ULAN BATOR, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia reported 761 new COVID-19 cases and three more deaths in the past 24 hours, bringing the respective national tallies to 461,003 and 2,083, the country's health ministry said Friday.
As of Friday, a total of 5,553 COVID-19 patients are being treated at hospitals across the country, while 18,080 mild or asymptomatic patients are receiving home-based care, the ministry said.
"Cluster infections are increasing across the country due to the start of in-person classes for all levels of educational institutions," Tsolmon Bilegtsaikhan, director of the National Center for Communicable Diseases, told a press conference on Friday.
Mongolia on Monday canceled a heightened state of readiness imposed in February 2020 due to the pandemic and resumed in-person classes for all levels of educational institutions. The decision was made based on the country's infection rate, high vaccination coverage, and assessments by relevant authorities, according to the government's press office.
So far, 66.8 percent of the country's 3.4 million people have received two COVID-19 vaccine doses, while more than 1 million people aged over 18 received the third dose.
More than 95,100 people have received a fourth shot, which the country started to administer in January on a voluntary basis. ■
