3,441 coronavirus cases, 194 deaths; phase 3 expected in 15 days

The number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Mexico increased by 260 on Thursday to 3,441 while deaths from the disease rose by 20 to 194, the Health Ministry reported.

Deputy Health Minister Hugo López-Gatell told reporters at the nightly coronavirus press briefing that two pregnant women were among the 20 people who lost their lives to Covid-19 in the preceding 24 hours.

One woman died after giving birth to a baby boy via caesarean section, he said, noting that the infant had respiratory problems for a brief period and remains delicate.

One of the women who died suffered from obesity and hypertension while the other was also clinically obese and had gestational diabetes, López-Gatell said. He said that pregnant women are particularly susceptible to complications from coronavirus infections and urged them to take special care.

López-Gatell recalled that pneumonia was the second most prevalent cause of death among pregnant women during the 2009 H1N1 influenza, or swine flu, epidemic whereas it normally ranks 12th or 13th.

“We have to be very careful with pregnant women, they must be considered very susceptible to dying [from Covid-19],” he said.

Among the 194 people who have now died after contracting the new coronavirus, the most prevalent existing health problems have been hypertension, diabetes and obesity.

In addition to the 3,441 confirmed Covid-19 cases, López-Gatell said that there are 10,105 suspected cases and that 17,950 people have tested negative.

Three in 10 of those confirmed to have Covid-19 have required hospitalization while the other 70% have not. More than 500 patients are currently in serious condition in the hospital and another 123 are on ventilators.

Mexico City continues to lead the country for both confirmed coronavirus cases and deaths with 909 of the former and 43 of the latter.

Mayor Claudia Sheinabum said earlier on Thursday that there were likely more than 6,000 cases of Covid-19 in the capital based on the Health Ministry estimate that there are more than 26,000 cases across the country. She asked Mexico City residents to wear a face mask while outside.

Mexico has now been in phase 2 of the Covid-19 outbreak for almost three weeks after the government announced on March 24 that local transmission of the disease had begun. López-Gatell said that that phase 3, in which community transmission becomes widespread and case numbers escalate rapidly, could begin in 15 days.

Authorities continue to urge people to practice social distancing and remain at home as much as possible.

The director of the National Blood Transfusion Center also spoke at last night’s press briefing, explaining that there is not a shortage of blood in the nation’s blood banks but that donations have declined by between 60% and 70%.

Jorge Enrique Trejo Gómora said that more donations are needed to ensure that there is no shortage, adding that a call center has been set up so that blood donors can schedule an appointment at a certain time. By making appointments, health authorities will be able to avoid having large gatherings of people in blood banks, he said.

Trejo also said that research into the use of convalescent plasma – plasma from recovered coronavirus patients – to treat people suffering from the disease is promising. He said that Mexican Social Security Institute health facilities will begin collecting such plasma on Monday.

Source: El Universal (sp)