EXCLUSIVE-"We're winning" - Mexico's coronavirus czar sees victory in sight

Mexico is winning the battle against the coronavirus and has enough spare capacity to see off the peak of the pandemic this week, but the number of deaths linked to the disease is likely higher than official data reflects, a top health official said.

Deputy health minister Hugo Lopez-Gatell, who has spearheaded Mexico's response to the outbreak, told Reuters the country was containing the virus even as he cautioned that a second wave of seasonal illness could strike in October. "We're winning," Lopez-Gatell said in an interview on Monday night at the National Palace, the seat of the federal government in the historic center of Mexico City. "The numbers are encouraging. We still have a very broad response capacity."

Since closing schools and ramping up social distancing in late March, Mexico has urged its 126 million inhabitants to stay at home and ordered the suspension of non-essential business activities.