It looked like a relaxed summer.

The beaches are filling up, in Lisbon and Porto it is often difficult to find a hotel room.

But before the season really begins, Portugal is overwhelmed by a new wave of infections.

Since the end of March, the BA.5 omicron subtype has been spreading in the country, which has already largely displaced the BA.2 variant, which is dominant in Germany.

BA.5 accounts for more than 80 percent of all new cases, according to the Department of Health.

The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) has now warned that variants BA.4 and BA.5, first discovered in South Africa, are more contagious and could lead to an increase in the number of cases.

Hans Christian Roessler

Political correspondent for the Iberian Peninsula and the Maghreb based in Madrid.

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This can already be observed in Portugal.

The seven-day incidence has almost tripled since early May.

Most recently it was just under 1800. In Germany, on the other hand, the incidence has meanwhile fallen below 200 before rising slightly again on Tuesday to 201.7.

Experts fear that the number of cases in Portugal could actually be twice as high because of the high number of unreported cases.

The daily average of new cases rose from 2,290 per million population last week to 2,580 earlier this week, according to Our World in Data.

For comparison: In Spain there are 449, in Germany 338. Portugal is therefore the EU country with the most new Covid cases, and it is second in the world.

Increasing numbers after easing

The increasing number of deaths is particularly worrying.

So far, people in Portugal have felt well protected.

The country is one of the world leaders in vaccination coverage.

More than 87 percent of the population are fully vaccinated, and a good 63 percent have received a booster vaccination.

The "Instituto Superior Técnico" of the University of Lisbon speaks of alarming numbers with regard to mortality, which had increased by 50 percent by mid-May alone and could increase further.

Most recently, there were 230 deaths a week, mostly older people.

The mortality rate caused by Covid is thus twice as high in Portugal as the threshold set at European level.

At the same time, hospital occupancy increased by 27 percent.

The Hospital do Divino Espírito in Ponta Delgada in the Azores treats 70 Covid patients as inpatients.

That is the highest number there since the beginning of the pandemic.

Doctors complain about the “enormous burden” in the affected departments.

In view of the increasing numbers, a return to the restrictions, which were almost completely lifted on April 21, is being discussed again in Portugal - a little later the incidence increased again.

Since then, the mask requirement has only applied in public transport, health facilities and nursing homes.

The government and the president leave it at appeals to the personal responsibility of the citizens.

However, the head of the Portuguese health authority DGS, Graça Freitas, said it makes sense to wear masks indoors and when there are large crowds of people.

Restaurateurs are beginning to advocate wearing face masks again because some of their staff are becoming scarce again due to the many infections.

Admiral Gouveia e Melo, who organized the vaccination campaign in Portugal,