MEXICO CITY: Mexico reported 16,133 new cases of COVID-19 in the country on Thursday (June 23), the highest daily number reported since late February, according to data released by the Ministry of Health.
The increase is a signal that a new wave of the virus is spreading across the country, experts say.
“What we have observed over the past nine weeks is a gradual increase in the frequency of cases,” Deputy Health Minister Hugo Lopez-Gatell said at a regular news conference on Tuesday.
Lopez-Gatell said most cases in the country are of the Omicron BA.4 and BA.5 subvariants, which cause cold-like symptoms.
“And even more encouraging is that the deaths are also being kept under control,” he said.
Mexico has recorded an average of 24 deaths a day for the past seven days, according to data from the Ministry of Health.
The ministry said Tuesday that 4 percent of general hospital beds were filled with COVID-19 patients, while 1 percent of emergency beds were filled.
Lopez-Gatell said the rate at which the number of cases is increasing is encouraging “because it suggests that … the protection we all have, either because we suffered from COVID-19 or because we have been vaccinated, or both, are working and promoting its spread. slower than it was”.
Earlier this month, Mexico opened registration for children ages 5 to 11 to receive their first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine.
