LISBON, Jan. 5 (Xinhua) -- Portugal registered on Wednesday over 39,570 confirmed cases of COVID-19, a new record of daily infections, leading the total infections to 1,499,976 since the beginning of the pandemic, according to the Directorate-General for Health (DGS).
There were an additional 14 deaths associated with the new coronavirus in the last 24 hours, bringing the total to 19,029 fatalities since March 2020.
Forty-eight more people were hospitalized, according to the data from DGS. In total, 1,251 patients are hospitalized with COVID-19 in Portuguese, including 143 in intensive care units.
Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said on Wednesday that part of the reason for the increase in infections was because "the levels of testing are five times higher than a year ago."
"This represents an effort on the part of the Portuguese and their ability to cooperate in controlling the pandemic," he added.
He also stressed the importance of vaccination, saying it has helped "prevent seriousness, hospitalizations, and deaths" of the COVID-19.
According to official data from Portuguese health authorities, 88 percent of the population has completed vaccination with two doses against COVID-19, and more than three million people have already taken the booster dose. Enditem
