Mexico Covid Deaths Rise by 1,000 for First Time in Six Months

(Bloomberg) -- Mexico reported more than 1,000 new Covid deaths Wednesday, the first time officials registered such a grim daily rise since March 2, according to Health Ministry data.

Deaths rose 1,177 to 260,503. Cases increased by 17,337.

Cases hit record highs in mid-August with local officials attributing the surge to the spread of the delta variant. As cases rose, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador and Deputy Health Minister Hugo Lopez-Gatell, who’s overseen the country’s response to the pandemic, have maintained that the proportion of those seriously ill is lower than it was during the winter peak.

There are also signs the third wave is ebbing, Lopez-Gatell has said. The epidemic curve is descending in 30 states and hospital occupancy is declining, he said at a Tuesday morning press conference.

Still, the daily toll due to the virus has risen steadily through August. Though cases have declined, Enrique Perez Gutierrez, an official with the Pan American Health Organization, pointed out the country’s rising mortality and called on Mexican authorities to clearly state restrictions based on local conditions.

While officials have constantly touted arrivals of coronavirus vaccines, the campaign hasn’t maintained the momentum it held in late July when 1.45 million vaccine shots were administered in a day. In the past week, daily jabs haven’t reached 800,000 and just over a quarter of the population is fully vaccinated, according to Bloomberg’s vaccine tracker.

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