Mexico enters local transmission phase of COVID-19 epidemic: gov't

Source: Xinhua| 2020-03-25 06:27:20|Editor: huaxia

A bus driver wearing a facial mask is seen in Mexico City, Mexico, March 23, 2020. (Photo by Francisco Canedo/Xinhua)

Mexico has registered 367 cases of the virus, which can lead to sometimes fatal pneumonia, and four deaths.

MEXICO CITY, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Mexico's government on Tuesday said the country entered stage 2 of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) epidemic, marked by a rise in the number of patients who contracted the disease locally, probably by coming into contact with someone who had traveled to an affected country.

"We will continue to see transmission," Mexico's deputy minister of Health Prevention and Promotion, Hugo Lopez-Gatell, told reporters at a press conference.

"If we maintain a safe distance, we are going to be able to distance ourselves from the source of the spread, which is the respiratory tract of infected people," he added.

Due to the virus, schools in Mexico were suspended two weeks earlier than scheduled for the Holy Week holiday, extending spring vacation to four weeks and largely emptying streets.

Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador announced his government has access to an additional 400 billion pesos (about 16 billion U.S. dollars) for emergency measures, such as mobilizing the National Guard and guaranteeing welfare programs, especially for the elderly, who are most at risk of COVID-19.

Mexico has registered 367 cases of the virus, which can lead to sometimes fatal pneumonia, and four deaths.

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