COVID Death Toll in Mexico is Higher than Previously Reported

Mexico has lost more people to COVID than reported, according to the country’s Health Ministry.

The Latin American country has so far reported around 200,000 COVID-related deaths, but the actual figure exceeds 300,000.

The true count emerged after the Health Ministry reviewed death certificates issued in the past year.

Analysts blame the confusion on lack of testing and lack of beds in hospitals for the infected, adding that many infected people died before they could be tested.

The revised death count puts Mexico in second place among the countries with the highest number of deaths related to the pandemic. In other words, Mexico will be second only to the United States with a record number of COVID-related deaths, ahead of Brazil.

In April last year, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) was urged not to downplay the gravity of the disease. Yet, he went on to appear in public without wearing a face mask.

He refused to shut down the country’s borders and impose stricter lockdowns to halt the virus in its track. Instead, he encouraged people to socialize. He continued to ignore the disease even after he contracted the virus and recovered.

While Mexico has begun vaccinating its people at a considerable speed, the road to recovery still looks far off.