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World

Mexico's real Covid-19 death toll now at over 321,000 - 60 per cent higher than official figures

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Workers wearing full protection gear amid the new coronavirus pandemic, lower a coffin last year into a grave in an area of the San Rafael municipal cemetery set apart for people who have died from Covid in Mexico. Photo / AP

Workers wearing full protection gear amid the new coronavirus pandemic, lower a coffin last year into a grave in an area of the San Rafael municipal cemetery set apart for people who have died from Covid in Mexico. Photo / AP

AP

Mexico's government acknowledged today that the country's true death toll from the coronavirus pandemic now stands above 321,000, almost 60 per cent more than the official test-confirmed number of 201,429.

Mexico does little testing, and because hospitals were overwhelmed, many Mexicans died at home without getting a test. The only way to get a clear picture is to review "excess deaths" and review death certificates.

Crematorium workers burn the coffins that contained the remains of people who died from the coronavirus after their cremation at Mexico City last year. Photo / AP
Crematorium workers burn the coffins that contained the remains of people who died from the coronavirus after their cremation at Mexico City last year. Photo / AP

The Government today quietly published such a report, which found there were 294,287 deaths linked to Covid-19 from the start of the pandemic through to February 14.

Since February 15 there have been an additional 26,772 test-confirmed deaths.

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The higher toll would rival that of Brazil, which currently has the world's second-highest number of deaths after the United States. But Mexico's population of 126 million is far smaller than either of those countries.

On Wednesday, Brazil's health ministry reported 2009 daily Covid-19 deaths, bringing its pandemic total to 300,685.

The new report also confirms just how deadly Mexico's second wave in January was. As of the end of December, excess death estimates suggested a total of about 220,000 deaths related to Covid-19 in Mexico.

Workers on horseback late last year in the Valle de Chalco municipal cemetery on the outskirts of Mexico City. It is mostly reserved for those who have died from the coronavirus. Photo / AP
Workers on horseback late last year in the Valle de Chalco municipal cemetery on the outskirts of Mexico City. It is mostly reserved for those who have died from the coronavirus. Photo / AP

That number jumped by around 75,000 in just a month and a half. Also suggestive were the overall number of "excess deaths" since the pandemic began, around 417,000.

Excess deaths are determined by comparing the deaths in a given year to those that would be expected based on data from previous years. A review of death certificates found about 70.5 per cent of the excess deaths were Covid-19 related, often because it was listed on the certificates as a suspected or contributing cause of death. But some experts say Covid-19 may have contributed to many of the other excess deaths because many people couldn't get treatment for other diseases because hospitals were overwhelmed.

Former President Felipe Calderón wrote in his Twitter account today that "more than 400,000 Mexicans have died, above the average for previous years ... probably the highest figure in the world."

Workers in protective gear as a precaution against the coronavirus, remove a coffin that contained the remains of a person who died from the coronavirus, at Mexico City in 2020. Photo /AP
Workers in protective gear as a precaution against the coronavirus, remove a coffin that contained the remains of a person who died from the coronavirus, at Mexico City in 2020. Photo /AP