According to the epidemiological bulletin of the Directorate General of Health (DGS) released today, 523 people are now hospitalised, nine more than on Wednesday, of which 72 are in intensive care units, three less than in the last 24 hours.

The twelve deaths - eight women and four men - were recorded in the Algarve (four), the Centre (three), Lisbon and Tagus Valley (three) and the North (two).

According to the DGS bulletin, in the last 24 hours, the highest number of infections occurred in the Lisbon and Tagus Valley region, with 773 notifications, accounting for this geographical area, since the beginning of the pandemic crisis, 429,677 cases and 7,775 deaths.

In the North region, there were 682 more cases, totalling 422,408 and 5,624 deaths.

In the Centre region, there were 521 new cases, totalling 152,654 infections and 3,218 deaths.

The Algarve - which has recorded the highest number of deaths in the last 24 hours - had another 228 cases, accumulating 45,942 infections and 496 deaths.

In the Alentejo, 98 new cases of infection were reported, adding 41,089 contagions and 1,056 deaths.

According to the DGS, the Autonomous Region of Madeira counted 66 new cases, adding 13,555 infections and 79 deaths by Covid-19.

In the last 24 hours, the Azores registered 30 new cases, the totalling 9,755 infections and 47 deaths since the start of the pandemic.

The regional authorities of the Azores and Madeira release their data daily, which may not coincide with the information released in the DGS bulletin.

In the last 24 hours, 1,335 more active cases were recorded, adding up to 41,135 since the start of the pandemic, and 1,051 more recovered, which increases the national total to 1,055,650 people.

Compared to Wednesday, health authorities have 1,905 more contacts under surveillance, now totalling 38,085.

The new coronavirus has already infected at least 516,821 men and 597,489 women in Portugal, according to DGS data, according to which there are 770 cases of unknown sex, which are under investigation as this information is not provided automatically.

Covid-19 has caused at least 5,122,682 deaths worldwide, among more than 254.95 million infections with the new coronavirus recorded since the start of the pandemic, according to the latest balance sheet from the agency France-Presse.