Chile registers more than 10,000 cases of coronavirus, third in Latin America

SANTIAGO, Apr 19 (Reuters) – The Chilean government reported a total of 10,088 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the country on Sunday, the third highest record in Latin America behind Brazil and Peru.

The Deputy Minister of Health, Paula Daza, said that until Saturday night, 358 new infections of Covid-19 were added, when delivering a daily report from the government headquarters. The total death toll rose to 133 after seven victims were added on the last day.

Health authorities expect the highest number of infections to occur between the end of April and the beginning of May, in the middle of the southern autumn. Most of the registered cases are concentrated in the metropolitan region of Santiago and cities in the south of the country, which are colder and wetter regions.

The world’s largest copper producer confirmed the first coronavirus case on March 3. In Latin America, Brazil has more than 36,000 cases and Peru more than 14,000, according to a Reuters count based on official information.

Chile has applied more than 100,000 tests to detect the coronavirus since the outbreak began, according to health authorities.

(Report by Natalia Ramos, edited by Gabriela Donoso)