People wearing masks walk past a museum in Santiago, Chile, March 20, 2020. (Photo by Jorge Villegas/Xinhua)
All of the latest fatalities involved "very elderly" people aged 81 to 87 with pre-existing ailments, "fundamentally cancer, very advanced dementia and Alzheimer's," Health Minister Jaime Manalich said at a press conference.
SANTIAGO, April 9 (Xinhua) -- Chile's Ministry of Health on Thursday reported 5,972 confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) and 57 deaths from the disease.
In the past 24 hours, 426 cases of infection and nine more deaths were registered.
All of the latest fatalities involved "very elderly" people aged 81 to 87 with pre-existing ailments, "fundamentally cancer, very advanced dementia and Alzheimer's," Health Minister Jaime Manalich said at a press conference.
Chile plans to issue a "discharge card" for COVID-19 patients who have recovered, which will exempt them from lockdown measures so they can return to normal life, said Manalich.
In the past day, 7,942 tests have been applied, resulting in a 5.3 percent rate of testing positive for the virus, he added.
With 65 percent of Chile's existing respirators in use, the country has had to order more from abroad, and "fortunately they are arriving" from three different sources, said Manalich.
Some companies and universities in the South American country are working on manufacturing respirators based on international prototypes, but they would still need to be certified by the Institute of Public Health, a procedure that could take some time, he noted.
Chile intensified lockdown measures in major cities on Thursday to prevent residents from heading to the beach during the coming Holy Week long weekend.
The government has also called for the mandatory use of face masks on all public transit and paid private transportation, a measure that took effect on Wednesday. ■
