Covid-19: Mexico still 'weeks away' from reaching peak infection rate

Health officials in Mexico warn that the peak of Covid-19 infections and resultant deaths has not yet been reached, as the pandemic's epicenter shifts to Latin America.

By James Blears - Mexico City

Mexico's Deputy Health Minister, Hugo Lopez Gatell, has confirmed that the coronavirus pandemic has not yet plateaued.

He says the worst is far from over: "For several more weeks, each day we'll be announcing more cases than the previous day."

Grim figures

The latest grim figures indicate almost 90,000 infections, with more than 14,000 deaths.

But with almost non-existent testing facilities, experts concede it could be as much as three times higher.

The Mexican government predicts thirty-five thousand deaths by October.

The University of Washington is at variance, estimating seventy-five thousand deaths by August.

Middle of first wave

Yet tourism in Mexico is already opening up.

Occupancy rates are currently permitted at thirty percent, with hoteliers hoping that could rise to fifty percent soon. The car industry is also cautiously revving up.

In all of this, Mexico is still only in the first wave of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Experts say the next phase could come sometime in the Fall.

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