TIRANA, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- Albanian health authorities on Sunday reported over 500 new coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, a record high since the outbreak of the COVID-19 in the country.
According to the health authorities, 501 new coronavirus cases were registered in the last 24 hours from the 1,942 tests conducted.
The majority of the new cases, or 219 cases, were registered in the capital city of Tirana.
By Sunday, according to the health ministry, the total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in the country has reached 24,206.
Two patients diagnosed with COVID-19 lost their lives in the last 24 hours, bringing the country's total fatalities to 559.
Currently, the number of patients in the three COVID-19 hospitals has reached 374, of which four are in critical condition.
The Ministry of Health and Social Protection urged all citizens who are confirmed or are waiting for the results of the COVID-19 tests to remain isolated or respect the obligation of self-quarantine.
As the world is struggling to contain the pandemic, countries including Germany, France, China, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States are racing to find a vaccine.
According to the website of the World Health Organization, as of Nov. 3, there were 202 COVID-19 candidate vaccines being developed worldwide, and 47 of them were in clinical trials. Enditem
