Transportation and Communications Minister Gloria Hut walks inside a Jet Smart plane during a photo opportunity after her press conference announcing the reopening of the Arturo Merino Benitez International Airport amid the COVID-19 pandemic in Santiago, Chile, Friday, Nov. 13, 2020. (Photo: AP)

SANTIAGO, Nov. 22 (Xinhua) -- Chile's Ministry of Health on Sunday reported 1,497 new daily cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19), bringing the total caseload to 540,640.

Meanwhile, the number of daily COVID-19 fatalities came to 39, raising the death toll to 15,069.

The ministry announced on Sunday that the country has carried out over 5 million tests to detect the disease.

The Chilean Minister of Health Enrique Paris pointed out that 30 percent of new cases were detected thanks to the government's active search strategy.

"We have made a huge effort, in conjunction with the municipalities, to go out to look for cases through operations carried out in strategic places in certain communities," he explained.