The highest number of tests in a day was also registered this week, on Tuesday, November 30, when around 117,000 were carried out, according to authorities, who stressed that all these numbers exclude self-tests.

Before this week, when new pandemic control rules came into effect, with the requirement for testing for more situations, including vaccinated, the day with the highest number of tests occurred on April 21 of this year, with about 98,000.

The positivity rate of the 113,000 tests carried out on December 2 was 2.5%, according to a statement released today by the Task Force to promote the Operationalization Plan for the Testing Strategy for SARS-CoV-2 in Portugal.

Between November 30th and December 2nd, around 300 thousand tests were carried out in Portugal and, on November 26th, 21 million were reached since March 2020, the note reads.

“In November, around 1.5 million diagnostic tests were performed, with a daily average of around 50,000 tests,” revealed a covid-19 testing task force.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, approximately 15.2 million TAAN / PCR tests and approximately 6.4 million TRAg for professional use (rapid) have been performed, for a total of 21.6 million tests.

The rapid antigen tests carried out in pharmacies and laboratories that adhere to the exceptional reimbursement scheme were once again free of charge on 19 November.

The exceptional and temporary regime had ended in October, taking into account that Portugal was close to reaching 85% of the population fully vaccinated against covid-19, but the reduction was resumed when reactivating it due to the current epidemiological situation, with an increase in cases of covid-19 and admissions.

The measure, which now covers the entire population, “intends to strengthen the protection of public health and the control of the covid-19 pandemic and runs until December 31”, refers to a testing `task force`, coordinated by Fernando Almeida, president of the National Institute of Health Doctor Ricardo Jorge (INSA).

In the statement, the working group recalls that the reactivation of the exceptional and temporary reimbursement scheme “aims to contribute to the detection and early isolation of cases, to prevent and mitigate the impact of SARS-CoV-2 infection on health services and populations vulnerable, as well as reducing and controlling the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 infection and monitoring the epidemiological evolution of covid-19.

Since December 1st, no access to homes, adapted healthcare facilities, major cultural or sporting events and nightclubs has been required to present a negative SARS-CoV-2 virus detection test, a measure that even applies to people vaccinated against covid-19.