Covid-19 deaths in Mexico City were underreported by more than 10,000 during a period of six months to the end of August, an official report indicates.
An excess mortality report prepared by the Mexico City government by examining death certificates said there were 20,535 deaths attributable to Covid-19 in the capital by August 31.
On that date, Mexico City authorities said there were 10,508 confirmed Covid-19 deaths, 10,027 fewer than the figure cited in the report.
Of the 20,535 people whose deaths in Mexico City are attributable to Covid-19, 15,106 were residents of the capital while the bulk of the remainder lived in neighboring México state.
Deaths caused by Covid-19 rose between March and May before declining in the subsequent three months.
There were 13 fatalities attributable to Covid-19 in March, 1,454 in April, 5,631 in May, 3,735 in June, 2,347 in July and 1,926 in August, according to the report. In May, there was an average of 181.6 Covid-19 deaths per day among Mexico City residents.
Of the 15,106 residents of the capital whose deaths were attributable to Covid-19, about two-thirds were men and one-third were women.
The report said that 91.8% of Covid-19 fatalities in the capital occurred in the hospital, 6.8% at home and 1.4% somewhere else.
It also said there have been 61% more deaths than normal in Mexico City this year, a figure well below the excess mortality rate in some other cities that were hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic including Lima, Peru; Guayaquil, Ecuador; and New York City.
The sprawling, densely populated eastern borough of Iztapalapa has recorded the highest number of Covid-19 deaths in the capital followed by Gustavo A. Madero in the north and Álvaro Obregón in the west.
Mexico City, like the country as a whole, has a low Covid-19 testing rate. The lack of testing is the main reason why a large number of deaths attributable to Covid-19 are not officially recorded as such, at least in the short term, but rather attributed to causes such as atypical pneumonia.
The capital has been Mexico’s coronavirus epicenter since the beginning of the pandemic, consistently having the highest number of active cases among the nation’s 32 states and leading the country for accumulated cases and Covid-19 deaths.
According to federal Health Ministry estimates, there were 6,590 active cases in Mexico City on Wednesday, almost double the number in México state, which has the second highest active case tally with 3,496.
Mexico City accumulated confirmed case tally is 114,268 and its official death toll – excluding the more than 10,000 fatalities attributable to Covid-19 that weren’t recorded as such – is 11,351.
The national accumulated case tally increased to 680,931 on Wednesday with 4,444 new cases reported and the official Covid-19 death toll rose to 71,978 with 300 additional fatalities.
Source: El Universal (sp)
