Mexico Coronavirus News: Healthcare Workers Assaulted, Barred From Home

As many as 21 health workers, including doctors and nurses, have been attacked across 12 states in Mexico over fears that they will spread coronavirus.

The medical staff across the world has been applauded for working 24X7 to support and treat people infected with COVID-19. However, a surge in Mexico’s coronavirus cases has triggered violence against the nurses and doctors over fears that they may end up spreading COVID-19 to the community wherever they go.

Jovanna, an ear, nose and throat doctor from the Mexican city of Guadalajara, was attacked by a mob on her way back home. She realized that they had attacked her with bleach, and the attack left her with burns and conjunctivitis.

The head of nursing for the Mexican Social Security Institute confirmed the number of nurses and doctors that have been attacked so far. She emotionally revealed how healthcare workers no prefer to change their uniforms before leaving for work and after finishing their job so that they do not get attacked by the crowd.

“I have worn my nurse’s uniform for 27 years with great pride – as do doctors. But today we are taking off our uniforms because we don’t want to be injured,” she said.

Mexico has officially confirmed over 10,000 COVID-19 infections in the county with over 850 deaths. The health officials, however, have confessed that the real number could be as much as 8 times higher than being reported because of insufficient testing capability in the country.

As per health undersecretary Hugo López-Gatell, a large number of infections and hospitalizations are expected in the coming days because coronavirus in Mexico has reached to the stage of a rapid spread.

Despite suffering from such attacks and incidence of abuse and molestation, healthcare workers continue to remain in the frontline of coronavirus pandemic to treat the affected. Many healthcare workers have even took to the streets to protest demanding more personal protective equipment so that they can continue to work at the hospitals effectively without risking their lives.

So far, the Mexican authorities have recorded more than 500 COVID-19 cases among doctors and nurses.