A man gets registered before taking COVID-19 test at a mobile test site in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, June 16, 2020.

Kazakhstan's Ministry of Healthcare reported 1,226 cases of COVID-19, 36 deaths, and 5,181 cases of "unknown pneumonia" with signs of coronavirus infection on Saturday, reportedly the first time for the department to simultaneously release data on the two infections. 

Kazakhstan's nationwide medical institutions also revealed 30 deaths caused by the unknown pneumonia. 

As of Sunday, 91,593 people have been infected by the coronavirus in Kazakhstan and 793 people have died from it since the outbreak began.

The "unknown pneumonia" reported in Kazakhstan in early July triggered widespread concerns from netizens on Chinese social media and among Chinese nationals living in Kazakhstan. 

The Chinese Embassy in Kazakhstan issued a warning in July to Chinese nationals over their personal safety as the number of Chinese nationals infected with COVID-19 in Kazakhstan continues to rise.

In an official statement approved on July 17 by Kazakhstan and the WHO on COVID-19, the Kazakhstani Ministry of Healthcare came out with a new set of standards on recording and generating relevant data on the pandemic. 

Starting from August 1, laboratory confirmed cases of COVID-19 will be combined with cases of pneumonia that show a negative PCR test result, but with symptoms that indicate the clinical and epidemiological signs of COVID-19, the department determined after technical consultations with the WHO Regional Office for Europe.

"As the number of cases increases, the country has recently re-introduced a range of physical and social distancing measures. We are currently in contact with the authorities in Kazakhstan to understand the new developments in the situation and provide support as needed," said the WHO upon the Global Times' interview request in July.

The Ministry of Health of Kazakhstan published a statement in July clarifying that cases displaying symptoms consistent with pneumonia are diagnosed according to ICD-10. The classification system, or the International Classification of Diseases (ICD), is commonly used as a global standard. The ICD gives a code for each disease that makes it possible to collect data by classification, the WHO explained.