(Credit: PEDRO PARDO / AFP via Getty Images)
(CNN) -
Mexican health officials admitted Sunday that the actual death toll from COVID-19 in the country is likely at least 50,000 deaths higher than the current official death toll.
Dr. Ruy López Ridaura, general director of the National Center for Preventive Programs and Disease Control of Mexico, said that the government analyzed the total number of deaths registered throughout the country between January 1 and September 26 of this year .
Based on historical data from previous years, the government would have expected 524,920 deaths in that time period.
Instead, it recorded 718,090 deaths in total, meaning the country recorded roughly 193,000 additional deaths during that time period.
Ridaura said that of that excess of deaths, almost 140,000 were attributable to covid-19.
With the current official death toll at just over 89,000, that means there are at least 50,000 additional deaths from covid-19 in the country that were not officially reported.
However, this excess of deaths has not been added to the country's official death toll.
The main reason for the additional number of deaths is the lack of tests nationwide, which means that many people who die from COVID-19 never receive a test confirming the diagnosis.
Mexico currently has 895,326 confirmed cases of covid-19 and 89,171 deaths according to Johns Hopkins University.
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