Portugal records highest number of virus cases since pandemic began

Portugal reported more than 1,646 new cases of the coronavirus on Saturday, its highest daily count since the start of the pandemic.

The country has seen a steady rise in new infections in the past six weeks.

The 115 cases per 100,000 inhabitants accumulated over 14 days are still significantly lower than neighboring Spain (308) and France (267).

The country has reached a total of 86,664 confirmed cases and 2,080 deaths.

One person at the beach in Cascais rejected the idea of another lockdown.

''It would be catastrophic for our economy to shut down again,'' said 54-year-old Miguel Monteiro.