Mexico’s coronavirus death toll passes 150,000

Mexico's coronavirus death toll has surpassed 150,000, the government said Monday, a day after President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador announced he had Covid-19.

The health ministry reported 659 more deaths in its daily update, taking the total to 150,273, behind only the United States, Brazil and India.

The overall number of infections registered now stands at more than 1.77 million in the nation of around 128 million, an increase of 8,521 from the previous day.

Lopez Obrador, 67, announced Sunday that he was undergoing treatment for Covid-19 but said his symptoms were mild.

The family of Mexican telecoms billionaire Carlos Slim, one of the world’s richest men, said Monday that the 80-year-old was also being treated for Covid-19 but has only minor symptoms.

Mexico City has been in a state of maximum alert since mid-December, with more than 90 percent of hospital beds full due to soaring infections. Non-essential activities have been suspended in the capital.

The country began mass immunization on December 24 using the vaccine developed by US drugs giant Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech, but it is constrained by limited supply.

On Monday Lopez Obrador said Mexico would acquire 24 million doses of Russia’s Sputnik V coronavirus vaccine, although it has yet to be approved by Mexican health regulators.