Mexico reports record 60,000 daily COVID-19 cases

Mexico's new COVID-19 cases hit a daily record above 60,000 on Wednesday, official figures showed, as the hard-hit country faces a fourth wave of infections linked to the Omicron variant.

The health ministry reported 60,552 new coronavirus infections—the most yet for a 24-hour period—taking the total number since the pandemic began to nearly 4.5 million.

Mexico's official COVID-19 death toll—the fifth highest in the world—reached 302,112, up 323 from the previous day.

Like many countries, Mexico is in the grip of a new wave of infections following the emergence of the highly contagious Omicron variant and traditional year-end family gatherings.

Daily fatalities are, however, still far lower than the peaks of previous waves.

The real number of infections is believed to be much higher than the official figure due to the low level of testing in the country of 126 million people.

Government officials have even urged people not to get tested for COVID-19 but to isolate at home given a shortage of tests.

On Monday President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said that he had recovered from a second bout of COVID-19.