Officials confirmed Tuesday night that 86 new cases of the novel Covid-19 coronavirus had been diagnosed in Argentina over the last 24 hours – the highest daily figure of the pandemic to date.

In total, 387 individuals have now been infected with the virus, the Health Ministry said in a statement.

There have been six fatalities to date. Earlier on Tuesday, officials confirmed that two other individuals had lost their lives – a 71-year-old man in Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires Province, and a 53-year-old male in Resistencia, Chaco Province. The former had recently travelled to Spain, while the second individual had been in close contact with someone confirmed as having been infected by the virus.

Of the new cases, at least 30 involve patients in Buenos Aires City, with another 30 from Buenos Aires Province.

Nine more are in Chaco, seven were registered in Córdoba, four in Tierra del Fuego, three in Santa Fe, with single cases recorded in La Pampa, Neuquén and Santa Cruz.

According to a statement from the Health Ministry, "of the 86 confirmed cases this Tuesday, 41 correspond to people with a history of travel to areas with community transmission, while 20 are close contacts of confirmed cases, [while] 25 are under investigation to determine the epidemiological background."

– TIMES/PERFIL/NA