Authorities in Kazakhstan have denied a report published by Chinese officials that the country is experiencing an outbreak of 'unknown pneumonia' potentially deadlier than the novel coronavirus.
On Thursday, the Chinese Embassy in Kazakhstan issued a warning to citizens living in the Central Asian country that the pneumonia had killed more than 1,700 people.
In a statement on Friday, the Kazakhstan health ministry acknowledged the presence of"viral pneumonias of unspecified etiology," but denied that the outbreak was new or unknown. According to the embassy, the rise was concentrated in the regions of Atyrau, Aktobe and Shymkent, which together have almost 500 new cases and more than 30 critically ill patients.
"Up to 200 people are admitted to hospitals every day. Over the last few days some 300 people diagnosed with pneumonia were taken to hospitals a day. Besides some receive treatment at home," said the head of the Nursultan healthcare department, Kazinform reported. When asked about the outbreak on Friday, a spokesman for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs told reporters,"We would also like to get more information. China hopes to work together with Kazakhstan to fight the epidemic and to safeguard the two countries public health security."
The embassy warning came as Kazakhstan continues to battle a rise in Covid-19, which has infected 53,021 people and killed 264 in the country, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
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