A night-time curfew will be imposed in several Portuguese municipalities, including the capital Lisbon and the city of Porto, as authorities scramble to bring under control a surge in Covid-19 infections, the government has said.

The 11pm to 5am curfew, which starts on Friday, will be in place in 45 high-risk municipalities, including tourist magnet Albufeira in the sunny southern Algarve region, according to a Reuters report.

Cases in Portugal, which faced its toughest battle against the coronavirus in January, jumped by 2,449, the biggest increase since mid-February. Daily coronavirus deaths, in single digits, remain well below February levels, however.