MEXICO CITY – Mexico recorded over 200,000 deaths from the coronavirus last year – 35% more than originally reported by the government, said the national statistics institute yesterday.
According to preliminary figures based on administrative records, 201,163 Covid-19 fatalities were registered in the country in 2020, tweeted Inegi president Julio Santaella.
That compares with the Health Ministry’s figure of 148,629, he said.
The country of 126 million now has a virus death toll of around 240,000, according to the ministry – the fourth-highest in the world.
Testing in Mexico remains very limited, and government officials have previously acknowledged that the real toll is likely higher.
While the ministry figures are based on deaths at hospitals, the statistics agency uses a different methodology and includes fatalities elsewhere.
Many Covid-19 patients are believed to have died at home, and not officially counted.
The disease was the second-top cause of death in 2020 behind heart disease, said Inegi.
In the case of men, Covid-19 was the main cause.
The country is now in the midst of a third wave of infections hitting unvaccinated younger Mexicans in particular, although deaths and hospitalisations remain far below a January peak. – AFP, July 30, 2021
