Santiago (Chile) Apr 16: Chile on Thursday reported its first case of COVID-19 variant that was first found in South Africa.
Deputy Minister of Public Health Paula Daza said a woman, who returned to Chile on a flight from the United States several days ago, tested positive for the variant.
"The variant may be a more contagious strain than others," Daza said, "but we do not know what the impact is on the increase in the number of cases."
The Health Ministry said that 7,357 new cases of COVID-19 were detected in the last 24 hours, bringing the country's total caseload to 1,101,698.
The ministry reported the second highest daily count of 218 deaths from COVID-19, taking the national tally to 24,766. The record single-day death toll of 279 was logged in June 2020.
Source: Xinhua
