Mexico reports coronavirus death toll passes 15,000

Health-Mexico-virus-toll Mexico City, June 11, 2020 (AFP) - Mexico's death toll from the new coronavirus passed 15,000, its government said Wednesday, as the country also recorded its highest number of infections in one day.

Health official Jose Luis Alomia told a press conference that a further 708 fatalities have been recorded in the past 24 hours, bringing the total to 15,357. In addition, 4,833 new infections were reported, bringing the total to 129,184.

During the same meeting, Health Undersecretary Hugo Lopez-Gatell, heading the pandemic response, warned that case predictions for the country had been expanded.

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"We have close to 17 or 18 days in which the decline of the (epidemic) curve has stalled, (but) it has not gone up," he said, explaining the pattern of infections and deaths.

Lopez-Gatell told AFP on May 29 that Mexico would probably see more than 30,000 deaths from coronavirus pandemic, but did not say when the country could hit that milestone.

Mexico -- with 127 million inhabitants -- saw its highest number of daily COVID-19 deaths June 3, at 1,092.

But authorities explained the figure included updates to months-old cases.

The Americas have become the epicenter of the pandemic which has seen more than 7.3 million cases and 414,484 deaths worldwide after it began last year in China.