Chile reports record daily deaths from COVID-19, with over 127,000 cases

In the past 24 hours, the Carabineros de Chile have detained 1,207 people for not respecting sanitary measures.– Photo by Mildred Caranto/The Santiago Times Staff

SANTIAGO – The Ministry of Health on Saturday reported 5,246 new cases of coronavirus in Chile, reaching a total of 127,745 since the start of the pandemic.

In addition, it was reported that 93 people died in the last day, bringing the number of fatalities in the country to 1,541.

This is the highest daily number of deaths since the arrival of the disease in the South American country, exceeding the 92 fatalities reported on Friday.

Of the new cases reported, Undersecretary of Health Paula Daza stated that 4,888 were people with symptoms, while 358 were considered asymptomatic.

Of the total infected, 1,542 people are hospitalized, of which 1,294 are in mechanical ventilation.

In addition, 353 patients are considered to be in critical condition and there are still 312 mechanical ventilators available nationwide.

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It was also highlighted that there are 11,786 places available in healthcare residences throughout the country and that on the last day 18,954 PCR tests were carried out, reaching 687,510 total tests since the start of the pandemic.

Meanwhile, the Carabineros said that during this day from Friday to early Saturday morning, 1,207 people were detained for not respecting sanitary measures.

Of these, 1017 were for not respecting quarantine, while 190 for violating the curfew arranged between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m.

The Gran Santiago remains in quarantine for seven days. The measure, which is on the way to one month since it came into effect, has not yielded the expected results.

Confinement was also prolonged for Iquique and Alto Hospicio, as there is not yet a significant decrease in coronavirus infections. Lonquimay is the only one that will have the measure lifted.

Chile has the highest totals for coronavirus cases in Latin America, after Brazil and Peru.

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