Mexico’s Covid death toll is three times higher than reported, new study finds
The coronavirus has killed over 600,000 people in Mexico, according to health researchers who found that the Latin American nation’s Covid-19 death toll is almost three times higher than the official total.The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington School of Medicine published an analysis Thursday estimating that 617,127 people have died from Covid-19 in Mexico based on adjusted excess death rates.The number is 183 percent higher than Mexico’s official death toll, which rose to 218,007 on Wednesday.“As terrible as the Covid-19 pandemic appears, this analysis shows that the actual toll is significantly worse,” Dr. Chris Murray, director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, said in a statement.In Mexico, large numbers of people have died at home without being tested for Covid-19. Additionally, Mexico’s testing rate remains low, at about 51,000 tests per million people, according to German statistics portal Statista.But the challenge to accurately account for all Covid-19 deaths echoes around the world, Murray said, adding that many Covid-19 deaths go unreported because most countries only report deaths that occur in hospitals or among patients with a confirmed infection.The Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation estimates the coronavirus has killed approximately 6.9 million people globally, more
