Portugal has said it hoped to vaccinate a further 1.7 million people against Covid-19 over the next two weeks as authorities scramble to contain a surge in infections caused by the more contagious Delta variant.

Cases in Portugal, a nation of just over 10m, jumped by 2,605, the biggest increase since Feb 13, taking the total cases since the pandemic began to 887,047.

Portugal has fully vaccinated around 35 per cent of its population, and those aged 18 to 29 can start booking vaccination appointments on Sunday, according to a Reuters report.