Portugal sees biggest daily jump in infections since mid-February

The Delta variant now accounts for more than half of cases in the country

A woman receives her Covid-19 vaccine in Portugal. Bloomberg

Coronavirus cases in Portugal jumped by 2,362 in the past 24 hours, the biggest increase since mid-February, official data showed on Wednesday, as authorities scrambled to stop the spread of the more contagious Delta variant.

Portugal, with a population of 10 million, faced its toughest battle against the coronavirus in January. But a recent surge in cases brought daily numbers to levels last seen in February, when the country was under a strict lockdown. Daily coronavirus deaths, in single digits, remain well below February levels.

The first cases of the Delta variant were registered in Portugal in April and now it accounts for more than half of cases in the country, which has the EU's second highest seven-day rolling average of cases per capita.

Portugal, which has fully vaccinated about 31 per cent of its population, has recorded 879,557 cases and 17,096 deaths since the pandemic began. Most of the new cases are in Lisbon.

Authorities are speeding up vaccinations and have imposed new restrictions in a few municipalities, including in the Lisbon area.

The jump in infections comes after Portugal opened to visitors from the EU and Britain in mid-May. Most businesses have reopened and, as the summer season begins, beaches are packed.

Britain removed Portugal from its quarantine-free travel list earlier this month and Germany declared Portugal to be a "virus-variant zone" last week, leaving the country's tourism sector in a tight spot.

Portugal said on Monday that British visitors must quarantine for 14 days if they are not fully vaccinated.

Finance Minister Joao Leao said he was confident there would be "a robust economic recovery in the second half of the year, despite uncertainty over the impact of the Delta variant", reiterating his view that growth should exceed 4 per cent this year.

The economy contracted 7.6 per cent last year in its worst recession since 1936.