8,518 health workers contract COVID-19 in Kazakhstan

A total of 8,518 medical workers have contracted COVID-19 in Kazakhstan, the health ministry announced on Monday, reported Xinhua.

All medical workers infected with COVID-19 or pneumonia would receive financial compensation, said the ministry, adding that the number of pneumonia cases among medical workers is not available.

On Aug. 2, Kazakhstan reported 1,069 new COVID-19 cases and 798 pneumonia cases showing COVID-19 symptoms but with unspecified etiology. Meanwhile, 34 lethal cases from the coronavirus and 21 deaths from pneumonia were registered on the same day.

Health Minister Aleksei Tsoi added that the country has passed the peak of the COVID-19 epidemic. Over the past three weeks, the daily spike in COVID-19 cases has halved.

Tsoi said that from the beginning of the year to Aug. 2, about 256,500 pneumonia cases were reported in Kazakhstan, including over 4,000 deaths. During the same period last year, about 77,000 pneumonia cases were registered.

Kazakhstan has seen a spike in COVID-19 and pneumonia cases since June. From Aug. 1, pneumonia cases showing clinical signs of COVID-19 are revealed on a daily basis.

As of Monday, Kazakhstan has logged 92,662 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 62,511 recoveries and 1,058 deaths.