Santiago, May 29 (IANS): Chile on Friday reported 8,680 new cases of the novel coronavirus disease in 24 hours, the second highest figure since the start of the pandemic here in March 2020, bringing its accumulated caseload to 1,361,381, the Ministry of Health said.

It was the second consecutive day to register over 8,000 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in a 24-hour period, which also saw 119 more deaths from the disease, raising the pandemic death toll to 28,928, the Xinhua news agency reported.

Some 1,287,804 patients have recovered from the disease, while 43,793 cases currently remain active, with 3,067 patients in intensive care units, including 2,540 on ventilators.

Chilean Health Minister Enrique Paris expressed concern "about this rise in cases," adding "it is essential to maintain self-care measures."

The South American country has seen new outbreaks in recent days, with a rise in the hospitalisation of young people and adults yet to be vaccinated against Covid-19, despite the fact that around 50 per cent of its target population has received the vaccine, according to data from the ministry.