Virus claims 16 more lives in Juarez, as the fatality rate reaches 22%
CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico -- Chihuahua state health officials on Tuesday reported 16 new coronavirus deaths in the city of Juarez, as the fatality rate there reached 22%.
Juarez has now recorded 282 deaths and 1,281 confirmed cases to date. Health officials also said there were at least 30 people currently hospitalized utilizing ventilators.
Juarez was responsible for 16 of the 17 additional deaths in Chihuahua state, which now tallies 348 fatalities and 2,084 infections during the pandemic.
The rise in the death count comes just a day after President Andrés Manuel López Obrador kicked off Mexico’s return to a “new normal” and began to gradually ease some virus-inspired restrictions.
While the federal government’s nationwide social distancing rule has formally ended, it is urging people in so-called “red” zones to maintain most of those measures — and the state of Chihuahua and city of Juarez are among the many areas listed as "red" zones.
Mexican officials said that more than 5,000 companies had implemented protocols that would allow them to reopen this week. The federal government has cleared businesses in the mining, construction and auto manufacturing sectors to resume operations.
The Mexican president has faced criticism for his handling of the pandemic. Mexico is nearing 100,000 confirmed infections and has topped 10,000 deaths, but those official tallies are considered to be under-counts.
