Mexico Coronavirus Update: Lopez Obrador Emphasizes On National Reopening Even As COVID-19 Death Toll Climbs

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador announced on Thursday, May 29, that he has decided to restart his tour of the country by giving the justification that Mexico is already bouncing back from the coronavirus outbreak.

However, in reality, the coronavirus outbreak in Mexico is worsening with COVID-19 death tolls hitting new highs every day.

Ever since the president announced that Mexico has “tamed” the COVID-19 outbreak, five out of every six official coronavirus deaths in Mexico have been recorded only in this timeframe, which is less than a month.

Lopez Obrador said in a news briefing that he has taken the decision to go tour Mexico because people need to restart their public life and progress toward the new normal, however, with all precautions.

He has even decided to forego a review of the coronavirus situation in Mexico that was scheduled later in the day.

Coronavirus testing in Mexico has been limited so far and therefore, it is difficult to say if the COVID-19 pandemic is under control. In fact, the rising death toll and the rate of infections tell a different story.

In the last two weeks, Mexico has recorded over 8,500 deaths. This is more than 80% of the total coronavirus deaths in Mexico, which indicates that the pandemic was so not under control as declared by Lopez Obrador back on April 26, 2020.

Lopez Obrador has also been extremely casual with his approach toward handling the coronavirus pandemic in Mexico. He initially displayed no seriousness, urging and encouraging people to continue to hug and carry out their daily activities as usual even as his own officials urged to practice social distancing.

Other than Mexico, the coronavirus outbreak has sharpened significantly in other Latin American countries, including Peru, Argentina, Columbia and Brazil. Some countries are even seeing their coronavirus numbers double up every two weeks.

The situation in Mexico is grim. In Mexico, coronavirus has sickened more than 11,300 health workers in the country, which is one of the highest numbers in the world. The Mexican healthcare system is trembling under the burden of the pandemic, with some hospitals reporting a reduction in 50% of the healthcare workforce, while others running low on basic equipment.