MEXICO CITY, June 28 -- Mexico has seen 10 weeks of increase in COVID-19 cases though the hospitalization rate remains low, the Undersecretary of Prevention and Health Promotion Hugo Lopez-Gatell said Tuesday.

Deaths from the pandemic are also increasing at a slower pace compared to the past waves of outbreaks, said the Mexican official.

"Fortunately, hospitalizations are rising very little," Lopez-Gatell told reporters at the National Palace in Mexico City.

Hospital occupancy due to COVID-19 accounts for 6 percent of total hospitalizations, according to official data.

Deaths have risen to an average of seven a day in recent weeks, up from an average of five, the official said.

Mexico registered its first case of COVID-19 at the end of February 2020, and logged 5,965,958 confirmed cases of the disease and 325,596 deaths as of June 27.

  - Xinhua