More than 7,000 new coronavirus cases were reported on a single day for just the second time on Tuesday, lifting Mexico’s accumulated case tally above 310,000.

The federal Health Ministry reported that the case tally had increased to 311,486 with 7,051 additional cases registered. The latter figure is 229 fewer than the single day record of  7,280 cases reported last Thursday.

The Health Ministry also reported that Mexico’s Covid-19 death toll had increased to 36,327 with 836 additional fatalities. The number of deaths reported Tuesday was the fifth highest single-day total since the beginning of the pandemic.

Mexico currently has the seventh highest coronavirus case tally in the world, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University, and the fourth highest death toll behind only the United States, Brazil and the United Kingdom.

Of the confirmed cases, 29,329 are considered active, an increase of 486 cases compared to Monday. There are also 80,721 suspected cases across the country, meaning the results of that number of Covid-19 tests are not yet known.

Based on past positivity rates, the Health Ministry estimates that Mexico’s accumulated case tally is 349,893 and that active cases total 49,467, figures 12% and 69% higher, respectively, than the official numbers.

Mexico City has the highest number of accumulated cases among Mexico’s 32 states, with 58,855, followed by México state, where 43,544 people have tested positive. Tabasco, Puebla and Veracruz have the third, fourth and fifth highest case tallies, respectively.

Mexico City also leads the country for active cases, with 3,983, followed by Guanajuato and México state, where 2,544 and 2,427 people tested positive after developing coronavirus symptoms in the past 14 days.

Seven other states currently have more than 1,000 active cases. They are Nuevo León, Tabasco, Veracruz, Yucatán, Jalisco, Coahuila and Puebla.

Ten states have recorded more than 1,000 Covid-19 deaths since the start of the pandemic. They are Mexico City, 7,817; México state, 5,378; Baja California, 2,296; Veracruz, 2026; Puebla, 1,837; Sinaloa, 1,689; Tabasco, 1,455; Sonora, 1,170; Guerrero, 1,108; and Jalisco, 1,084.

At Tuesday night’s coronavirus press briefing, Deputy Health Minister Hugo López-Gatell focused on data about the coronavirus situation in three states: Aguascalientes, Colima and Jalisco.

He said that cases numbers steadily increased in Aguascalientes from the start of the national social distancing initiative at the end of March until “epidemiological week 23,” which ran from May 31 to June 6. Case numbers have since stabilized in the small Bajío region state, López-Gatell said.

Aguascalientes has recorded 3,052 confirmed Covid-19 cases since the start of the pandemic, of which 376 are currently active, and 193 deaths. Just over a quarter of general care hospital beds set aside for coronavirus patients are currently occupied, while 29% of those with ventilators are in use.

López-Gatell said that the epidemic in Colima is currently in a growth phase, noting that the virus began spreading there later than most other states. The small Pacific coast state has recorded 939 confirmed Covid-19 cases, of which 203 are active, and 115 deaths.

Colima has the second lowest Covid-19 death toll in the country behind only Baja California Sur. The state has a 50% occupancy rate for general care hospital beds and a 39% rate for critical care ones.

Like Aguascalientes, case numbers in Jalisco have stabilized since week 23 of the epidemic, López-Gatell said. However, the virus is still in a growth phase in Guadalajara, the state’s capital and largest city, and Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco’s most popular tourist destination.

The state has recorded 9,511 cases, of which 1,310 are active, and 1,084 deaths. Hospital occupancy rates in the state are 25% for general care beds and 27% for those with ventilators.

Across Mexico, 13,272 of 29,663 general care beds are in use for an occupancy rate of 45%, while 3,751 of 9,659 beds with ventilators are in use, yielding an occupancy rate of 39%.

Source: El Universal (sp), Milenio (sp)