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Mexico's confirmed coronavirus deaths rise to 70,604

Mexico's confirmed coronavirus deaths rise to 70,604

By Reuters

FILE - A police officer wears a protective face mask on the street after the governor of the northern Mexican state of Coahuila said on Saturday that a new case of coronavirus had been confirmed, in Mexico City, Mexico February 29, 2020. Photo: Reuters

MEXICO CITY: Mexico reported 5,674 new confirmed cases of coronavirus infection and 421 additional fatalities on Saturday, bringing its totals to 663,973 infections and 70,604 deaths, according to updated Health Ministry data. The government has said the real number of infected people is likely to be significantly higher than the confirmed cases. So far, Mexico's death toll from the pandemic is the fourth highest globally, and the 13th highest on a per capita basis, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. The spread of the virus has ravaged an already slumping economy, which is now seen contracting by up to 13% this year, the deepest downturn since the 1930s-era Great Depression.