Mexico surpassed India to claim the world’s third highest Covid-19 death total on Thursday, with its tally rising by another 1,506 fatalities to 155,145.
That figure is certainly higher still, by around 45 percent, according to the National Statistics Agency (Inegi).
Data released this week by Inegi showed that deaths in Mexico increased 37 percent between January and August last year, with over 184,000 more fatalities compared with the same period in 2019. Inegi President Julio A. Santaella said the institute calculated that 108,658 deaths were caused by Covid-19 between January and August 2020, 44.8 percent higher than the 75,017 deaths confirmed by the Ministry of Health in the same period.
Other experts said Inegi’s numbers are conservative estimates of Covid fatalities, which they say could be as many as three times higher.