).

In mid-July, mainland Portugal was all covered in 'red' in these ECDC maps, with the exception of Madeira and the Azores, the latter archipelago having passed days later to the 'high risk' category. In February, and due to the high number of infections, Portugal was even in the 'dark red' category of ECDC maps, used for areas where the virus circulates at very high levels and the worst of all.

These maps from the European agency follow a system of traffic lights on the spread of covid-19 in the EU, starting with green (favorable situation), passing through orange, red and dark red (meaning it is a very dangerous situation). They serve as an aid to Member States on the restrictions to be applied to travel within the Community. In mid-June, the EU Council adopted a recommendation for a coordinated approach to travel, proposing that vaccinated and recovered from covid-19 should not be subjected to restrictive measures such as quarantines or testing.