In a land of disbelief COVID-19 is running rampant: 13 photos show Mexico emerging as one of the latest coronavirus hotspots
Jose Luis Gonzalez/Reuters
- With the seventh-highest global death toll in the world, Mexico is catching up to Brazil as one of the worst-affected Latin American countries.
- The country has been slow in clamping down on the outbreak after many public officials, including President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, refused to acknowledge its severity for a long time.
- But the government's handling has not been the only problem: Many Mexicans have developed a stigma around the virus, and believe that it is a hoax or not as bad as it seems.
- It has also impacted the country's healthcare workers, who are facing widespread abuse from people who believe they are helping spread the virus.
- While Mexico has yet to reach peak infections, officials are pushing ahead with plans to reopen the economy.
- Photos show what it's like in the country as it tries to tackle the coronavirus amid the turmoil.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
Mexico is rapidly becoming one of the worst-affected countries from the novel coronavirus in the world.
With more than 15,000 deaths, it officially has the seventh-highest global death toll, according to a tracker by John Hopkins University. The government has said the real number of infected people is significantly higher than the official count, according to Reuters.
With a weak health system, high poverty rates, and public officials who long chose to ignore the severity of the virus, the country is now feeling the brunt of it.
But as the numbers continue to climb, the country still plans to gradually reopen its economy as it faces mounting pressure from US officials to power up factories operating at the US-Mexico border.
Photos show what it's like in Mexico as it faces one of the worst crises in the history of its country.
Like much of Latin America, Mexico is currently emerging as the new epicenter of the novel coronavirus.
Edgard Garrido/Reuters
Mexico has the second-worst death toll in South America after Brazil, according to John Hopkins University.
Throughout the pandemic, Mexico has been very slow to react. For a long time, public officials —including President Andrés Manuel López Obrador — did not take the virus seriously and were adamant about prioritizing the economy.
Associated Press
Up until the last week of March, the country was still operating as normal in an effort to keep the economy running.
On April 21, Mexico finally declared it was entering "Phase Three." Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador, who had not taken the pandemic seriously for weeks, said: "I want to give a guarantee ... that we Mexicans are going to be able to overcome this crisis. We are going to win together."
And it's paying the price. To date, the country has almost 130,000 confirmed coronavirus cases and more than 15,000 deaths, although the figures are feared to be much higher.
Edgard Garrido/Reuters
According to an investigation by Sky News, government insiders say the figures are "hopelessly inaccurate" and are underestimated by at least a factor of five.
Source: Worldometer
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
See Also:
- Beijing goes into 'wartime mode' and locks down after a spike in coronavirus cases emerge at a wholesale market
- The UK has gone 2 months without burning coal, the longest period since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution
- British Airways, easyJet and Ryanair are suing the UK government over its mandatory 14-day quarantines for new arrivals
SEE ALSO: Not even a pandemic can slow down the killing in Mexico
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