SANTIAGO – Chilean authorities have detected 4,276 new cases of COVID-19 infection and 41 more deaths in the past 24 hours, according to the latest report from the Health Ministry on Friday.
Of the new cases, 3,863 displayed symptoms and 413 were asymptomatic, while 25,342 patients have recovered.
The South American country has now 61,857 cases of coronavirus, taking the 16th spot in the list of countries with the highest numbers of infections.
Chile is still working to increase the number of ventilators available, Health Minister Jaime Manalich, wearing a face mask, told reporters at an outdoor press conference this week.
“We have brought six new ventilators. In the next few days, four more, and next week, an additional 10 ventilators, and then 10 more the following week, to meet the needs of the region,” said Manalich.
Manalich praised healthcare workers for their role in combating the pandemic, calling them “the new heroes.”
“We are fighting against a terrible enemy that infiltrates our homes, impoverishes us, distances us from our loved ones, causes uncertainty (and) burdens our hospital networks and our public health officials, who also fall ill and also suffer,” said Manalich.
A lockdown in the capital Santiago and surrounding regions, home to 7 million people, is in place till next Friday (May 29).
