More than 6,000 new Covid-19 cases were added to Mexico’s tally over the weekend while the coronavirus death toll passed 7,000 with 405 fatalities reported on Saturday and Sunday.
The federal Health Ministry reported a record 3,329 additional cases on Saturday and 2,764 on Sunday, increasing the total number of cases since the start of the coronavirus pandemic to 68,620.
It reported 190 Covid-19 fatalities on Saturday and 215 on Sunday, lifting the death toll to 7,394.
Director of Epidemiology José Luis Alomía said Sunday that an additional 595 deaths are suspected to have been caused by the disease but have not yet been confirmed.
In addition to the more than 68,000 confirmed cases, there are 28,931 suspected cases across the country, Alomía said. More than 219,000 people have now been tested for Covid-19 of whom 121,613 – 55% – tested negative.
About one in five of the total number of confirmed cases – 14,247 – are considered active, meaning that those infected first developed Covid-19 symptoms in the past 14 days.
Almost 70% of people who have tested positive for Covid-19 in Mexico since the start of the pandemic have now recovered, about 20% currently have the disease and 10.8% died.
Mexico City, the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, has now recorded 19,682 cases since Covid-19 was first detected here almost three months ago. More than 11,000 people have tested positive in neighboring México state while Baja California ranks third for accumulated cases with 4,218.
Mexico City also leads the country for active cases, with 3,819 as of Sunday. México state has the second largest active outbreak, with almost 1,500 known cases, followed by Tabasco, Baja California, Veracruz and Puebla, all of which have more than 500 active cases.
Only four states – Colima, Zacatecas, Baja California Sur and Durango – have fewer than 100 active active cases.
Mexico City also has the highest coronavirus death toll in the country, with 1,963 confirmed fatalities as of Sunday, according to official statistics. México state has recorded 846 coronavirus-related deaths while Baja California has the third highest death toll, with 696 fatalities.
Two-thirds of the Covid-19 deaths in Baja California occurred in Tijuana, which has recorded more fatalities than any other municipality in the country.
National data presented by the Health Ministry at Sunday night’s coronavirus press briefing showed that 38% of general care beds set aside for patients with serious Covid-19 symptoms are currently occupied while 35% of those with ventilators are in use.
At 79%, Guerrero has the highest occupancy rate for general care beds followed by Mexico City (71%) and México state (58%).
Mexico City has the highest occupancy rate for beds with ventilators, with 67% currently in use. México state and Baja California follow, with more than 60% of critical care beds currently occupied in both states.
Hospitals in coronavirus hot spots, such as Mexico City and Acapulco, are facing increasing demand for their services as the pace of growth of the pandemic quickens and could soon come under even greater pressure with even higher numbers of new coronavirus cases predicted.
The Health Ministry reported more than 2,000 additional cases on each of the past 11 days and daily case numbers passed 3,000 for the first time on Saturday.
Researchers at the National Institute of Public Health (INSP) and the National Council of Science and Technology predict that 76,992 people will have tested positive for Covid-19 by Tuesday, meaning that an additional 8,372 cases would have to be reported today and tomorrow.
Based on the number of Covid-19 tests whose results are not yet known and the positivity rate in recent days, the prediction – if it turns out to be accurate – will mean that more than 4,000 new cases will be reported on a single day for the first time.
Juan Eugenio Hernández Ávila, an INSP epidemiological expert, said the researchers’ predictions have not been 100% accurate but have provided a good approximation of how the pandemic will develop in the short term.
Even though coronavirus case numbers are continuing to rise rapidly, the national social distancing initiative will officially conclude this Saturday and decisions will be made on a state by state basis about which coronavirus restrictions can be lifted and which will remain in place.
Many states will begin easing restrictions on June 1 as part of efforts to reactivate their beleaguered economies and alleviate the financial pain the coronavirus pandemic has afflicted on millions of Mexicans.
Source: Milenio (sp), El Universal (sp)
