“Portugal remains the fifth country in the European Union that carries out the most tests. This is public information. We conducted, according to data from the National Institute of Health Doctor Ricardo Jorge, from March 1 until 19 July more than one million and 316 thousand tests”, said Marta Temido.

According to the official, the percentage of tests carried out in March was 6.1%, a number that rose to 26.4% in April, while in May it was around 30.2% and in June at 26.8% %. In the current month, with data updated on 9 July, the percentage is 8.5%.

“This means that 111 thousand tests have already been carried out in July until yesterday [Thursday]. In April, there was an average [daily] of 11,500 tests, in May the average was 13,000 tests, in June it was 11,700 tests and in July it is 13,700 tests. And there are many employers and municipalities that are carrying out wide-ranging screenings, ”said Marta Temido.

The Minister of Health, who was speaking at the three-weekly press conference on the balance of the pandemic in the country, together with the Director-General of Health, Graça Freitas, guaranteed that Portugal is following “a strategy for testing symptomatic individuals and screening individuals. asymptomatic intensive and extended ”and also stressed the“ participation of various sectors of activity.

"This is something we do not intend to abdicate in the name of early case identification", he guaranteed.

Portugal accounts for at least 1,646 deaths associated with covid-19 in 45,679 confirmed cases of infection, according to the latest bulletin from the Directorate-General for Health (DGS)