Omicron is now the dominant variant in Portugal

The latest Covid-19 monitoring report shows that the Omicron variant had an “exponential growth” in the number of probable cases as of December 6 2021. INSA estimates that the Ómicron variant accounted for 82.9% of the cases as of December 29.

INSA data points to a “very high” intensity in Covid-19 epidemic activity, with an increasing trend at the national level, but especially in the Lisbon and Tagus Valley region. INSA classified the pressure on health services and impact on mortality as high, “although with a stable trend, revealing regional asymmetries”.

The rapid increase in the number of cases will intensify the pressure on the entire health system, although the magnitude is still uncertain, INSA warns. This evolution, in turn, will be conditioned by the “probable lesser severity” of the infection by Omicron, as well as by the protective effect of the booster dose.

The INSA report also adds that the Rt (risk of transmissibility, i.e. the average number of people each patient infects) has a value equal to or greater than 1, with an increasing trend in the number of infections in all regions of the country.