Covid-19: Mexico grapples with deadly surge

By James Blears

The deadly swathe that the pandemic has inflicted throughout Mexico is far worse than the currently available figures indicate.

The National Institute for Statistics and Geography calculates that there were almost half a million more Covid deaths than officially reported between January 2020 and March of this year. 

Comparing mortality rates spanning 2015 and 2019, 940,000 deaths nationwide were expected in Mexico between January 2020 and this March. But instead, almost one million four hundred and thirty- eight thousand. That a difference of 497,000, and most are attributable to the virus.

So, Covid-19 has pushed up the death rate by 84 percent higher than the official tally, and the current data clearly shows that men are more likely to die from it than women.

The total amount of deaths for all causes in Mexico, during the first three months of this year, is almost 369,000. That's the highest ever, since records began.  

The low rate of testing for Covid is government policy, and it is hampering a rendering of the real medical landscape. Officials argue the money could be better spent elsewhere tackling the pandemic. 

More woe is due any time soon, because there has been a recent surge, especially with the more deadly Delta strain, placing many parts of Mexico back on to red alert.

The aim is two inoculations for everyone, and likely a booster, as winter approaches.