Portugal cuts COVID-19 isolation from 10 days to seven

The move, which also applies to high-risk contacts, came after health experts urged the government to rethink its policy amid concerns that the spread of the highly contagious Omicron variant and lengthy quarantines could paralyse the country.

"This decision is aligned with guidelines from other countries and is a result of a technical and weighted consideration, given the incubation period of the now predominant variant, Omicron," the DGS health authority said in a statement. Portugal's decision follows similar moves in other countries like Spain and Britain where several industries reported disruption as staff had to isolate even if they weren't showing symptoms.

The Portuguese island of Madeira on Wednesday decided to cut mandatory isolation for asymptomatic people who test positive to five days, as well as for people who have close contact with confirmed cases. Daily coronavirus cases have soared in Portugal this week, peaking at a record 28,659 on Thursday, due to the fast-spreading Omicron and amplified by an increase in mass testing.

Although the number of infections has skyrocketed, deaths and patients in intensive care units are not growing exponentially. Portugal has one of the world's highest COVID-19 vaccination rates, with around 87% of its 10-million population fully inoculated. DGS registered 16 deaths on Thursday, up from Wednesday's 12, while the number of patients in intensive care units fell to 144 from 151.

In late January, the number of daily deaths exceeded 300 and there were more than 900 patients in intensive care.