Christian Carlos. Peninsula 360 Press [P360P].
"The Ministry of Health reports this November 28, 2020 that, in Mexico, there are 67,981 active cases and 132,511 suspected cases of COVID-19; 105,400,49 people have died and 73.8 percent of the cases have recovered," is heard in the daily report issued, with the signature of the Government of Mexico, last Sunday after registering the highest number of estimated active cases derived from the new coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 in the country.
Almost immediately, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of the World Health Organization -WHO- issued an urgent warning, stating that: "The situation in Mexico is very worrying. The numbers show that the country is in a bad situation. When the cases and also the deaths go up it is a very serious problem and we would ask Mexico to be serious. We hope that all the leaders will set an example," replied the WHO on its Spanish Twitter account during the press conference where doctor Michael Joseph Ryan and epidemiologist Maria DeJoseph Van Kerkhove were also present.
The strong call for attention by the United Nations health agency comes a few months late, as the Mexican health authorities have seriously misled the population instead of informing them in a timely manner.
The narrative of the speech in the daily report issued by the Mexican health ministry has changed during the 252 days since the health emergency was declared by COVID-19 in the country. For example, on June 22, when the number of confirmed active cases was barely 23,155, the "traffic light of risk" consisted of four colors: "the color red is high riskorange, medium; yellow, low; and, green, no risk"was heard in the report.
Today, the states of Chiapas and Campeche, Mexico, are in green, which, according to the Mexican government's first narrative, meant that these entities were without risk of contagion; however, the narrative changed the next day, when the phrase: "Remember: the color red is maximum risk; orange, highyellow, low; and, green, no risk."
The deaths are no longer "regrettable"
The change in narrative occurred simultaneously in the Ministry of Health under Vice Minister Hugo López-Gatell and in the presidency of Mexico under Andrés Manuel López Obrador for the second time in less than two days: "Remember: red is maximum risk; orange, high; yellow, medium; and, green, low». Three days were enough to confuse the population: by June 24, the Mexican government subliminally declared that there would be no entities without risk of contagion from COVID-19. The change in narrative didn't stop there.
Since March 26, when the COVID-19 daily case summaries began to be broadcast in the media, they were signed at the end with the words "Government of Mexico".
On June 24, 24,324 "regrettable deaths" were reported, according to the serene voice seal; the next day, the Mexican government, under President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, suppressed the sensitive adjective to note that the deaths from coronavirus in the country would not stop. Even so, the government assumed that "lamenting" more than 25,000 deaths could represent a great lack of respect. The families who have lost family members to COVID-19 continue to mourn each of the deaths.
The voice stamp reminding people of the meaning of the colours of the "traffic light of risks" was removed in its entirety on 25 June.
Lopez-Gatell or Lopez Obrador?
The Mexican government's signature suddenly disappeared from the daily summaries as the "risk light" showed constant improvement, specifically on September 4 when only the state of Colima, Mexico, was, according to the narrative, at "maximum risk". From that day on, the Ministry of Health was in charge of signing the daily summaries transmitted by the media -different from the daily press conferences, also known as "technical reports"-. A voice stamp was attached announcing that the improvement in the country was to be attributed specifically to the Ministry of Health and not to the effort of the Government of Mexico.
This trend in the speech threatened the Mexican health ministry again when the second SARS-CoV-2 outbreak in Mexico began during the last week of October; specifically, the week of October 30, when nearly 53,000 active cases of COVID-19 were confirmed and the state of Chihuahua, Mexico, went red - maximum risk - at the "risk light".
During the same week, Mexico's Deputy Health Minister Hugo Lopez-Gatell said that, according to "the scientific evidence"If you have a fever, using a mouthpiece "helps decrease the chance that viruses will get out of a sick person's airway. However, he continued: "The mouthpiece is of no great use in protecting ourselves.". Then, the Mexican media had to measure the statements made by the Undersecretary of Prevention and Health Promotion in a press conference. And he continued: "The mouthpiece that several of you are wearing"referring to the journalists present at the conference, "is helping to keep you from infecting someone else in case you're sick."; in contrast, he said right away: "But we must be very aware that the mouthpiece does not help us as a protective barrier on the individual.".
As the number of active cases by COVID-19 in Mexico increased, the narrative passed to the Government of Mexico in recent days, which meant that the Ministry of Health would not sign the data presented daily.
Current Overview
The month of November brought negative consequences for Mexico in terms of increased mobility: the Day of the Dead festivities that are actively celebrated throughout the country and beyond its borders; the event organized by the country's ministry of economy that seeks to support the family economy through formal commerce with offers in stores throughout the country by the program called "El Buen Fin" (The Good End).
It should be noted that during the same period, in the state of Jalisco, Mexico, - in orange at the "risk light" - a soccer match was played with an audience.
In this same week, Mexico was the focus of international media attention when it became, on November 20 - the 110th anniversary of the Mexican Revolution - the fourth country to reach the sad figure of 100,000 deaths after the United States, Brazil and India.
It's because of this lack of attention from the federal government that "The Ministry of Health reports this November 30, 2020 that in Mexico there are 61,631 active cases and 149,186 suspected cases of COVID-19; 105,940 people have died and 73.9 percent of the cases have been recovered.The report was signed by the Government of Mexico.
It is because of these statements made by Hugo López-Gatell, the contradictory social communication narrative of the presidency of Andrés Manuel López Obrador and the lack of vigilance in health measures such as staying at home, the recommended use of mouthguards, practicing physical distancing between people in public spaces - "healthy distance"- that the warning from the WHO demands a response from the Government of Mexico. A serious response, as Tedros Adhanom pointed out.
