SANTIAGO (Reuters) – The Chilean government on Wednesday announced a tightening of lockdowns and “maximum” movement restrictions in its capital Santiago as the country´s confirmed coronavirus caseload exceeded 200,000.

The total number of coronavirus cases was 220,628 cases, the health ministry said in a briefing, after officials said yesterday they had discovered 31,412 confirmed cases that had not been added to the tally previously, and announced 4,757 freshly-confirmed cases overnight.

In a joint briefing by the health, interior and defence ministries, the government said residents of Santiago would be granted permission to leave their homes just twice a week instead of the five times amid concerns that lockdowns of up to three months in some parts of the capital had not succeeded in stopping the spread of the virus.