This statement is made by the virologist at the Instituto de Medicina Molecular, Pedro Simas, in an interview with SIC Notícias.
The specialist had already stated yesterday, on the New Day program on CNN Portugal, that the country is endemic.
Portugal reached, this Tuesday, after Christmas, a new record of daily cases of covid-19, with 17,172 new infections. However, and unlike last year, there were only 19 deaths and 22 hospitalized patients.
“These levels, for me, are not beyond what is expected of endemic levels,” the virologist maintains, adding that the divergence between infections and death toll “is typical of endemic.”
Pedro Simas explains that the Ómicron variant “is less virulent” and “more contagious”, so “unquestionably, it will conquer the whole world and will make Delta disappear, which is more virulent”.
“There is no doubt that omicron dominance will totally defeat the delta variant. “This is the end of the pandemic and it will be worldwide,” he reiterated.
Also in an interview with SIC Notícias, Pedro Simas said that the restrictions currently in force are “extremely painful”.
On the other hand, he argues that the focus should be on three aspects: boosting dose to risk groups, using masks “in general” and reducing testing to covid-19.