“Tomorrow [Friday] the Minister of Health will review the situation of the pandemic and the presence of the variant. I will send the comments on this pandemic tomorrow”, said the Minister of State and Presidency, Mariana Vieira da Silva, at the press conference at the end of the Council of Ministers.

Mariana Vieira da Silva added that, together with the Minister of Health, she met twice this week with experts who have participated in Infarmed meetings.

The minister maintained that more information is needed to be able to take decisions, stressing that we are "facing a new variant about which little is known."

The government official also said that the executive “has no problem” in extending or altering the measures adopted on 1 December.

Mariana Viera da Silva clarified that on Friday, 17 December, minister Marta Temido will make the information that exists about the pandemic in the country known so that the Portuguese can "take their individual decisions and measures".

The minister explained that on Friday no new restrictive measures will be presented to face the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Never, until today, have measures been taken at a press conference by a single member of the Government”, she said, arguing that the measures decided by the Government a month ago, such as more tests, masks, vaccines and border control, “have had positive impacts and should continue to be used”.