MEXICO CITY (REUTERS) - Mexico on Thursday (Jan 28) surpassed India in confirmed Covid-19 deaths, giving the Latin American country the third-highest toll worldwide, according to a Reuters tally of official data.

Mexico's health ministry reported 18,670 new confirmed cases of coronavirus infections and 1,506 additional fatalities, bringing the total to 1,825,519 cases and 155,145 deaths.

The latest total death toll in India, a country with a population more than 10 times that of Mexico's 126 million inhabitants, stood at 153,847, according to a Reuters tally.

When adjusted for deaths per head of population, Mexico's toll is lower than several other countries, including the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic, Italy, the United States, Peru and Spain, according to data published by Johns Hopkins University.

Mexico's ballooning death toll underscores its struggle to contain the pandemic, which is worsening despite government restrictions on movement and commerce.

In Mexico City hospitals are nearing capacity and a shortage of oxygen tanks has complicated treatment of patients.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador became one of the latest victims when he announced on Sunday that he had caught the virus.

But his health is improving and he is practically without symptoms of Covid-19, Deputy Health Minister Hugo Lopez-Gatell said on Thursday.