Mexico Ranks Third for Coronavirus Deaths

Mexico climbed to number three in the world in the number of people who died from COVID-19. This as Mexican health officials claim to be making progress in controlling the spread of the novel coronavirus. While Mexico had more than time than other nations to prepare for the virus, health officials claim that the high number of fatalities is simply because people are fat and eat junk food.

The most recent figures released by Mexico’s Undersecretary of Health Hugo Lopez Gatell report 424,637 confirmed COVID-19 cases and 46,688 fatalities. The figures also point to 90,582 suspicious cases undergoing testing. The figures revealed by Mexico’s government have been plagued by accusations of widespread undercounting where some officials claim the real numbers could be three times as high as those acknowledged, Breitbart Texas reported.

Al 31 de julio de 2020 hay 424,637 casos confirmados y 90,022 sospechosos de #COVID19. Se han registrado 469,629 negativos, 46,688 defunciones confirmadas y 278,618 personas recuperadas. 1/2 pic.twitter.com/Rr20gJjLut

— Hugo López-Gatell Ramírez (@HLGatell) August 1, 2020

The new figures pushed Mexico past the United Kingdom into the third place of nations with the most coronavirus fatalities. The top nations as of August 1 are:

1. United States — 157,370 fatalities
2. Brazil — 92,789 fatalities
3. Mexico — 46,688 fatalities

The rising number of fatalities and new cases comes while Lopez Gatell crusades against junk food, claiming that unhealthy eating habits are to blame for Mexico’s high mortality rate. The Mexican health official points to high diabetes and obesity rates as being the root of the problem. However, information from the government epidemiology oversight database revealed that in Mexico City, many of the fatal patients were actually otherwise-healthy young adults who did not have access to a ventilator, Forbes reported.

Concientizar sobre la influencia de los productos industrializados en la alimentación no saludable, no es desprestigiar a un sector; se trata de evidencia científica reconocida por organismos internacionales como la @WHO. Tenemos que actuar en beneficio de la salud.

— Hugo López-Gatell Ramírez (@HLGatell) July 28, 2020

The health official has been harshly criticized in Mexico by politicians and health officials who claim he has not done enough to slow Mexico’s abnormally high fatality rate, nor curb the spread of the pandemic. As Breitbart Texas reported, Lopez Gatell held daily press conferences and used promotional campaigns, however, the brunt of the containment measures has been carried out by state governments including inspection stations, lockdowns, and closings of certain businesses.