Mexico Daily Deaths Pass 1,000 Barrier With Cases Soaring
Mexico Reports First Daily Rise of More Than 1,000 Virus Deaths
(Bloomberg) -- Mexico reported records for both new coronavirus cases and deaths on Wednesday, joining a select and undesirable club of countries that have reported upwards of 1,000 daily deaths.
The country had a record daily rise of 3,912 cases for a total of 101,238 and overall Covid-19 deaths reached 11,729, according to data released by the Health Ministry, which has previously said the actual number is likely higher. Mexico now has the seventh-deadliest Covid-19 outbreak worldwide, numbers from Johns Hopkins University show. Spain is the next highest with 27,128 deaths, according to the data.
On Thursday, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador tried to down play the numbers, saying it was due to the fact that fatalities from previous days were being reported with a lag, meaning not all deaths had occurred that day.
Lopez Obrador, speaking from Palenque, Chiapas as part of a multi-state tour, also said Mexico has done a good job in testing for the virus. But data show the country has the lowest testing rate among countries in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development and among the worst of major Latin American nations.
The president’s administration has sent mixed signals on dealing with the outbreak and never implemented a strict lockdown to keep people at home through police enforcement or fines. Lopez Obrador has pushed to reopen the economy while Deputy Health Minister Hugo Lopez-Gatell urges citizens to stay at home. Mobility trackers for the capital, which has become the epicenter of the disease in Mexico, registered a spike for driving and walking over the weekend.
Overall, the city’s hospitals are at 80% capacity and ICU beds are 65% full, according to the Health Ministry.
Lopez Obrador said earlier this week his government would reevaluate health measures if the pandemic worsens.
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