"At this moment, the signs we see remain encouraging," said the minister today, speaking at the daily press conference to monitor the covid-19 pandemic.

The minister left the Portuguese with a "word of confidence and at the same time of prudence", guaranteeing that "every day" the consequences of the executive's decisions are evaluated.

Marta Temido added that, in the last five days, the average daily number of new cases is 200 and that of deaths is 12.

The number of tests for the disease, the minister continued, "has continued to grow, with more than 15,800 tests" carried out daily, on average, over the past five days.

"We left the times when the incidence reached its maximum exponent (...) Fortunately, it is a stage that we have passed", concretized Marta Temido, even recognizing that it is still not possible to "observe the totality of decisions" taken by the executive, namely at the level of the deconfiguration phases.

The containment objectives were "generally fulfilled", at the level, for example, of slowing down the transmission of infection and safeguarding the capacity of the Health system.

"But, as we all know, individually and collectively, measures have their saturation point and confinement also has adverse effects, and we all learned that. Gradually distrusting is important to continue to protect people, this is really the best strategy" , concretized.

The impact of the pandemic on the economy and on society can have "very serious consequences", added the minister, giving examples with regard to "health inequalities" and the mental health of citizens.

Portugal today registers 1,203 deaths related to covid-19, 13 more than on Friday, and 28,810 infected, 227 more, according to the epidemiological bulletin released today by the General Directorate of Health.

In comparison with Friday's data, which recorded 1,190 deaths, today there was an increase in deaths of 1%.

Regarding the number of confirmed cases of infection with the new coronavirus (28,810), data from the Directorate-General for Health (DGS) show that there are 227 more cases than on Friday (28,583), representing an increase of 0.8% .

Portugal entered on May 3 in a calamity situation due to the pandemic, after three consecutive periods in a state of emergency since March 19.

This new phase of combating covid-19 provides for mandatory confinement for sick people and under active surveillance, the general duty of home collection and the mandatory use of masks or visors in public transport, public attendance services, schools and commercial establishments.

The Government approved on Friday new measures that come into force on Monday, including the resumption of visits to users of nursing homes, the reopening of daycare centers, face-to-face classes for the 11th and 12th years and the reopening of some street shops, cafes, restaurants, museums, monuments and palaces. The return of community religious ceremonies is scheduled for May 30 and the beaches will open for June 6