The spread of Covid-19 has stabilized in the metropolitan area of Mexico City, Deputy Health Minister Hugo López-Gatell said on Sunday as the total number of coronavirus cases across the country approached 50,000.
López-Gatell said that the number of new cases reported on a daily basis over the past week in the Valley of México – the country’s coronavirus epicenter – has remained stable.
Mexico City has now recorded 13,762 Covid-19 cases since the start of the pandemic but only one in five cases – 2,838 – are currently active.
México state, which borders the capital to the north, west and east, has recorded 8,187 cases, of which 16%, or 1,355, are considered active.
Two municipalities that border Mexico City – Ecatepec and Nezahualycóyotl – have recorded more than 1,000 cases each since Covid-19 was first detected in Mexico at the end of February.
López-Gatell said that the number of Covid-19 patients in intensive care in the Valley of México metropolitan area is predicted to peak on Tuesday of next week.
Data presented at Sunday night’s press briefing showed that 69% of beds with ventilators in Mexico City and 59% in México state are currently in use. Both percentages are well above the national occupancy rate for beds with ventilators, which is 32%.
Hospitals across many states can expect to face increasing pressure as the pandemic continues to grow.
López-Gatell reported that 49,219 people have now tested positive for Covid-19 and that 11,105 cases are considered active.
More than 2,000 new cases have now been reported on four consecutive days after 2,112 cases were added to Mexico’s tally on Saturday and 2,075 on Sunday. There are also 27,507 suspected coronavirus cases and 172,294 people have been tested.
After Mexico City and México state, Baja California ranks third for total case numbers, with 3,255, while Tabasco has the third largest active outbreak, with 644. The fourth and fifth largest active outbreaks are in Veracruz and Baja California, respectively. Just over half of all active cases in Mexico are concentrated in just five states.
At the other end of the scale, five states have fewer than 100 active cases: Colima has 25, Baja California Sur has 61, Zacatecas has 65, Campeche has 91 and Chihuahua 97.
Colima also has the lowest coronavirus death toll in the country – just eight of 5,177 confirmed Covid-19 fatalities occurred in the small Pacific coast state.
Health Ministry data shows that the nationwide death toll increased by 132 on Sunday, 146 fewer fatalities than Saturday.
Based on confirmed coronavirus cases and deaths, Mexico’s fatality rate is 10.5 per 100 cases. However, in addition to the 5,177 confirmed Covid-19 deaths, 582 are suspected of having been caused by the disease, López-Gatell said.
Mexico City leads the country for confirmed deaths, with 1,332, followed by Baja California and México state, where 554 and 478 people have lost their lives to Covid-19.
Mexico has now been in phase three of the pandemic for one day shy of four weeks. The Health Ministry has reported 40,447 cases, 82% of the total, and 4,465 deaths, 86% of the total, during that period.
Source: La Jornada (sp), Milenio (sp)
