Chile sees record 18,446 new COVID-19 cases in a day

SANTIAGO – Chile on Wednesday registered a record number of new COVID-19 cases in one day after tests detected 18,446 infections in 24 hours amid a resurgence driven by the Omicron variant of the virus.

The latest cases raised the nation’s total caseload to 2,020,082, the Health Ministry said.

In the same 24 hours, four more people died of causes associated with COVID-19, raising the death toll to 39,547, according to the ministry’s daily pandemic report.

“We are reporting the highest number of confirmed pandemic cases in the country, with the Omicron variant the most contagious so far,” Health Minister Enrique Paris said in a video message.

Read more: Chile’s COVID-19 cases top 2 mln

The national COVID-19 positivity rate for the 24-hour period was 17.81 percent, jumping 312 percent in 14 days.

Paris stressed the spike in infections has not had an impact on the hospital system despite the 68,142 active cases reported on Wednesday, an unprecedented number since the beginning of the health crisis.

“The outbreak continues to expand,” although the rate of transmission has slowed down, the minister said.