NUR-SULTAN / ex ASTANA (Xinhua) — Kazakhstan registered a record daily increase of 507 confirmed COVID-19 cases on Monday, as well as 964 asymptomatic cases handled in a separate category, the Health Ministry said.

The new confirmed coronavirus infections brought the country’s total tally to 17,732 and number of asymptomatic cases to 9,809 as of Monday, with 120 deaths and 10,962 recoveries.

“Over the past week, a huge number of people fell ill, including those with severe symptoms, mortality has also increased”, said Dinagul Baesheva, a leading Kazakh infectious disease specialist, who urged the public to raise awareness and comply with quarantine measures.

The health authorities said hospital beds in Nur-Sultan (ex Astana) and Almaty have increased by 500 over the weekend, and urged the two cities to expand coronavirus testing capacity. Amid strained medical resources, all hospitals in the capital Nur-Sultan will only accept emergency patients and patients with symptoms from June 23.

New coronavirus restrictions have been introduced in Kazakhstan. Over the weekend, Kazakhstan closed all shopping malls, markets and parks in major cities. Kindergartens in Nur-Sultan have to suspend operations starting from Tuesday due a reported surge in COVID-19 cases among teachers and a worsening situation overall, the city administration announced.