Mexico Adds 28,115 Covid Cases in Change to Counting Strategy

(Bloomberg) -- Mexico posted a record 28,115 Covid-19 cases Monday in what the government says is a change to its counting strategy.

Deaths also rose by a record 2,789 to a total of 81,877, health authorities said at the daily evening presser to update on the coronavirus outbreak. Both new cases and deaths didn't necessarily occur in the past 24 hours, they said, but are just now being added to the count due to lags in recording.

Mexico will now take into account “epidemiological association” in its tally of cases and deaths, said Health Ministry epidemiology director Jose Luis Alomia. That means adding suspicious cases and deaths among those in direct contact with a confirmed case but did not receive a test. Mexico's reduced testing, which has led to one of the world's highest positivity rates at 41%, has been widely criticized by medical experts.

Last week, Alomia said the country had lost 93,803 tests for various reasons.

Excess deaths in Mexico have reached 173,578 through Aug. 31, news website Animal Politico reported Sunday evening. The count includes people who died from causes unrelated to the virus but could or would not get medical care due to the pandemic.

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