ANKARA

Ugandan health authorities on Wednesday confirmed 660 new coronavirus infections in the last 24 hours, the second-highest daily number of cases recorded in the country over the pandemic, local media reported.

With the announcement of the new infections, the tally of COVID-19 infections in Uganda has reached 23,860, according to online news outlet New Vision.

The report, citing the Ugandan Health Ministry, said that 254 out of 660 new infections were reported in the capital Kampala.

No new death, however, was recorded in Wednesday's update.

The highest daily case count is 701, according to the results of COVID-19 tests conducted Sunday, it added.

The unusual number of infections comes amid fears that some candidates for the country's general elections have “deliberately” rejected to adhere to the preventive guidelines by the Health Ministry and the Electoral Commission during their elections campaigns and this could lead to a spike in the number of infections, according to the report.

Ugandans will vote for a president, members of the parliament, and local government representatives on Jan. 14, 2021.

Worldwide, the death toll from COVID-19 stands at over 1.56 million since the virus was first detected in China in December last year. The number of infections totals over 68.4 million, according to the latest figures from the US’ Johns Hopkins University.