Chile surpasses 1.2 million cases of Covid

Santiago, May 2 (IANS) Chile has surpassed 1.2 million cases of Covid-19, Chilean Health Minister Enrique Paris announced on Saturday.The official said that in the last 24 hours, another 6,469 new cases of Covid-19 were registered, bringing the total to 1,204,755, of which 1,136,816 have recovered, the Xinhua news agency reported.Additionally, another 104 deaths from the disease were reported in the last day, bringing the total to 26,457.Paris stated that the Magallanes region in the southern part of the country has seen a 5 per cent increase in cases in the last seven days.In March and April, Chile experienced the peak of infection, and it is currently reporting between 5,000 and 7,000 daily cases.The Chilean government on Thursday lifted the quarantine in 10 communes in the Santiago Metropolitan Region, with shopping areas and restaurants allowed to reopen, though the quarantine will be reinstated on the weekends.The health ministry reported on Monday that it would keep the nation's borders closed for the whole month of May after enacting this measure on April 5.
--IANS int/rs