Chihuahua state has highest day of virus infections as Juarez cases top 1,000; 5-year-old boy among dead

CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico -- The state of Chihuahua recorded its highest day of virus infections on Wednesday with 100 new cases reported, 72 of those coming in the city of Juarez, health officials said.

There were nine new virus deaths in Juarez, contributing to ten for the state, with one of those fatalities being a 5-year-old Juarez boy - who was the youngest victim of the pandemic to date.

The spike in northern Mexico came 24 hours after the nation experienced a record 500 deaths in a day. Officials have said they believe the rate of increases in new cases will start to decline by next week.

In Juarez, the total number of cases reached 1,014 while the death toll hit 238. For Chihuahua state, the case count was at 1,665 and deaths tallied 292. Across all of Mexico, there were 74,560 confirmed cases with 8,134 deaths as of Wednesday.