Monitoring the epidemiological situation of COVID-19 Report 25.
The Directorate-General for Health (DGS) and the National Institute of Health Doutor Ricardo Jorge (INSA) release report No. 25 dated 31st August 2022 on monitoring the epidemiological situation of COVID-19. The document includes several indicators, namely the seven-day incidence and the transmissibility index (R(t)), nationally and by health region, among others.
High transmission with a stable trend Severity and impact with a stable trend The COVID-19 epidemic maintained a high incidence, with a possible inversion of the decreasing trend presented in previous weeks. The number of COVID-19 hospitalisation and the specific mortality show a stable trend. Surveillance of the epidemiological situation of COVID-19 should be maintained, and it is recommended to maintain the individual protection measures and booster vaccination, as well as a frequent communication of these measures to the population.
- The cumulative number of new SARS-CoV-2 infection / COVID-19 cases per 100 000 inhabitants over the last 7 days was 179 cases, reflecting a national stable trend. Most of the health regions present an inversion of the downward trend seen on the last weeks.
- The effective reproduction number (R(t)) was above 1 at national level and in most regions, indicating an increasing trend of new cases.
- The number of COVID-19 cases admitted to Intensive Care Units (ICU) in mainland Portugal showed a decreasing trend, corresponding to 14.1% (15.3% in the previous analysis period) of the defined critical value of 255 occupied beds.
- The ratio between the number of hospitalized cases and notified infections was 0.31, presenting an increasing trend.
- The BA.5 lineage of Omicron variant continues to be clearly dominant in Portugal, with an estimated relative frequency of 94% on week 33 (15/08/2022 to 21/08/2022). This lineage has shown an enhanced transmissibility, which is likely mediated by additional mutations associated with human cell binding and/or immune evasion.
- The COVID-19 specific mortality (8.1 deaths per 1 000 000 inhabitants over the last 14 days) has stabilized. All-cause mortality is within the expected range for the time of year, which indicates the end of the period of excess mortality that was taking place.