Mexico’s official coronavirus death toll passed 40,000 on Tuesday while the case tally rose above 350,000.
The federal Health Ministry reported that Covid-19 deaths had increased to 40,400 with 915 additional fatalities registered.
It also reported that accumulated coronavirus cases had increased to 356,255 with 6,859 new cases registered on Tuesday. Just over 8% of the cases – 29,654 – are considered active while there are also 82,866 suspected cases across the country.
Health Ministry Director of Epidemiology José Luis Alomía presented data at Tuesday night’s coronavirus press briefing that showed that in epidemiological week 28, which ran from July 5 to 11, Piedras Negras, Coahuila, had the highest incidence of active coronavirus cases among Mexico’s more than 2,400 municipalities.
The northern border city was estimated to have 213 cases per 100,000 inhabitants in that period, Alomía said.
“This is interesting because Piedras Negras didn’t have an early start [to the pandemic]: it’s recent transmission but this transmission has had significant speed,” he said.
The municipality, located across the Rio Grande from Eagle Pass, Texas, currently has 476 active coronavirus cases, according to Coahuila government data.
Ciudad Valles, San Luis Potosí, had the second highest incidence of active coronavirus cases in week 28, according to Health Ministry estimates, with 205 cases per 100,000 inhabitants.
Cosamaloapan de Carpio, Veracruz, ranked third with 203 cases per 100,000 inhabitants followed by Tenosique and Centro (Villahermosa) in Tabasco, where the rate was 139 and 137, respectively.
The other municipalities in the top 10 for the incidence of active coronavirus cases were, in order, Teoloyucan, México state; Nacajuca, Tabasco; Acuña, Coahuila; Milpa Alta, Mexico City; and Othón P. Blanco, Quintana Roo.
The municipalities with the highest Covid-19 death tolls are, in order, Iztapalapa, Mexico City, with 1,405 confirmed fatalities; Gustavo A. Madero, Mexico City, 1,205; Mexicali, Baja California, 1,166; Puebla city, 1,114; and Tijuana, Baja California, 1,017 fatalities.
National data presented at Tuesday’s press briefing showed that 14,225 of 30,832 general care hospital beds set aside for coronavirus patients are currently in use for an occupancy rate of 46%. For beds with ventilators, the occupancy rate is 37% with 3,812 of 10,211 currently in use.
Tabasco and Nayarit have the highest occupancy rate in the country for general care beds, with 78% currently in use in both states. Nuevo León has the third highest occupancy rate, at 76%.
Tabasco also has the highest occupancy rate for critical care beds, at 66%, followed by Nuevo León and Baja California, where the rates are 63% and 55%, respectively.
In Mexico City, which has recorded more coronavirus cases and deaths than any other state in the country, 52% of general care beds are occupied and 45% of those with ventilators are in use.
Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum said Tuesday that there had been a slight increase in recent days in the number of hospitalized coronavirus patients in the capital.
She told a virtual press conference that four or five of 57 Mexico City hospitals had seen an increase in their coronavirus patient numbers since last Saturday.
Despite the uptick in hospitalizations, Sheinbaum emphasized that there is still “very significant space” available for people who require hospital treatment for Covid-19.
She said that authorities will continue to monitor hospital admission trends this week to gain a better understanding about how the coronavirus outbreak in the capital is developing.
Mexico City has recorded 64,431 confirmed coronavirus cases since the beginning of the pandemic, of which 6,156 are estimated to be active. The capital has also recorded 8,354 confirmed Covid-19 deaths of which 101 were registered on Tuesday.
Mexico City is currently one of 14 states where the coronavirus infection risk level is “orange light” high, according to the federal government’s “stoplight” map.
The risk level is “red light” maximum in 18 states including Jalisco, Baja California Sur Quintana Roo and Yucatán, four of nine states that switched from orange to red this week.
Source: El Universal (sp), Milenio (sp)
