Portugal has today registered 246 deaths associated with covid-19, 37 more than on Thursday, and 9,886 infected (more 852), according to the epidemiological bulletin released by the Directorate-General for Health (DGS) ).

The epidemiological situation report, with data updated until midnight on Thursday, indicates that the North region is the one with the highest number of deaths (131), followed by the Center region (61), the Lisbon region and Vale do Tejo (51) and the Algarve, where today the same number of deaths is maintained (3) and the first death was recorded in Alentejo.

In relation to Thursday, when there were 209 deaths, today there was an increase of 17.7% (plus 37).

According to DGS data, there are 9,886 confirmed cases, plus 852, an increase of 9.4% over Thursday.

Of the 246 deaths recorded, 156 were over 80 years old, 58 were aged between 70 and 79 years old, 21 between 60 and 69 years old, nine between 50 and 59 years old and two deaths between 40 and 49 years old.

Of the 9,886 people infected with the new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), the vast majority (8,583) are recovering at home, 1,058 (plus 16, + 1.5%) are hospitalized, 245 (plus five, + 02%) of which in Intensive Care Units.

DGS data, which refer to 79% of confirmed cases, state that Lisbon is the municipality with the highest number of SARSCov2 coronavirus infections (634), followed by Porto (606 cases), Vila Nova de Gaia ( 449), Gondomar (424), Maia (390), Matosinhos (368), Braga (305), Valongo (308), Sintra (242) and Ovar (220).

Since January 1, 74,377 suspected cases have been registered, of which 5,392 are awaiting the results of the analyzes.

The epidemiological bulletin also indicates that there are 59,099 cases in which the test results were negative and that the number of 68 recovered patients remains in relation to Thursday.

The North region continues to register the highest number of infections, totaling 5,899, followed by the region of Lisbon and the Tagus Valley, with 2,347 cases, the Center (1,286), the Algarve (179) and the Alentejo region, which today has 62 cases .

There are still 63 people infected with covid-19 in the Azores and 50 in Madeira.

The DGS also records 22,556 contacts under surveillance by the authorities (758 more than on Thursday).

The age group most affected is 40 to 49 years old (1,827), followed by 50 to 59 years old (1,786), 30 to 39 years old (1,473) and 60 to 69 years old (1,325).

There are also 133 cases of children aged up to nine years old, 236 of young people aged between 10 and 19 years old and in the ages between 20 and 29 years old there are 1,005 cases.

The data also indicate that there are 945 cases of people aged between 70 and 79 years old and 1,156 over 80 years old.

According to the DGS report, 152 cases result from the importation of the virus from Spain, 107 from France, 59 from the United Kingdom, 40 from the United Arab Emirates, 39 from Switzerland, 29 from Italy, 21 from Andorra, 17 from the USA, 14 from Australia , 14 from the Netherlands, 14 from Brazil, 11 from Argentina, nine from Belgium, seven from Germany, six from Austria, five from Canada and one from Cape Verde, where four cases had initially been estimated.

The bulletin also reports on three cases imported from India, three from Israel, two cases from Egypt, two from Ireland, two from Jamaica and two from Thailand.

A case was also imported from Austria / Germany, Chile, Cuba, Denmark, Indonesia, Iran, Luxembourg, Malta, Maldives, Norway, Pakistan, Poland, Qatar, Czech Republic, Sweden, Ukraine and Venezuela.

According to DGS, 60% of patients positive for the new coronavirus have cough symptoms, 48% fever, 33% muscle pain, 29% headache, 25% general weakness and 19% breathing difficulty. This information refers to 78% of cases.

Covid-19, caused by the new SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, is an acute respiratory infection that can trigger pneumonia.

Portugal, where the first case was confirmed on March 2, is already in the third and most serious phase of response to the disease (Mitigation Phase), activated when there is local transmission, in a closed environment, and / or community transmission.