Chile has identified more than 500,000 cases of the new coronavirus since the outbreak began in March, the health ministry said

The ministry said 500,542 Chileans were now confirmed to have suffered from the virus, including 1,631 cases added in the past day and 48 deaths, taking fatalities to a total of 13,892. Active cases are at a record low of 9,900, it added.

Chile, which was among the worst-hit nations by Covid-19 in July, ranking only behind Qatar globally for cases per head of the population, has in the past two months gradually eased lockdowns.