National

Santiago (Chile), April 18: Chile's Ministry of Health reported on Saturday 7,696 new cases of COVID-19 and 132 more deaths amid a rise in contagion in the South American country.
According to the ministry, the total number of cases has reached 1,117,348, with 45,965 currently in the active stage of the disease, while the country's death toll has risen to 25,055.
Chile is facing another wave of COVID-19 infections after relaxing restrictive measures during the summer season and resuming face-to-face activities in March, which has contributed to the spread of the virus.
A total of 3,308 people are currently hospitalized in intensive care units, of which 2,855 are on ventilators, and only 193 intensive care beds remain available in the country.
Another 72,806 PCR tests were administered over the last day, which yielded a positivity rate of 10.03 percent at the national level and 10 percent in the Metropolitan region, whose residents are currently under quarantine.
Source: Xinhua