Mexico's coronavirus death surge puts testing regime under the microscope

FILE PHOTO: Funeral workers stand by the coffin of a woman, who died of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), as musicians stand next to them at the Municipal cemetery in Nezahualcoyotl, State of Mexico, Mexico June 12, 2020. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso/File Photo

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico went into the coronavirus outbreak insisting it would beat the pandemic without mass testing, but with deaths surging as it prepares to exit lockdown, the strategy looks increasingly untenable.

Mexico's coronavirus czar, Deputy Health Minister Hugo Lopez-Gatell, has doggedly eschewed widespread testing for new cases in favor of a lighter regime based on a model drawn up over a decade ago, arguing it made more efficient use of medical resources.