Face mask mandates are back in some states as the fifth wave gains strength.Active coronavirus cases have almost tripled in the last two weeks as Mexico’s fifth wave of infections continues to worsen.
The estimated active case tally rose to 91,559 on Thursday, an increase of 178% compared to the June 9 count of 32,957.
Baja California Sur has the highest number of active cases per 100,000 people with over 300. Mexico City, which also has more than 300, is a close second followed by Quintana Roo, where there are over 200 active infections per 100,000 people. Sinaloa and Yucatán round out the top five with over 150 active cases per 100,000 residents.
The Health Ministry reported 16,133 new cases on Thursday, the highest single-day tally since late February. Mexico’s accumulated case tally stands at 5.92 million while the official COVID-19 death toll is 325,511 after 24 additional fatalities were reported Thursday.
The recent rise in case numbers hasn’t exerted any significant pressure on the health system. Just 5% of general care beds set aside for COVID patients are currently occupied while only 1% of those with ventilators are in use.
Francisco Moreno, an infectious disease and internal medicine doctor at the ABC Medical Center in Mexico City, said Thursday that the fifth wave could last until late July. Daily case numbers will likely start to come down in August, he said. In an interview with the newspaper El Financiero, Moreno warned that case numbers could spike again in winter, when viruses tend to spread more easily. He advised people with COVID to isolate for at least 10 days.
“If you feel sick don’t go to work. … If you live with someone who is vulnerable, don’t … [go near them] for 10 days,” Moreno said.
Authorities in some states, including Baja California Sur, Nayarit, San Luis Potosí and Tamaulipas, have decided to end the school year earlier than scheduled due to the recent increase in case numbers.
Meanwhile, some states have reintroduced mask mandates. Authorities in Durango and San Luis Potosí have reintroduced mask mandates for all public spaces, while the Puebla government has once again made the use of masks mandatory in enclosed public spaces. Authorities in some other states, including those in Guanajuato and Querétaro, have recommended that citizens once again use face masks due to the recent spike in infections.
With reports from El Financiero, El Economista and Animal Político
