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Mexico Now Has the Most Deadly Covid Outbreak in Latin America


Jim Bowie

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https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-02-09/mexico-now-has-the-most-deadly-covid-outbreak-in-latin-america

 

 

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    Country passed Panama to have 59.2 fatalities per million
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    Mexico City excess deaths highest in world per capita: report
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Mexico has reported 166,731 covid deaths after a year.  Population of Mexico is 126,014,000. 

Death toll percentage is 166,731 x100/126,014,000 or .132 percent total in one year.  Poverty increased by 12.6 million in 2020 largely due to government actions.

How many deaths from that, do we know?  What percentage had major contributing conditions of obesity, diabetes, pulmonary problems, very old age?  Children have been kept out of school for nearly a year, what are the long term costs in poverty and death of that?

Was the "cure" (which basically did not work) worth than the disease?

 

 

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14 hours ago, Zeb said:

Mexico is part of North America.

 

This is true but Latin America is a cultural and linguistic designation which includes all Latin-based language countries in the Americas.

South America refers to a continent, it's a geographical designation. So Mexico is indeed part of Latin America, but not South America.

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10 hours ago, mudgirl said:

This is true but Latin America is a cultural and linguistic designation which includes all Latin-based language countries in the Americas.

South America refers to a continent, it's a geographical designation. So Mexico is indeed part of Latin America, but not South America.

You are correct and I thought about that difference after I had already submitted the comment.

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40 minutes ago, Zeb said:

You are correct and I thought about that difference after I had already submitted the comment.

It is true though that the majority of people in the US and Canada have no idea that Mexico is part of North America, despite something called the North American Free Trade Agreement, which includes all 3 countries.

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In Mexico, and most of Latin America, officially there is only one continent, America.  North America is just a region of that one continent.

11 hours ago, mudgirl said:

This is true but Latin America is a cultural and linguistic designation which includes all Latin-based language countries in the Americas.

South America refers to a continent, it's a geographical designation. So Mexico is indeed part of Latin America, but not South America.

 

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On 2/14/2021 at 10:58 PM, mudgirl said:

It is true though that the majority of people in the US and Canada have no idea that Mexico is part of North America, despite something called the North American Free Trade Agreement, which includes all 3 countries.

Many (most?) Canadians think that Mexico is part of North America

-another view

"Is Mexico Part of North America or Central America?

Jun 24, 2020 — The short answer to this question is no. Mexico is not part of Central America. According to the Encyclopaedia Britannica: “Central America, southernmost region of North America, lying between Mexico and South America and comprising Panama, Costa Rica,
Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Belize.”
And another;
"Regions. Geographically, the North American continent has many regions and subregions. ... In contrast to the common definition of "North America", which encompasses the whole continent, the term "North America" is sometimes used to refer only to Mexico, Canada, the United States, and Greenland."
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I have been trying to understand the situation here as far as covid goes, but from what I understand is this, if you go by the per 100k stats, Mexico has less cases than Canada and the US, but does have more deaths per 100K. Why this is, i am not sure.

But if you exclude Mexico City, which seems like they have a major problem, the situation here is pretty good. People seem to be complying as best as they can and stores are doing well at reducing the number of people in the stores. 

I personally feel safe and commend the citizens of Mexico on their efforts.

As for the second topic, this has been something I have never got my head around as what I was taught in school differs greatly to todays understanding. What I was taught was this. North America, consisting of Canada, The US, and Mexico. Then Central America Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, El Salvador, Guatemala, and Belize. Then finally south America. But was also told that Latin America was all countries that spoke Spanish.

Now it Says Mexico is listed a central America even though if you look up continents, There is only North and South America

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Ok that makes sense. But does that mean Central America is a Geopolitical term? as there is no continent call Central America. Also on that note, I was also taught a different meaning for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd world meanings than I hear today. Because I was taught that 1st world was Democracy such as the US, 2nd world was Communism such as the former USSR, And 3rd world was anything other than the first 2. But now I am told that first world are rich countries and 3rd world are poor countries, so if this is the case then what is the new definition of 2nd world?

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Oh and back to the covid thing as that is the topic of discussion. As I think there is a logical explanation to be had. Now this is just my opinion and interpretation of what I have read. As facts can be misleading.

Death rate is calculated based on reported cases vs covid deaths recorded. I find it hard to believe that covid is targeting one group more than others and that it is a simple issue of math.

Because if you actually look at the stats it shows a trend, in that, mortality rates, regardless of country, they are all the same. Which makes sense as a virus is not concerned of which country you come from or what your beliefs are. You are a host and nothing more.

But what it does show is cultural differences, as in, some cultures are less likely to report an illness than others, for example, in the US and Canada, people are generally more likely to report the systems they have as medical care is considered a right. Whereas in Mexico, health care is not as accessible. So fewer people will probably report their symptoms or go for testing.

So my though is this, Mexico is seeing a higher mortality rate per cases reported, and if the people are not reporting or taking the test, then that will skew the results, but if you make the reasonable assumption that death rates are a constant, then it would show that cases are not being reported as they should be. 

Because as of last reading, Mexico is at 94 place for reported covid cases per 100k, but is third for deaths, so something seems not right in the numbers. 

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1 hour ago, Northtek said:

Ok that makes sense. But does that mean Central America is a Geopolitical term? as there is no continent call Central America. Also on that note, I was also taught a different meaning for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd world meanings than I hear today. Because I was taught that 1st world was Democracy such as the US, 2nd world was Communism such as the former USSR, And 3rd world was anything other than the first 2. But now I am told that first world are rich countries and 3rd world are poor countries, so if this is the case then what is the new definition of 2nd world?

You would not have learned such nonsense in any school I attended and my retired teacher wife taught in in Canada.

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24 minutes ago, mudgirl said:

I don't know where you are looking for stats, but that isn't true at all. 

Stats come from the WHO, CNN, Google, and others. It is very convoluted as you have to factor in, access to health care, population density, economics, politics, and other issues. 

But in the end, I think Mexico is doing about average, so I am actually glad I am here instead of back home in Canada, as covid variants seem to be the biggest issue. So far Canada has over 5 times the number of case of the B117 variant. Mexico only has 5 reported cases so far. With Mexico having almost 100 million more people with 1/5 the land size. I would say if the stats are true, then its pretty safe here.

Which begs the question. Why has the Canadian government only banned travel to Mexico and the Caribbean where reported cases of the variant are low but haven't banned countries where the variants originated or the most prevalent?

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1 hour ago, Northtek said:

Why has the Canadian government only banned travel to Mexico and the Caribbean where reported cases of the variant are low but haven't banned countries where the variants originated or the most prevalent?

Canada doesn't want people travelling anywhere right now and then expecting to waltz back into tbe country. And if you think there's only 5 cases of the variant in Mexico, you are really naive. Mexico has very little testing and their stats are not to be believed.

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11 minutes ago, gimpychimp said:

The reported numbers in Mexico can't be believed.  Here is an article on the opinion of the UNAM university.

https://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/coronavirus/official-count-is-2-million-coronavirus-cases-but-university-says-its-at-least-17-million/

That's a great article, Thanks. It does fit into what I was assuming as it says 'The minimum estimate assumes a fatality rate of 1% and that the official Covid-19 death toll – 178,108 as of Thursday – includes all fatalities from the infectious disease." 

Which does prove the numbers are being under reported, because they are taking the position that fatality rates are the constant and can reverse the findings to calculate a real projection of covid cases. 

So with their low estimate 17.81 million cases, and Mexico has a population of 127 million and compare it with the US that has 27.5 million reported cases and a population 331 Million. 

Then the US has 2.5 times the population but less than double the cases, so it would seem Mexico has a higher rate of cases.

But lets break this down a bit more as one of the driving factors is population density, as the higher the density the higher the transmission rate will be .The Us has a population density of 36 per KM2 and Mexico has a population density of 64.91. So it would make sense Mexico would have higher covid numbers. So with the population density being roughly double, and the estimated case rate is roughly double. Then it still safe to say Mexico is about average.

So this is a great thought experiment. but even with this breakdown, its really hard to say. but in the end, I think its best to just keep yourself safe and follow the recommendations of health officials.

 

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but I just should point out if we actually did the math based on population density properly, the the estimated cases would be closer to the max that the report suggest. But because travel in Mexico is not as common as it is in the US or Canada, it maybe why cases are higher in Mexico city than in Guadalajara. So that lack of a traveling population maybe what's responsible for a lower spread.

But seeing as the actual calculation is rather complex i will let someone else tackle that. it can be found here https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0025556413001235

population density calculation.jpg

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1 hour ago, Northtek said:

1% and that the official Covid-19 death toll – 178,108 as of Thursday – includes all fatalities from the infectious disease." 

What you are leaving out of the equation is the death rate not of the total population, or thise who have tedted positive, but of those who are sick enough to be hospitalized. Far more people in Mexico who end up in the hospital with COVID die than in other places.

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