More evidence has emerged about the heavy toll the coronavirus pandemic has taken on Mexico’s capital.
A study found that deaths among Mexico City residents between April 19 and June 30 were 161% above their normal level.
Completed by researchers at the National Institute of Medical Science and Nutrition and the National Institute of Respiratory Diseases, the study found that excess deaths totaled 17,826 in the period.
The researchers found that deaths increased most among people aged 45-59 followed by those in the 60-75 and 30-44 age brackets. Deaths of men spiked 217% while fatalities among women increased 112%, the study said.
Via an analysis of death certificates, the researchers found that deaths among Mexico City residents began to increase above normal levels on April 19, while the highest number of fatalities – 570 – occurred on May 20.
The study found that there was a total of 28,914 deaths of Mexico City residents between April 19 and June 30, an average of 396 per day, whereas in the same period in recent years there were 152 deaths per day.
However, just 4,994 confirmed Covid-19 deaths occurred between mid April and the end of June, according to federal data.
Even though Mexico City had the largest coronavirus outbreak in that period, the researchers found that Covid-19 was only the fourth most common cause of death between April and June. The infectious disease ranked behind arterial hypertension, diabetes and pneumonia.
But the study said that Covid-19 fatalities have likely been undercounted in Mexico City because the official death toll only includes deceased patients who tested positive for the infectious disease.
A growing number of studies have concluded that there have been tens of thousands of deaths in excess of Mexico’s official death toll, which currently stands at 44,022, the fourth highest in the world.
Mexico City’s official Covid-19 death toll is currently 8,731, less than half the number of excess deaths that occurred in the 11-week period between mid April and the end of June.
Source: Reforma (sp)
