Mexico registered 37% more COVID-19 deaths in first 8 months of 2020 than initially reported

Deaths in Mexico jumped nearly 37% between January and August as the COVID-19 pandemic swept the country and 184,000 more people died than during the same period in 2019, Mexico’s statistics institute (INEGI) said on Wednesday.

INEGI reported 108,658 deaths from COVID-19 during the first eight months of the year. That compares to 64,414 COVID-19 deaths reported by Mexico’s health department during the same period.

INEGI’s president Julio Santaella told local media on Wednesday that the two agencies rely on different sources for the data, with . . .