Kyrgyzstan reports 1,654 new COVID-19 cases, total number near 24,000

Kyrgyzstan reported 603 new confirmed COVID-19 cases and 1,051 community-acquired pneumonia cases have been registered in the country in the past 24 hours, bringing total number of confirmed cases to 23,783, the head of the public health care department of the country's Health Ministry Ainura Akmatova said at a regular news briefing.

Meanwhile, the death toll reached 785 since the beginning of the pandemic after 83 more fatalities were added, 77 people from pneumonia and six from COVID-19.

Akmatova explained on Thursday that the country's health ministry decided to take a unified approach in treating COVID-19, thus the statistical cases of community-acquired pneumonia are considered a manifestation of COVID-19.

Kyrgyzstan's neighbor Kazakhstan also reported a jump in pneumonia cases, causing a spike in the numbers.

Read more: WHO believes 'unknown pneumonia' in Kazakhstan could be COVID-19