authorities are investigating a criminal network formed by healthcare workers from public hospitals in the capital and the State of Mexico; workers from the forensic medical service; doctors and nurses working in the private sector, and legal and clandestine funeral homes . According to reports, the criminal group issued altered death certificates .
According to local authorities, death certificates were stolen from their offices and then used and modified to make it seem like COVID-19 patients died of other illnesses such as respiratory failure, atypical pneumonia, viral pneumonia, and not from the novel coronavirus. The actions were described as a “risk to society” and modified the official number of COVID-19 contagions and coronavirus-related deaths in the city.
The investigations indicate that the criminals stole around 1,000 death certificates . So far, authorities have located 800 of them.
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Authorities have identified at least 10 Mexico City doctors involved in the criminal scheme . Five of them were called to testify but none of them have been arrested and charged with a crime .
Sources close to the investigation explain that in case a healthcare worker or government official is found guilty, they wouldn’t be sent to jail and would simply lose their job and might be banned from working from the government.
In the case of the irregular funeral homes and doctors working in private practice, they could face a tougher punishment.
Authorities have carried out inspections in 10 clandestine funeral homes in Mexico City, as authorities believed they were in possession of the missing death certificates.
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