SANTIAGO, April 19 (Xinhua) -- Chile's health ministry on Monday reported 6,643 new COVID-19 infections and 100 new deaths in the last 24 hours, bringing the national tallies to 1,131,340 and 25,277 respectively.
There has been a 5-percent decline in cases nationwide over the past week, Health Minister Enrique Paris told a press conference.
However, he warned, "this is the highest weekly (international) increase in the number of cases since the pandemic began, essentially we have huge increases in India, Brazil and in the southern Cone of Latin America."
Faced with this scenario, Paris said that it is necessary to "continue working together, without giving up or giving in" so as to overcome the pandemic.
Meanwhile, according to the health ministry, 7,735,162 people have been inoculated with at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine, while 5,428,829 have received their second dose.
The Chilean government aims to immunize 15 million people, or 80 percent of the total population, during the first half of 2021. Enditem
