The Ministry of Public Health on Friday reported 414 new cases of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, the second highest number of cases reported in a day after the government increased testing capacity to more than 1,100 samples.

The total cases are now 6,053, according to data provided by the Ministry of Public Health. The confirmed cases are increased at a time that people are not taking the lockdown seriously and markets and streets are crowded in the last two days despite warnings by the Public Health Ministry.

The new cases, according to the ministry, were reported in Kabul (162), Herat (132), Nangarhar (26), Samangan (19), Kandahar (13), Paktia (12), Laghman (8), Ghazni (2), Helmand (1), Kunduz (5), Jawzjan (9), Faryab (6), Zabul (5), Paktika (4), Kapisa (2), Badakhshan (3), Sar-e-Pul (1), Daikundi (1) and Khost (3).

Kabul is still on top of the list 1,718 positive cases of coronavirus.

According to the ministry, 17 people have died of COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, bringing the known national death toll to 153.

The ministry said that 1,122 samples were tested in the last 24 hours.

The total number of recoveries is 745.

So far, 20,854 people have been tested in the country.

The number of deaths from COVID-19 globally is more than 302,493, and 4,444,670 have tested positive for COVID-19, according to Johns Hopkins University.