NUR-SULTAN, March 29. /TASS/. More than 220 cases of the novel coronavirus infection have so far been registered in Kazakhstan, the press service of the republic’s Health Ministry said on Saturday.

"For today, the country has 228 confirmed cases of novel coronavirus," the statement says.

The majority of cases was reported in the country’s two largest cities - the capital Nur-Sultan (135) and former capital Almaty (59). Sporadic cases were reported in 11 out of the country’s 14 administrative regions. By now, 15 people have recovered and one died.

On March 15, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev ordered a state of emergency in the country until April 15 to contain the deadly disease. Additional decisions were made to impose quarantines in Nur-Sultan and Almaty starting from March 19.

The disease was first reported in central China’s city of Wuhan in late December 2019. On March 11, 2020, the WHO 11 declared the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic. According to latest reports, more than 575,000 people have been infected in more than 160 countries and territories worldwide, over 26,000 have died.