Marta Temido stressed that the country is in a “phase of self-responsibility”, arguing that individual behaviours must adapt to the evolution of the pandemic.

Projections from the National Institute of Health Doctor Ricardo Jorge (INSA) point to the country being able to reach 60,000 daily cases by the end of May, said the minister.

The Minister of Health stressed that decisions about the pandemic were “always technically founded”, but admitted that they have “a component of a political reading of reality and of what social expectations are and the proportionality of measures to face each moment of evolution in the pandemic”.

“We know we may have to save measures for more difficult times. The question is whether this moment is a moment that will become more difficult or if we can beat it,” she said.

She also underlined that at this stage the number of daily cases is an indicator that is “very different from what it was some time ago”, not having the same weight in the decision of measures.

“We would all like to be able to respond only to pathologies other than Covid-19, but we also knew that the epidemic was not over and that we were subject to a new wave,” she said.