Mexico enters third wave of coronavirus, infections up 29%

MEXICO CITY (AP) – Mexico is entering its third wave of the coronavirus pandemic, with infections rising 29% from the previous week.

But the country’s health department said on Friday that the growth came largely from infections in younger and less vulnerable people. The number of cases is now as high as at the start of the last wave in September; this wave peaked in January and declined steadily until June.

But at present, only about 22% of the country’s hospital beds are occupied; hospital beds in many parts of the country were mostly filled to capacity during the last wave.

Authorities said the relative drop in severe cases among the elderly is a result of the country’s vaccination campaign, which on Friday delivered at least one dose to around 39% of all adults.

Deputy Health Secretary Hugo López-Gatell said the increase in infections was not due to the arrival of the Delta variant, but rather an increase in public activity.

Mexico City health officials said they expect the third wave to peak in August in the capital, which has been hardest hit by COVID-19 in the previous two waves.

Mexico has suffered nearly 235,000 test-confirmed deaths, but because the country does so little testing, the government’s own excess death figures suggest the true toll is around 360,000 deaths.