BUENOS AIRES, Oct. 7 (Xinhua) -- Argentina reported a record daily increase of 16,447 in COVID-19 infections, taking the national count to 840,915, the health ministry said Wednesday.
Up to 401 deaths were registered over the past 24 hours, raising the nationwide death toll to 22,226 cases, it said.
Currently, 3,997 patients are being hospitalized for the disease in intensive care units, while 670,725 have so far recovered, it added.
Buenos Aires Province, the largest in the South American country, has so far registered 451,286 infections, remaining the worst hit one among all provinces.
The number of COVID-19 cases in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area was declining, although at a "less obvious" rate, said Nicolas Kreplak, deputy health minister of the Buenos Aires Province on Wednesday.
However, he stressed that "it is still the radiation focus of the whole country" and warned that "if the circulation of people increases significantly, the number of cases may increase again."
Argentina is under quarantine by a presidential decree from March 20 to Oct. 11 to curb the spread of the pandemic, with only industrial and business activities permitted. Enditem
