Jennifer Mendoza
Research expert covering health, pharma and medtech
Coronavirus (COVID-19) in Chile - statistics & facts
The first case of COVID-19 in Chile was reported at the end of February 2020. The outbreak hit the country during a decisive political period, and close to a plebiscite which resulted from a series of riots starting in October, 2019. The referendum, originally set to take place on April 26, 2020, had to be postponed due to the spread of the disease. With an overwhelming majority, the electorate finally voted in favor of drafting a new constitution on October 25 of the same year. A year later and still during the pandemic, general elections were held in Chile on November 21, 2021. Gabriel Boric, from the country鈥檚 Social Convergence Party, won what was described as a polarized election. By November, 2023, the South American country had recorded over five million cases and more than 61 thousand deaths, most of them in the Metropolitan Area of Santiago, Chile鈥檚 most affected region. With the spread of the Omicron variant, the strongest local rise in cases was observed in the Latin American country between the end of 2021 and the beginning of 2022, despite a high vaccination rate.
