Mexico Nears 18K Coronavirus Cases Despite Admitted Undercount

TOPSHOT - This photo taken on February 19, 2020 shows laboratory technicians testing sampl
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Even with incomplete figures, Mexican health officials say the nation is nearing 18,000 cases of Coronavirus (COVID-19). The real number of confirmed cases is higher since several states report nearly twice as many cases by accounting for private hospitals.

During their nightly news conference, Undersecretary of Health Hugo Lopez Gatell and staff revealed the number of cases currently acknowledged at the federal level is 17,799 with 1,732 fatalities.

The federal numbers released each night do not include figures from private hospitals, which can account for nearly half of the infected population in a given state. Several states release their own figures to include private hospitals. Tamaulipas shows a total of 482 cases, however federal figures only acknowledge 308.

Despite the undercounting, cases and fatalities continue to increase nationally. In the border state of Coahuila, the medical community came together to say farewell to a longtime regional commander of the Red Cross who died this week from a Coronavirus infection. Known as “Chano,” Graciano Ibarra Garcia served in the Red Cross for more than 20 years before retirement. He began to show symptoms earlier this month and was treated at the Clinic #7 of Mexico’s Social Security Institute (IMSS).

IMSS #7 Clinic is where a hospital director died last week. It was also shut down in early April for decontamination after more than 32 staffers became infected.

Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com

Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.     

“C.E. Herrera” from Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project contributed to this report

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