300 unmarked graves for pandemic victims dug in Mexico

Mexico City: The government in Mexico's Guerrero state has created 300 unmarked graves in the coastal city of Acapulco, as cemeteries and crematoriums reached the limit of their capacity.

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

"Of the two incineration centres 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," Efe news quoted Roman as saying. Guerrero has so far recorded 1,083 patients and 161 deaths.

However, due to its scarce infrastructure, the state has a hospital occupancy of 71 per cent of general beds, which places it only below 72 per cent in Mexico City, and above the national average of 39 per cent. In addition, the mayor explained that, of 25 daily deaths, at least 10 are from the coronavirus.

"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 Pena.

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

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 COVID-19 cases and nearly 7,000 deaths