Mexico becomes fifth most grieving country by Covid-19

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Mexico became the fifth country in the world most bereaved by the coronavirus on Saturday, ahead of France, with more than 30,000 deaths, according to an official count from the Mexican Ministry of Health.

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"  To date, 30,366 people who tested positive for Covid-19 in the laboratory have died,  " José Luis Alomia, national director of the epidemiology department of the Ministry of Health, said at a press conference. After having passed Spain last week , Mexico, with its 127 million inhabitants, therefore exceeds France's balance sheet. The official also reported 252,165 confirmed cases of contamination by the coronavirus, or 6,914 people more than Friday, a record since the outbreak of the epidemic.

►Read also: Covid-19 in Mexico: for greater surveillance at the American border

At the end of May, Hugo Lopez Gatell, the vice-minister of health in charge of the fight against the pandemic, who had declared in an interview with Agence France-presse that if containment measures were not taken, the number of death could amount to around 30,000, again warned that the toll could be heavier. "  We knew from the start that the number of cases identified would not be representative of the total number of people infected with Covid-19 in Mexico,  " he said at a press conference. "  Neither Mexico nor any other country can claim a comprehensive tally  ," he added.

Reopening of some stores delayed

Mexico City, the capital, is the city most affected by the disease. This did not prevent the municipal authorities from beginning a partial economic reopening in early July. Mexico City mayor Claudia Sheinbaum warned on Friday that some central stores had failed to meet strict reopening conditions and ordered their closings until Monday. In addition, the shopping centers, which were to reopen on Monday, will have to wait until Wednesday.

(With AFP and Reuters)

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• Mexico
• Coronavirus
• Health and Medicine

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