MEXICO CITY — When Miguel caught the coronavirus his family hoped help would come quickly for the Mexican grandfather, but instead they had to wait — for oxygen, a hospital bed and, finally, a cremation.
Their story is increasingly familiar as Mexico reels from its worst month of the pandemic yet, with more than 32,000 deaths in January, overwhelming hospitals, mortuaries, cemeteries and crematoriums.
After Miguel fell ill in late December, “the doctor asked us to go get oxygen, and that’s where the long journey began,” said his 32-year-old granddaughter, who asked not to identify her grandfather’s family name for reasons of privacy.
When the 78-year-old’s condition worse…
Keep on reading: In life and death, Mexico’s coronavirus victims face growing wait