The total number of infections in Portugal has now reached 1,950,620.
According to the epidemiological bulletin released by the Directorate-General for Health (DGS), there were 46 more deaths from complications related to the virus.
This is the highest number since February 26, 2021, and the total number of fatalities now stands at 19,380.
Germany reported 112,323 new coronavirus cases on Wednesday, a fresh single-day record as the health minister said the peak had not been reached and compulsory vaccination should be introduced quickly, in April or May, to avoid another wave of infections with possible new variants in autumn.
Germany’s tally of COVID-19 infections now stands at 8,186,850, the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for infectious disease said. The death toll also rose by 239 on Wednesday to reach 116,081.
The COVID-19 situation continues to worsen in France, with 464,769 new cases detected in the past 24 hours, it was announced by the country's public health agency on Tuesday. This broke the previous daily record of 368,149 cases.
The agency said that 3,881 COVID-19 patients were being treated in intensive care, accounting for over 70 percent of the French health system's current capacity.
French Prime Minister Jean Castex announced two new measures providing government aid to companies that have been struggling due to the pandemic.
The first measure will help small companies (with less than 250 employees) that lost more than 30 percent of their turnover in December 2021 and January 2022, by covering 20 percent of their social contributions.
The second concerns companies that lost more than 65 percent of their turnover, and have asked employees to work part-time. These companies will be exempted from charges normally paid by employers for permanent staff, and will also receive aid equivalent to 20 percent of their social contribution payments.
On January 16, the French National Assembly adopted the vaccine pass law, which makes the pass mandatory for people over the age of 16 to enter public venues.
Children between the ages of 12 and 15 are not obliged to have the vaccine pass, but must present a health pass.
Turkey on Tuesday reported 69,658 new COVID-19 cases, raising its tally of infections to 10,591,757, according to its health ministry.
The death toll from the virus in Turkey rose by 157 to 85,077, while 77,612 more people recovered in the last 24 hours.
More than 57.28 million people have received their first doses of the vaccine, while over 52.18 million had their second doses. Turkey has so far administered over 139.86 million doses including third booster jabs. ■