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Mexico’s Excess Deaths Pass 250,000 Amid Covid Outbreak

Mexico’s Excess Deaths Pass 250,000 Amid Covid Outbreak

Mexico has recorded 40% more deaths than expected this year, according to a report on excess mortality in the country.

The country has recorded 254,625 more deaths -- from all causes -- than expected through late November, the report said. The amount is more than double the 118,598 confirmed Covid-19 deaths in the country.

Mexico’s Excess Deaths Pass 250,000 Amid Covid Outbreak

Excess deaths include those who died because they couldn’t get treatment at overloaded hospitals or were never tested even though they had the virus. The country’s management of the virus and the clarity of its data has been criticized because of the excess deaths.

Health officials on Friday restricted activity in the capital of Mexico City as hospitals have rapidly filled. Deputy Health Minister Hugo Lopez-Gatell has implored the city’s residents to stay at home as the virus has spread. The government’s response has largely avoided strict lockdowns, with Lopez-Gatell saying a country that’s rife with poverty needs to be judicious in forcing people from work.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.