Coronavirus case numbers spiked 8.3% in the two weeks ending November 23, the federal Health Ministry said Friday, when a new record was set for the number of cases registered in a single day.

Ministry spokesman Ricardo Cortés Alcalá said the increase in case numbers was based on preliminary data and the number could go higher yet.

He pointed out that there had been no increase in the number of deaths.

The higher numbers have been recorded in eight states with Mexico City leading the way, largely due to a concerted effort to do more testing.

The city has taken the lead in Covid tests, taking a different view from that of the federal government, which has deemed massive testing as “useless and expensive.”

Twenty-six new testing stations were announced two weeks ago, providing the city with the capacity to test up to 10,000 people a day.

Meanwhile, federal health authorities said another 12,081 cases were registered on Friday, the highest single-day number since the pandemic began. The figure, which doesn’t necessarily reflect cases detected in the previous 24 hours, pushed the accumulated case number to 1,090,675.

There were 631 deaths registered for a total of 104,873.

Source: Milenio (sp)