Lisbon, Jan 1 : Portugal registered 30,829 new Covid-19 infected cases in the last 24 hours, a new high since the beginning of the pandemic and bringing the total number of infections to 1,389,646. There were also 18 more deaths associated with Covid-19, according to figures released by the Portuguese Directorate-General for Health (DGS) on Friday. The daily epidemiological bulletin of the DGS registers a reduction in the number of hospitalised people, totaling 1,024 admissions, 145 of which are in intensive care units, Xinhua news agency reported. The Omicron variant is responsible for 82.9 per cent of registered infections in the country, said the country's Health authorities. Since December 6, there has been an exponential growth in the proportion of probable cases of the Omicron variant, it added. /IANS