Jubilee Post News & Views
Special Desk
As the daily rise in new cases was more than 2,000 Mexico reached the “peak moment” of its coronavirus outbreak. More than 2,409 new cases of the virus were confirmed on Thursday – the first time this figure has exceeded 2,000, officials said, as the country recorded its largest one-day rise in cases so far. The total number of confirmed cases in the country till now is now more than 40,000.
The grim milestone comes at a time when the country makes preparations to ease lockdown measures and reopen the economy, particularly factories near the border with the US. Assistant Health Secretary Hugo López-Gatell who is an epidemiologist and Mexico’s coronavirus tsar described this as “the most difficult moment of the first wave of the epidemic”.
He said the country could not relax measures in place to stem the spread of the virus, and instead needs to embrace a new normal to avoid another wave of infections in the country.
From Monday some key industries sectors including mining, construction and automobile assembly were scheduled to partially reopen. López-Gatell stressed that the re-opening of these industries will be largely preparatory, with a broader restart of businesses not scheduled until 1 June, now.
Government data released on Thursday also showed more than half of hospitals in the capital, Mexico City, were at capacity with coronavirus patients. Earlier this month, Mexico had received a consignment of more than 200 ventilators from a US firm.
