LISBON: Portugal reported on Friday a new daily record of 30,829 coronavirus cases, up from 28,659 the previous day, with the rapidly spreading Omicron variant accounting for an estimated 83% of all new cases, official data showed.

Health authority DGS registered 18 fatalities from COVID-19, up from Thursday's 16, but that was only a fraction of the more than 300 daily deaths suffered in late January, when Portugal had just begun its vaccination campaign.

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The number of patients in intensive care was steady at 145, also well below more than 900 in early 2021.

Portugal has one of the world's highest COVID-19 vaccination rates with around 87% of its 10 million population fully inoculated.

In the run-up to New Year's Eve, the government ordered nightclubs and bars to close, people to get mandatory COVID-19 tests to enter hotels, casinos and restaurants, and limited outdoor gatherings to 10 people.