Mexico reports record coronavirus deaths, cases

Mexico on Wednesday reported 1,165 coronavirus deaths and more than 13,000 additional cases, setting grim new records in one of the countries hardest hit by the pandemic.

The nation's COVID-19 death toll, the fourth highest in the world, now stands at 129,987, the health ministry said in its daily update.

The official total number of cases has risen by 13,345, to nearly 1.48 million, in a country of 128 million people.

The authorities acknowledge that the real figure is probably much higher due to limited testing.

Mexico began a mass immunization program on December 24 using the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine, and on Monday also authorized the shot developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford.

Mexico City and surrounding areas last month suspended all non-essential activities, warning that hospitals were in danger of being overwhelmed by a spike in the number of cases.

© 2021 AFP