In Mexico City alone, there were 2,591 confirmed cases of coronavirus patients, roughly a third of the cases in the entire country. Along with this report on Sunday, the city also had the highest fatality rate, 183, which summed up to 27 percent of Mexico's coronavirus-related deaths.

Earlier this week, reports of hospitals overflowing with patients and inadequate equipment were dismissed by President López Obrador.

In an epidemiological study done by the health ministry, for each positive COVID-19 cases, there is likely that there are eight individuals who would have gone undetected because of the undetectable symptoms, which meant that over 20,000 people might be asymptomatic carriers.

Hospitals at maximum capacity

Lopez Obrador said that analysts believed the third phase of the pandemic was imminent.

According to a report by Reforma, before Lopez Obrador's announcement, most of the health facilities in the capital have already reached maximum capacity.

In a survey conducted by Statistica last March, 30 percent of the participants believed that the number of medical workers in Mexico was more than sufficient to handle the coronavirus pandemic. In the same vein, 20 percent of these participants felt there was enough medication to go around for everyone.

Mexico City authorities said that hospitals and health centers like the National Institute of Medical Sciences and Nutrition were 80% full of patients.

"On the 16th, I said that that there were 356 intubated patients," Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum announced in a press conference last Saturday. "Today, there are 468 in different hospitals in the city."

Sheinbaum also confirmed that 468 patients required respiratory assistance in hospitals, an increase of over a hundred in comparison to Thursday. Facilities run by public security hospitals, private hospitals, the Mexican Social Security Institute and the State Workers Social Security Institute, and the National Institute of Respiratory Diseases.

The latter institute admitted to the mayor that this pandemic marked their first time handling so many intubated people at once. Over 70 patients needed ventilators in the hospital.

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For good measure

Because the coronavirus cases are not showing any signs of slowing down, which is contrary to Lopez Obrador's prediction in the preceding weeks, Mexico is extending quarantine measures and banning travel for another month, especially in the U.S. border, in attempts to flatten the curve.

Mexican authorities explained that the decision was made due to the development of the COVID-19 propagation in both nations.

Initially, the cross-travel ban and border control between the two countries was initiated on March 21. According to NPR, employees, those with temporary work visas and those who work on emergency and business operations, and students were initially still allowed to enter and exit at the border.

This decision proved significant more than ever since the U.S. now has the highest number of positive cases of COVID-19 in the world, with over 792,958 overall cases and topping 42,531 deaths as of Tuesday.

In conclusion to the press briefing last Saturday, Sheinbaum emphasized that Mexico was coming into a "delicate phase" of the pandemic, adding that "That's why we're still reminding you that we have to stay at home."