Chile surpasses 100,000 cases of coronavirus: health minister

Total cases since the outbreak began in early March had hit 105,159 while 1,113 people had died, says health ministry

SANTIAGO: Chile has surpassed 100,000 cases of the coronavirus, the health minister said on Monday, as infections have spiralled in the capital Santiago, putting the South American nation´s healthcare system under “extraordinary” strain.

The health ministry said total cases since the outbreak began in early March had hit 105,159 while 1,113 people had died from the disease.

The Americas have emerged as the new epicentre of the coronavirus pandemic, with infections and deaths in May related to Covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, surging in Chile, Peru and Brazil.

On Sunday, the number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Latin America passed one million, according to an online statistical source.

Worldometer reported that the number of infections had reached 1,013,538 while a total of 51,202 people have died so far.

In Brazil, the epicentre of the outbreak in the region, there are over 514,000 cases with the death toll nearing 30,000.

Since the virus emerged last December in the Chinese city of Wuhan, it has spread to at least 188 countries and regions.

According to a running tally by US-based Johns Hopkins University, there are currently more than 6.1 million confirmed cases worldwide and over 372,000 deaths, while 2.6 million people have recovered.