By Diego Oré and Roberto Ramirez

MEXICO CITY, (Reuters) – Mexico will likely surpass 300,000.0 deaths due to COVID-19 in this week’s report. This is the fifth-highest death toll globally. The rise in infections after holidays, fueled by Omicron coronavirus variants and largely restricted tourism, has led to an increase in the number of cases.

Since the United States tourists have been visiting Mexico, infected persons increased by more than 20,000 to 22,000. With cases rising fast, eleven of Mexico’s 32 state governments decided to stop offering in-person classes.

In the autumn, it was the arrival of Omicron virus which caused a significant increase in the number of infections. This led to widespread vaccinations providing relief.

Mexicans claimed that people were more relaxed when the holidays arrived.

Isauro, 53, is a taxi driver from Mexico City. He said that since December, people have been going out more and many are no longer wearing face masks. “The government won’t care about us if we don’t look after ourselves.”

Officials say that Mexico has recorded 299,805 deaths due to COVID-19 as of Wednesday. This figure is probably significantly lower than the actual death toll.

A separate report by the government showed that nearly 452,000 deaths were “linked to COVID-19” as of mid-December. Lower testing likely contributed to an underestimation of the disease’s reach.

According to an analysis done by Johns Hopkins University, Mexico is the country with the highest death rate (deaths per confirmed case) among 20 countries most affected by COVID-19. https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/data/mortality

Laurie XimenezFyvie is an expert in molecular genetics from the National Autonomous University of Mexico. She said that Mexico’s death would ultimately be the final measure of government performance in dealing with the pandemic.

She argued that it was at risk of “absolute failure” so far.

Our World in Data, an Oxford University research organization, reports that Mexico had conducted just 0.12 coronavirus daily testing for each 1,000 residents in the week ending January 1. That’s down from 0.38 per capita in mid-August.

As 2021 came to an end, Britain was performing 20.6 test per 1,000 residents.

Omicron is spreading in Europe. The United States has placed additional restrictions, but Mexico has resisted. Tourists are not required to pass negative screenings.

Experts believe that Mexico could be hit harder by a rolling wave of cases because it has lower levels of vaccination than many other countries.

Nationally, 56% are not fully vaccinated. That compares with 62% in the United States, and 81% for Spain.

Mexico City’s adult population is 95% fully vaccinated, but Mexicans readily took up the vaccines.

The government still hasn’t extended its vaccine program to children under 15 years of age, despite the fact that more children are being admitted. According to World Bank data, more than half of Mexico’s children are 14 years old or younger.