NUR-SULTAN - The Kazakh Health Ministry for the first time reported daily pneumonia cases with COVID-19 clinical symptoms on Sunday.

The ministry said on Aug 1, Kazakhstan logged 1,226 new COVID-19 cases and 5,181 pneumonia cases showing COVID-19 symptoms but with unspecified etiology.

Meanwhile, 36 lethal cases from the coronavirus and 30 deaths from pneumonia were registered over the past 24 hours.

The ministry noted that the publication of the statistics would help the country make correct forecast on the epidemiological situation, allocate resources and ensure transparency of statistics.

"It underlines the openness of Kazakhstan to jointly confront the coronavirus pandemic and study its consequences for the international community," the ministry added.

Kazakhstan has seen a spike in COVID-19 and pneumonia cases since June. Health Minister Aleksei Tsoi announced on July 17 that starting Aug. 1, pneumonia cases showing clinical signs of COVID-19 would also be registered on a daily basis.

As of Sunday, Kazakhstan has reported 91,593 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 61,839 recoveries and 829 deaths.

Xinhua