For the first time in 20 days, the Health Ministry has reported a reduction in the number of active coronavirus cases in Mexico.
Director of Epidemiology José Luis Alomía said on Monday night that there were 8,288 active cases across the country, 169 fewer than the number reported on Sunday.
The number of active cases – people who tested positive for Covid-19 after developing symptoms in the past 14 days – had increased every day since April 21, when there were 3,185.
Fifteen of Mexico’s 31 states and Mexico City reported fewer active cases on Monday compared to the day before. Among the states where the size of the active epidemic declined are México state, which has recorded the second highest number of total cases in the country, and Baja California, which ranks third for cases and second for coronavirus-related deaths.
Deputy Health Minister Hugo López-Gatell presented graphs showing that new case numbers are on the wane in Villahermosa, Tabasco; Cancún, Quintana Roo; Culiacán, Sinaloa; and Tijuana, Baja California.
Among the states where the coronavirus epidemic is still on the rise are Veracruz, Morelos, Guerrero and Oaxaca.
López-Gatell said that modeling shows that the peak of the outbreak in Guadalajara, Jalisco – Mexico’s second largest city – could still be more than a month away. “The peak could be June 13,” he said.
The decline in active cases came as Mexico recorded its lowest number of new confirmed cases in six days. The Health Ministry reported 1,305 additional cases on Monday, taking the total number of accumulated confirmed cases to 36,327.
Alomía said that there are also 20,991 suspected coronavirus cases across the country and that 135,116 people have now been tested.
Mexico City has now recorded almost 10,000 confirmed cases of Covid-19 since the disease was first detected in Mexico at the end of February. México state has recorded the second highest number of cases, with 6,155, followed by Baja California, with 2,448, and Tabasco, with 1,758.
The Health Ministry also reported 108 additional coronavirus-related fatalities on Monday – the lowest daily number since May 3 – lifting Mexico’s death toll to 3,573.
Of those who have lost their life to Covid-19, 69% were men and 31% were women. The three most prevalent existing health problems among those who have died are hypertension, diabetes and obesity.
Among the more than 3,500 people who have passed away after testing positive for Covid-19, 111 were health workers – 66 doctors, 16 nurses, three dentists and 26 others. A total of 8,544 health workers have tested positive for Covid-19, a figure that represents 23.5% of all cases detected in Mexico.
Mexico City has recorded the highest number of coronavirus-related deaths, with 819, followed by Baja California and México state, where 419 and 343 people, respectively, have lost their lives. Based on confirmed cases and deaths, Mexico’s fatality rate is 9.8 per 1,000 cases.
Only 34% of general care beds set aside for coronavirus patients are currently in use while 27% of those with ventilators are occupied, according to Health Ministry data presented on Monday night.
However, hospitals in Mexico City are under much greater pressure, with 73% of general care beds and 64% of critical care beds currently occupied.
Source: Milenio (sp)
