Yucatán COVID infections rise for the 5th consecutive week
Daily coronavirus infections jumped 6.4% since the beginning of August, Yucatán health ministry data shows.
New cases averaged 287 every 24 hours last week. Deaths have also risen, from a daily average of 13 to 16 in five weeks, according to government statistics.
By far the most COVID-19 patients are under quarantine. While public hospitalizations have remained fairly steady in the last seven days, hovering around 280, an additional 2,441 patients are staying at home with mild symptoms, an increase of 9.4% since Sept. 6.
The comparison between hospital admissions and home quarantines would be less lopsided if private facilities’ data were part of Yucatán health statistics. Testing rates are also too low to properly indicate a true number of cases throughout the Peninsula.
Vaccines for the hesitant
All Mérida residents over 18 were invited to get immunized with AstraZeneca doses at one of three vaccination centers this week.
Officials are reaching out to people who have not yet received their first doses, no matter what the reason.
The Ministry of Welfare, Joaquín Diaz Mena, announced the option Sunday morning on social media.
The Yucatán Siglo XXI convention center and two sports complexes — La Unidad Deportiva Kukulcán and La Unidad Deportiva Inalámbrica — will be open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m until supplies run out.
The announcement follows news that eight out of 10 people hospitalized for coronavirus were not vaccinated.
Lee Steele is the founding director of Mérida-based Roof Cat Media S de RL de CV and has published Yucatán Magazine and other titles since 2012. He was Hearst Connecticut’s Sunday Magazine creative director and worked in New York City for various magazine publishers, including Condé Nast and Primedia, for over 20 years.
