Deaths in Mexico jumped 37% in first 8 months of 2020 amid pandemic

MEXICO CITY, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Deaths in Mexico jumped nearly 37% between January and August as the coronavirus pandemic swept the country, with over 184,000 more deaths than during the same period in 2019, Mexico's statistics institute (INEGI) said on Wednesday.

COVID-19 was the second-leading cause of death nationwide during the eight-month period, after heart disease, it said.

Mexico has officially registered 152,016 deaths from COVID-19 so far, but officials have acknowledged that the number of deaths and infections from the virus may be far higher.

(Reporting by Sharay Angulo and Raul Cortes; writing by Laura Gottesdiener; Editing by Bernadette Baum)