COVID-19 infections have reached an all-time high in Mexico City and a half-dozen of the country’s 32 states, putting the country on high alert. Mexico had over 144,000 active coronavirus cases as of Friday, up 4.6 percent from the previous peak in January during the country’s surge.
Although there have been 243,733 test-confirmed deaths in the country, little testing is done, and studies of death certificates suggest the true toll is nearly 370,000. Nearly a quarter of the country has been placed on high alert, forcing some non-essential businesses to close and others to serve fewer customers at a time.
The capital is red on a color-coded pandemic alert system, according to the federal Health Department, but Mexico City officials claim they are still on the orange level, which allows for more business activity. ‘We do not believe that economic activities should be shut down, but rather that vaccination should be accelerated,’ said Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum.
Case loads, hospital bed availability, and the rate of change in those and other factors determine the alert colours, and there have previously been discrepancies between state and federal ratings. Nuevo Leon, Sinaloa, Nayarit, Jalisco, Colima, and Guerrero are among the states on high alert.
Hospitals in Mexico are currently at 51% of their capacity. Despite the fact that the number of cases has exploded, hospitalizations and deaths are down from the January spike, which pushed some hospitals to their limits. Mexico has never had a strict lockdown akin to that seen in Europe, nor has it required visitors to wear face masks, undergo testing, or receive vaccinations.
Mexico has vaccinated 48 million people, or about 38% of the total population, with at least one dose.
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