COVID19: Chile confirms 2nd death from coronavirus; total cases rise to 746

SANTIAGO – The death toll from COVID-19, a novel coronavirus, has reached to 2 in Chile, the health authorities confirmed on Monday.  The elderly patient had cancer.

Yesterday, Chilean President Sebastian Piñera had confirmed the first death of an 83 year old woman due to COVID-19 in the South American country. 

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Coronavirus in Chile

Total Cases: 746

Recovered: 11

Active Cases: 733

Deaths: 2

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The Chilean Ministry of Health reported on Monday that a total of 746 people have been diagnosed with the disease. Eleven of them have recovered from the illness.

On Friday, the government ordered the closing of cinemas, theaters, restaurants, bars, and nightclubs across the country, as well as the suspension of all sporting events in order to curb the spread of the virus.

Last Thursday, Health Minister Jaime Mañalich had anticipated that by the end of the year the Chilean government projects more than 1.5 million infections.

“Positive cases are doubling every three days, more or less what we had anticipated,” explained the Health minister.

President Pinera previously declared a state of emergency in the capital of Santiago in October 2019 amid widespread protests and unrest following rises in the cost of living in the country, which severely affected his popularity among residents.

Globally, at least 188 countries have been affected, more than 15,500 people have died and over 360,600 infected by the disease as it spreads rapidly to new territories. The epicentre of the outbreak has now shifted from China to Europe, which is recording a rapid rise in new cases every day. A total of 100,658 people have also recovered from the mysterious illness.