Chile confirms 5,116 cases of COVID-19, 43 deaths

A staff disinfects a bench at a square in Santiago, Chile, March 24, 2020. (Photo by Jorge Villegas/Xinhua)

As many as 286 health-sector professionals have come down with the coronavirus, 256 of whom work in public healthcare and 30 in the private sector; three are in serious condition and on respirators, said Chilean health minister.

SANTIAGO, April 7 (Xinhua) -- Chile's Health Ministry on Tuesday reported that 5,116 people have tested positive for COVID-19, and 43 have died from the disease.

In the past 24 hours, 301 new cases of infection were detected and six patients died. Of those 357 infected have been hospitalized, with 286 requiring respirators, and 54 in critical condition.

According to Health Minister Jaime Manalich, 898 former COVID-19 patients "are no longer transmitters, that is they are not a source of infection for others. So, we are including them among the recovered."

As many as 286 health-sector professionals have come down with the coronavirus, 256 of whom work in public healthcare and 30 in the private sector; three are in serious condition and on respirators, said the minister.

Chile's government has extended an existing quarantine in six districts of the capital Santiago and its metropolitan area, and several other parts of the country where the infection rate remains high.

A nationwide curfew is in place, between 10 p.m. and 5 a.m., and the government has made it mandatory to use a mouth mask on all public transit and paid private transportation. ■