Santiago (Chile), March 18: Chile's Health Ministry reported on Wednesday 4,395 new COVID-19 cases and another 27 deaths related to the virus in one day, amid a spike in cases in the South American country.
According to official figures, Chile has accumulated a total of 905,212 cases and 21,816 deaths.
The country is facing an increase in COVID-19 cases in recent weeks, with the end of the summer season in the Southern Hemisphere and the start of the school year, among other in-person activities, leading to an increase in hospital demand.
Chilean Health Minister Enrique Paris said the number of hospital patients has risen by 15 percent in seven days and 37 percent in the last two weeks, noting that COVID-19 cases fell in only five regions of the country over the last week.
The surge in cases has led the government to declare quarantines in the most affected towns throughout the country.
Source: Xinhua