Marco Ugarte/AP
MEXICO CITY — Mexico’s president introduced Monday he has come down with COVID-19 a second time, as coronavirus infections spike in Mexico and virus checks turn out to be scarce.
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador wrote that he examined constructive, after he had sounded hoarse at a morning information briefing. He contracted COVID-19 and recovered from it the primary time in early 2021.
“Regardless that the signs are gentle, I’ll stay remoted and solely work from the workplace and maintain on-line conferences till additional discover,” the president wrote in his social media accounts. “Within the meantime, Inside Secretary Adán Augusto López Hernández will take over for me at press conferences and different occasions.”
Two of the president’s Cupboard secretaries, the heads of the Surroundings and Economic system departments, introduced that they had examined constructive in current days.
Earlier on within the day, the president informed Mexicans to simply assume that they had COVID-19 if that they had signs. The variety of confirmed circumstances spiked by 186% final week. .
López Obrador claimed the Omicron variant is “a little bit COVID,” noting hospitalizations and deaths had not elevated on the similar fee. Nonetheless, consultants say these are each lagging indicators that won’t present up for weeks after infections spike.
Studying recommendation posted on Twitter, the president mentioned Mexicans with signs ought to simply keep at residence, take paracetamol and isolate, quite than going out and looking for checks.
Since Christmas, non-public pharmacies and the few out there testing facilities have been overwhelmed by lengthy strains. The Twitter recommendation drew on tips from Mexico Metropolis and different well being authorities.
López Obrador’s administration has lengthy refused to implement mass testing, calling it a waste of cash. He known as on firms to not require COVID checks for workers.
Mexico handed 300,000 test-confirmed coronavirus deaths final week, however so little testing is finished within the nation of 126 million {that a} authorities overview of loss of life certificates places the actual toll at virtually 460,000.
The virus spike was largely chargeable for the cancelation of 260 flights between Jan. 6 and Jan. 10, the president mentioned, as airline workers bought contaminated and needed to isolate, inflicting workers shortages.
José Merino, the top of Mexico Metropolis’s Digital Innovation Company, mentioned the capital had the identical variety of Covid circumstances as the height of January 2020, however solely 6% as many individuals hospitalized. he wrote in his Twitter account that 70% of these hospitalized weren’t vaccinated.