Mexico recorded its biggest single-day increase to its coronavirus case tally on Wednesday, adding 1,609 new cases, while 197 additional fatalities pushed the death toll beyond 2,700.
Health Ministry Director of Epidemiology José Luis Alomía reported that 27,634 people have tested positive for Covid-19 in Mexico since late February and that 2,704 people have lost their lives to the infectious disease.
An additional 234 deaths are suspected to have been caused by Covid-19 but have not yet been confirmed, he said.
Of the more than 27,000 accumulated confirmed cases, 7,149 are considered to be active. There are also 17,553 suspected coronavirus cases, while almost 111,000 people have now been tested.
More than half of those confirmed to have Covid-19 – almost 15,000 people – have now recovered, according to Health Ministry data.
Confirmed Covid-19 cases in Mexico City have now passed 7,000, increasing to 7,521 from 6,999 on Tuesday. The capital also has the highest number of active cases, with 1,875.
México state ranks second for confirmed accumulated cases with 4,661. Many of those cases were detected in municipalities that are part of the greater Mexico City metropolitan area such as Nezahualcóyotl, Ecatepec, Tlalnepantla and Naucalpan.
México state also ranks second for active cases, with 1,046. Just over four in every 10 active cases across the country are in Mexico City and México state.
Baja California ranks third for accumulated confirmed cases, with just over 2,000, while Tabasco and Sinaloa rank fourth and fifth, respectively, with more than 1,200 cases each.
Baja California has the third largest active outbreak of the disease followed by Yucatán, Veracruz, Morelos, Tabasco and Sinaloa and Puebla. All those states have between 250 and 300 active Covid-19 cases, according to Health Ministry data.
Five states have less than 50 active cases: Colima (6); Durango (34); Baja California Sur (43); Querétaro (48); and Zacatecas (48).
At the municipal level, Iztapalapa and Gustavo A. Madero in Mexico City have the largest active outbreaks followed by Centro (Villahermosa), Tabasco; Mérida, Yucatán; and Nezahualcóyotl, México state.
The total number of active cases equates to a nationwide infection rate of 5.59 per 100,000 inhabitants. However, the rate is much higher in Mexico City, where more than 20 people per 100,000 residents are currently sick with Covid-19.
Almost one-third of all coronavirus-related deaths reported on Wednesday occurred in the capital, where the death toll increased to 604 from 543 a day earlier.
Seven of Mexico’s 31 states have now recorded more than 100 deaths: Baja California (326); México state (244); Sinaloa (180); Tabasco (179); Quintana Roo (158); Chihuahua (117); and Puebla (116).
At the other end of the scale, there are three states with single-figure coronavirus death tolls: Colima, with six fatalities; Durango, with eight; and San Luis Potosí, with nine.
Based on confirmed Covid-19 cases and deaths, Mexico’s fatality rate is now 9.8 per 1,000 cases, 40% higher than the global rate of about 7. Most of those who have died in Mexico had underlying health conditions such as hypertension, diabetes and obesity.
Source: Milenio (sp)
