Sunday, June 20, 2021

Portugal Orders Lisbon into a Weekend Lockdown as the Delta Variant Spreads

THE NEW YORK TIMES: The decision came after the country registered this week its highest number of new cases since March, jumping by more than 1,300 in the past 24 hours.

The Portuguese authorities ordered a weekend lockdown of the capital region of Lisbon starting on Friday in an attempt to blunt a recent surge of new infections, offering a powerful reminder that even as Europe seeks to reopen more fully, the virus still poses challenges.

The decision came after Portugal registered this week its highest number of new cases since March, jumping by more than 1,300 in the past 24 hours.

Public health officials said that the rise in cases was steepest around Lisbon and they estimated that roughly half of the new cases involved the Delta variant, first detected in India and on the rise in other countries, including Britain. » | Raphael Minder | Friday, June 18, 2021