Chile is counting those who have died due to the coronavirus as “recovered” because they no longer show symptoms, the country’s top health official said this week.
“We have 898 patients who are no longer contagious, who are not a source of contagion for others and we count them as recovered. These people have completed 14 days since their diagnosis or unfortunately died,” Health Minister Jaime Manalich said at a news conference.
The news shocked the country while Manalich claimed the peculiar method of counting casualties was based on the recommendation of “international experts,” local media reported.
Chile’s first coronavirus case was confirmed on March 3. The virus began dramatically spreading in the following weeks, with now more than 7,900 confirmed sick and another reported 92 related deaths, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
More than 2,646 coronavirus cases have “recovered” from the virus in Chile, researchers at the institution reported.
Chilean President Sebastian Pinera on Wednesday declared a 90-day “state of catastrophe” several weeks ago, instituting a nationwide curfew between 10:00 p.m to 5:00 a.m and closing its borders to nonresidents.
After a quarantine was mandated for parts of its capital, Santiago, cougars fleeing severe droughts in the foothills have been caught roaming the city streets.
Health officials across the globe have faced accusations of incomplete or misrepresented coronavirus data, either intentionally or accidentally.
US officials have said they believe China to be undercounting the number of infections and deaths in the country.
