The expression of the pandemic on national territory continues to be characterised by a high degree of heterogeneity. Some of the results obtained in this context:
• Since the beginning of March, the preliminary number of deaths in 2020 for the country as a whole, as measured over the last four weeks, has remained higher than in the same reference period (average for the same period in 2018 and 2019). In 186 of the 308 Portuguese municipalities, where 76% of the population lives, the number of deaths between 31 August and 27 September 2020 was higher than the corresponding reference value.
• On 7 October, the highest number of new cases (cumulative values for the last 7 days) in Portugal was recorded: 6 138 new cases (corresponding to 6.0 new cases per 10,000 inhabitants). On October 4, the 5,618 new cases registered on April 2 (corresponding to 5.5 new cases per 10,000 inhabitants) were exceeded for the first time.
• On October 4, the date of the last data update at the municipal level, there were 5.7 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 per 10 thousand inhabitants (last 7 days). In 44 municipalities, this ratio was higher than the national average, with 10 out of the 18 municipalities of Metropolitan Area of Lisboa standing out: Loures (12.4 new cases per 10,000 inhabitants), Odivelas (9.7), Sintra (9.3), Lisboa (8.8), Almada (8.5), Seixal (6.7), Cascais (6.6), Amadora (6.0), Vila Franca de Xira (5.8) and Oeiras (5.8). In the Metropolitan Area of Porto, only the municipality of Porto (7.2) exceeded the average of new cases registered for the country.
• The analysis focused on the last two weeks showed the slowdown in the growth rates of the number of new cases (last 7 days) in the metropolitan areas of Porto and Lisboa in comparison to the ones recorded for the country. In the week ending in 4 October, this rate was +11.1% in the Metropolitan Area of Porto and +8.8% in the Metropolitan Area of Lisboa, while the growth in the country was +21.3%. The relative importance of the number of new cases (last 7 days) of the metropolitan areas in the country has been decreasing since the week ending in 20 September (43% in the Metropolitan Area of Lisboa and 13% in the Metropolitan Area of Porto). In the seven days ending in 4 October, the Metropolitan Area of Lisboa accounted for 36% of the new cases in the country (28% of the population in 2019) and the Metropolitan Area of Porto accounted for 11% (17% of the resident population in 2019).
• In the Algarve, half of the 16 municipalities in this region have exceeded the number of new cases confirmed per 10 thousand inhabitants (last 7 days) in the country: Alcoutim (50.9) - a situation which stands out among the municipalities in the country - Castro Marim (12.8), Vila Real de Santo António (11.7), Tavira (10.2), Vila do Bispo (9.7), Albufeira (8.2), Portimão (6.5) and Loulé (5.8).
• Two municipalities with more than 30 new confirmed cases per 10 thousand inhabitants are also worth mentioning: Montalegre (44.5) in the sub-region of Alto Tâmega and Bragança (31.8) in Terras de Trás-os-Montes.