A rash of accounting glitches in Chile led to the omission of more than 31,000 confirmed coronavirus cases, or nearly one-sixth of the country’s total so far, Reuters quoted health officials as saying on Tuesday.

The cases, discovered during a review of the health ministry’s databases, stemmed back to mid-March, when the outbreak began in Chile, authorities said.

“We have detected that there is a significant number of people who have not been notified or whose status has not been processed and continues to be ‘pending',” Dr Rafael Araos, a member of an expert committee advising the government, told reporters in a briefing.

The accounting confusion comes as cases are soaring in the South American nation, averaging over 5,000 daily. On Tuesday, Chile reported a total of 184,449 infections and 3,383 deaths from the disease.

The additional 31,412 cases discovered by authorities will be added to Chile’s total tally on Wednesday, Araos said.