“This is the so-called long-awaited news. With so many countries, namely in Europe, having positive cases, it was surprising that there was no positive case in Portugal”, said the President of the Republic on arrival at the International Exhibition of the Food and Beverages Sector (SISAB), in Lisbon.

In the view of the Portuguese head of state, "one should not be alarmed"

“It must be admitted that this is a phenomenon that was to be expected. Six weeks passed and what was strange was that, in all neighbouring countries, close by, where our compatriots were going and where our compatriots were coming from, there was no case in Portugal”, stressed the President.

Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa noted that "these two [cases] that are confirmed have an origin outside of Portuguese territory and that it is easy to detect, which is an advantage".

“So far, with origins in Portugal, there are still none. We will continue to follow developments serenely”, considered the President.

There is a confirmed case and the other case awaits a counter-examination through analysis by the National Institute Dr. Ricardo Jorge (INSA), said the Minister of Health, Marta Temido, in a clarification session to update information related to the infection by the new coronavirus (Covid -19).

The confirmed case is that of a 60-year-old man, who is admitted to the Centro Hospitalar de São João who reported his first symptoms on 26 February.

The other man, 33, who is awaiting the counter-analysis, reported the first symptoms on 29 February, said the minister, adding that the two men, who are hospitalized in Porto, are in good health and were in Italy and in Spain.

A Portuguese crew member of a cruise ship is hospitalized in Japan with confirmation of infection.

The Covid-19 outbreak, detected in December in China, and which can cause respiratory infections such as pneumonia, caused at least 2,980 deaths and infected more than 87,000 people, according to data reported by 60 countries.

Of the infected people, more than 41,000 recovered.

In addition to 2,873 deaths in China, there are fatalities in Iran, Italy, South Korea, Japan, France, Taiwan, Australia, Thailand, the United States of America and the Philippines.

The World Health Organization (WHO) declared the Covid-19 outbreak as an international public health emergency and increased the risk to “very high”.

The DGS maintained on Saturday the risk of the epidemic for public health at “moderate to high”.