June 1 marked exactly one year since the first confirmed case of Covid-19 was registered in the municipality of Chapala, coming almost three months after state health authorities detected the spread of the viral disease in Jalisco.
Chapala’s first registered patient to come down with Covid-19 was a 44-year-old male, who was hospitalized due to the gravity of his symptoms. Although he eventually recovered sufficiently to return home, it is not known whether he suffered subsequent side effects from the illness.
The municipality’s first fatality from the pandemic was a man, age 77, who succumbed while isolated in his home. His symptoms were aggravated by chronic heart disease, one of the comorbidities commonly associated with Covid-19.
According to statistics compiled by Jalisco’s Health Department (SSJ), the local incidence of SARS-CoV-2 infections peaked between November 2020 and January of this year, with a total of 243 cases confirmed in that period. As of May 31, 2021, SSJ figures for Chapala stood at a total of 516 confirmed cases and 53 deaths, with only four new cases and one death added since the end of April.
In neighboring municipalities, SSJ has registered 413 cases and 27 deaths for Jocotepec, 499 cases and 57 in Poncitlán, and 684 cases and 51 deaths in Ixtlahuacán de los Membrillos, excluding pandemic victims who were not reported through official channels.