SANTIAGO, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- Chile recorded 24,970 new COVID-19 infections in 24 hours, a slight decrease compared to the numbers of recent days, as well as 27 deaths associated with the virus, bringing the total to 2,431,845 cases and 40,087 deaths, the Ministry of Health said Tuesday.

According to its report, the COVID-19 positivity rate in the same period was 23.10 percent at the national level, and 21.24 percent in the Santiago Metropolitan Region.

In addition, the ministry reported an increase of 31 percent of new cases in seven days, and 170 percent in 14 days.

Chile has reported record peaks of infections in recent weeks, with more than 37,000 in one day and over 133,000 active cases, driven by the spread of the Omicron variant.

The South American country has also seen an increase in both the number of patients admitted to intensive care units and the number of deaths.