After reports emerged that the Chinese Embassy in Kazakhstan had warned of cases of 'unknown pneumonia' in cities of Atyrau, Aktobe and Shymket, potentially more deadlier than coronavirus, Kazakhstan has now denied these claims.
On Thursday, the Chinese Embassy in Kazakhstan had issued warned its citizens living in the country to be careful as the pneumonia had killed more than 1700 people.
"Kazakhstani Health Department and other agencies are conducting comparative research and have not defined the nature of the pneumonia virus," the statement said.
The Kazakhstan Health Ministry hasn't denied the presence of "viral pneumonias of unspecified etiology," but they say the outbreak is not new.
"In response to these reports, the Ministry of Health of the Republic of Kazakhstan officially declares that this information does not correspond to reality," the statement read.
They said they have followed the classification set by World Health Organisation "for the registration of pneumonia when the coronavirus infection is diagnosed clinically or epidemiologically but is not confirmed by laboratory testing."
The Chinese embassy has claimed that the disease has killed 1,772 people this year, and 628 of those deaths took place in June alone.
The number of pneumonia cases are higher than the same time last year.
"Up to 200 people are admitted to hospitals every day. Over the last few days some 300 people diagnosed with pneumonia were taken to hospitals a day. Besides some receive treatment at home," CNN quoted a news agency in Kazakhstan.
Kazakhstan has reported an increase in the number of COVID-19 cases, that has infected continues to battle a rise in Covid-19, which has infected 53,021 people and lead to 264 deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)