The toll of the coronavirus epidemic in Mexico crossed the threshold of 10,000 dead Monday, June 1, even as the country begins to resume its economic activity, announced the health authorities.
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The Covid-19 has killed 10,167 people since the start of the epidemic, for 93,435 confirmed cases, announced at a press conference the director general of epidemiology services, José Luis Alomia. This makes Mexico the second country in Latin America most heavily affected by the virus behind Brazil (29,937 deaths).
A “new normal”
The head of the strategy against the Covid-19 in Mexico, Hugo Lopez-Gatell, undersecretary for Health, told AFP last Friday that he considered the country likely to reach the toll of 30,000 dead. The 10,000 dead threshold was crossed the day Mexico began its transition to what President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador called a "new normal . "
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"Today resume production activities related to the automotive industry, mines and the construction industry," announced the president at his usual morning conference. "We must move towards the new normal because it is necessary for the national economy, the well-being of our people, we must gradually normalize the productive, economic, social and cultural activities" , said Mr. Lopez Obrador .
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He was talking to Isla Mujeres, a seaside resort near Cancun, on the Yucatan peninsula. Only a few journalists were allowed to attend the conference and they had to respect the protective distances. The Mexican president, who has resumed tours across the country, suspended due to the pandemic, said plans are underway to revive the tourism sector in Cancun starting next week. Tourism constitutes 8.7% of Mexico's gross domestic product.
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