Health

300 unmarked graves for COVID-19 victims dug out in southern Mexico

By Salma Kaufman R.

Acapulco, Mexico, May 23 (efe-epa).- Given the increase in cases of COVID-19, the Guerrero state government has created 300 mass graves in the coastal city of Acapulco, in southern Mexico, as cemeteries and crematoriums are to the limit of their capacity.

The Acapulco City Council began excavation in one of the municipal cemeteries for burials by COVID-19, Mayor Adela Román reported Saturday.

“Of the two incineration centers that we have in the port, one of them is becoming saturated and there is no longer enough supply with the corpses that arrive, for that reason more graves were dug in the cemetery to accommodate the bodies that are also arriving in greater quantity every day,” she said.

Guerrero is 18th in coronavirus infections nationwide, with 1,083 patients and 161 deaths recognized by the state government.

However, due to its scarce infrastructure, the entity has a hospital occupancy of 71% of general beds, which places it only below 72% in Mexico City, and above the national average of 39%.

In addition, the mayor explained that, of 25 daily deaths, at least 10 are from the coronavirus.

The State Government confirmed the trend in the entity.

“During the last 17 days, 695 cases have been presented, which speaks of a significant increase,” declared the Secretary of Health of Guerrero, Carlos de la Peña.

The director of the Pantheons and Waters of Acapulco, Gerardo Sánchez, assured that these graves are for low-income and homeless people, so there is no cost.

So far, he said, nine of the 7graves are already occupied.

“According to statistics, if the number of people who die continues to grow, because there will be a little bit of problems, so far we have been at the limit, yes at the limit, and hopefully this situation will be resolved,” Sánchez said.

The saturation of hospitals has also been evident in recent days.

“We report: Hospital saturated, sorry for the inconvenience. There are no beds available for COVID-19, ”reads the entrance to the Institute of Security and Social Services for State Workers (ISSSTE), where it has been reported that they care for patients in the parking lot.

Despite the number of infections, there are still those who refuse to believe in the situation, such as the bolero Evaristo García, a 65-year-old man who continues to sit on the port base to clean shoes.

“We are in terrible crisis, we had to lose, we are suffering from hunger and lack of money, businesses are closed, all that they have to get going, because otherwise people will get sick from hunger,” he said.

Acapulco is in red at the traffic light barometer designed by the federal government for economic recovery, so the revival proposed for June 1 will not apply to the entity, said Governor Héctor Astudillo Flores.

Nationwide there are more than 60,000 cases and nearly 7,000 deaths confirmed by COVID-19. EFE-EPA

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