Portugal: Delta variant responsible for nearly 90% infections

The more contagious Delta coronavirus variant is responsible for nearly 90% of COVID-19 cases in Portugal and recorded a strong increase in the Northern region of Madeira and Azores, EURACTIV’s partner Lusa reported.

Delta was the dominant variant in Portugal from 21-27 June in Portugal, according to a report by the National Health Institute Doutor Ricardo Jorge (INSA) released on Tuesday.

“As expected, its frequency has increased in all regions” in the last month, registering a “strong increase” in the northern region, where it accounts for 71.1% of infections – 85.7% in Madeira and  64.7% in the Azores, the institute said.

Portugal has recently accelerated its vaccination campaign to respond to the rapid spread of the Delta variant, with about 850,000 doses administered per week, the task force in charge of coordinating logistics pointed out.

(Pedro Caetano, Lusa.pt)