More than 5,000 new Covid-19 cases were added to Mexico’s tally on Wednesday, increasing the total to close to 200,000, while almost 1,000 additional fatalities lifted the death toll above 24,000.

The federal Health Ministry reported 5,437 new cases at Wednesday night’s coronavirus press briefing, increasing the total number of cases detected to 196,847.

Mexico has now passed Germany to rank 12th in the world for total case numbers, according to data compiled by the Johns Hopkins University.

The 11 countries that have recorded more cases than Mexico are, in order: the United States, Brazil, Russia, India, the United Kingdom, Peru, Chile, Spain, Italy, Iran and France.

The Health Ministry also reported 947 additional Covid-19 fatalities, increasing the official death toll to 24,324.

Mexico has the seventh highest coronavirus death toll in the world after the United States, Brazil, the United Kingdom, Italy, France and Spain.

Based on confirmed cases and deaths, Mexico’s fatality rate is currently 12.3, well above the global rate of 5.1.

In addition to the more than 24,000 confirmed deaths, 1,894 fatalities are suspected to have been caused by Covid-19.

Director of Epidemiology José Luis Alomía said that 24,036 coronavirus cases – 12% of the total – are currently active, a decrease of 351 cases compared to Tuesday.

He also said that there are 62,475 suspected cases across the country and that 515,658 people have been tested for Covid-19.

Mexico City remains the country’s coronavirus epicenter, with 3,639 active cases, according to official data.

México state, which includes a large number of municipalities that are part of the greater Mexico City metropolitan area, has the second largest active outbreak, with 2,557 cases.

In the middle of April, Deputy Health Minister Hugo López-Gatell presented an epidemiological model that predicted that the coronavirus epidemic in the Valley of México metropolitan area would be virtually over by June 25 with 95% of cases having been recorded.

The model predicted that the peak would occur between May 8 and 10 and that the Valley of México coronavirus epidemic would end in August.

However, there is now no clear end in sight even though health officials have said that the spread of the virus is stabilizing in the Mexico City area. Active cases did decline in Mexico City on Wednesday compared to Tuesday but increased in México state.

However, a lack of widespread testing inevitably means that many coronavirus cases go undetected, especially mild and asymptomatic ones.

The capital and México state are among the 15 federal entities that are still under “red light” restrictions because the risk of coronavirus infection is deemed to be at the maximum level.

After those two entities, Puebla has the largest active outbreak in the country, with 1,841 cases. The state capital is a clear coronavirus hotspot, with 1,547 active cases, more than double the number in León, Guanajuato, which ranks second at a municipal level for active cases.

Four other states have more than 1,000 active Covid-19 cases. They are Guanajuato, Tabasco, Veracruz and Tamaulipas.

Every state in the country has at least 100 active cases, while only three – Colima, Chihuahua and Zacatecas – have fewer than 200.

Mexico City also leads the country for Covid-19 deaths, having recorded 5,938 confirmed fatalities as of Wednesday. México state ranks second, with 3,711 confirmed deaths.

Four other states have recorded more than 1,000 coronavirus-related deaths: Baja California, with 1,813; Veracruz, with 1,373; Sinaloa, with 1,126; and Puebla, with 1,024.

Four states – Colima, Baja California Sur, Zacatecas and Chihuahua – have recorded fewer than 100 deaths.

At a municipal level, the densely-populated Mexico City borough of Iztapalapa leads the country for Covid-19 fatalities, with 1,039 as of Wednesday.

Even as Covid-19 case numbers and the death toll continue to show steady growth, Mexico’s health system is not currently overwhelmed with coronavirus patients.

National data presented by the Health Ministry on Wednesday night showed that 45% of general care hospital beds set aside for coronavirus patients are currently occupied while 38% of those with ventilator are in use.

Some states have higher hospital occupancy levels but none exceed 70% for either general care or critical care beds.

Source: Reforma (sp), El Financiero (sp), Milenio (sp)