SANTIAGO: Chile's health minister resigned Saturday amid controversy over the country's official coronavirus death toll, as the pandemic hits the nation hard despite quarantine measures in the capital for more than a month.
The departure of Jaime Manalich was announced by President Sebastian Pinera. The government has said publicly that the health crisis has claimed more than 3,000 lives since the first case emerged in Chile on March 3.
A report Saturday, however, revealed that Chile had informed the World Health Organization (WHO) that the death toll was actually more than 5,000. The report came from an investigative journalism organization called CIPER which obtained a copy of the health ministry documents sent to the WHO. Manalich had faced mounting criticism over the way the health ministry tallies COVID-19 deaths.
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