2020 coronavirus pandemic in Mexico

2020 coronavirus pandemic in Mexico

Map of the outbreak in Mexico (as of 14 March)   Confirmed cases reported   Suspected cases reported
Virus strain	SARS-CoV-2
Location	Mexico
First case	Mexico City
Arrival date	28 February 2020 (2 weeks and 5 days)
Origin	Wuhan, Hubei, China (via Italy and United States)
Confirmed cases	93
Suspected cases‡	206
Recovered	4
‡ Suspected cases have not been confirmed as being due to this strain by laboratory tests, although some other strains may have been ruled out.

This article documents the impacts of the 2019–20 coronavirus pandemic in Mexico. As of March 17, there had been 93 cases of CoVID-19 in Mexico and 0 reported deaths.

Timeline

COVID-19 cases in Mexico  ()      Deaths        Recoveries        Active cases
Date			# of cases
28 February 2020		​ ​ ​ ​ ​	3
29 February 2020		​ ​ ​ ​ ​	4(+33%)
1 March 2020		​ ​ ​ ​ ​	5(+25%)
⋮		​ ​ ​ ​ ​	5(=)
6 March 2020		​ ​ ​ ​ ​	6(+20%)
7 March 2020		​ ​ ​ ​ ​	7(+16%)
⋮		​ ​ ​ ​ ​	7(=)
11 March 2020		​ ​ ​ ​ ​	11(+57%)
12 March 2020		​ ​ ​ ​ ​	15(+36%)
13 March 2020		​ ​ ​ ​ ​	26(+73%)
14 March 2020		​ ​ ​ ​ ​	41(+58%)
15 March 2020		​ ​ ​ ​ ​	53(+29%)
16 March 2020		​ ​ ​ ​ ​	82(+55%)
17 March 2020		​ ​ ​ ​ ​	93(+13%)
Sources: Secretariat of Health (2020). [1].

On 22 January 2020, the Secretariat of Health issued a statement saying that the novel coronavirus COVID-19 did not present a danger to Mexico. 441 cases have been confirmed in China, Thailand, South Korea, and the United States, and a travel advisory was issued on 9 January.

The cruise ship Meraviglia, which was not allowed to dock in the Cayman Islands or Jamaica, docked in Cozumel, Quintana Roo on 27 February. Three passengers were diagnosed with influenza A virus, but no cases of coronavirus were found.

On 28 February, Mexico confirmed its first three cases. A 35-year-old man and a 59-year-old man in Mexico City and a 41-year-old man in the northern state of Sinaloa tested positive and were held in isolation at a hospital and a hotel, respectively. They had travelled to Bergamo and stayed in Italy for a week in mid-February.

On 29 February, a 4th case was detected and confirmed on the city of Torreón, in the state of Coahuila, from a 20-year-old woman who traveled to Italy.

On 1 March, a fifth case was announced in Chiapas in a student who had just returned from Italy. On 6 March, a 6th case was confirmed in the State of Mexico in a 71-year-old man who had returned from Italy on 21 February.

COVID-19 was the topic of conversation at the meeting of the National Governors' Conference (Conago) held on 5 March 2020. In addition to governors from different states (or state health representatives), the directors of Instituto de Salud para el Bienestar (INSABI), IMSS, and ISSSTE participated.

On 7 March, a seventh case was also confirmed in Mexico City in a 46-year-old male who had previously had contact with another confirmed case in the United States.. On 10 March, an 8th case was reported in Puebla, a 47-year-old German man that had returned from a business trip to Italy. On the same date, 40 members of a dance company in Puebla, returning from a tour in Italy, were quarantined.

The Mexican Stock Exchange fell to a record low on 10 March due to fears of the coronavirus and because of falling oil prices. The Bank of Mexico (Banixco) stepped in to prop up the value of the peso, which fell 14% to 22.929 per US dollar.

On 11 March, a 9th case was confirmed in the city of Monterrey, Nuevo León. A 57-year-old man, who had recently come back from a trip all across Europe, was placed under quarantine. The man, who has remained anonymous, came back from his trip a week before and had contact with eight other people who have also been placed under quarantine in their houses. The man has been confirmed to reside in the city of San Pedro Garza Garcia.

On 12 March, Mexico announced it had a total of 15 confirmed cases, with new cases in Puebla and Durango. A day later, senator Samuel García Sepúlveda of Mexico accused the Mexican government of hiding the true number of confirmed cases. After that, the government of Nuevo León declared Phase 2. Mexico on 13 March has confirmed a total of 16 cases.

On 13 March, it was confirmed that the Mexican Stock Exchange Chairman, Jaime Ruiz Sacristan, tested positive as an asymptomatic case. Later, the Secretariat of Health announced in press conference that the number of confirmed cases had risen to 26. Several universities, including the UNAM and Tec de Monterrey, switched to virtual classes. Authorities announced to be considering the cancellation of the Festival Internacional de Cine de Guadalajara. In Mérida, the Tianguis Turístico was postponed to September. Several major sporting events are also canceled.

On 14 March, Fernando Petersen, the secretary of health in Jalisco state, confirmed the first two cases of COVID-19 were detected in Hospital Civil de Guadalajara. Two new cases were confirmed in Nuevo León, and the Secretariat of Public Education (SEP) announced that it all sporting and civic events in schools would be canceled. Businessman José Kuri was reported in critical condition after a trip to Vail, Colorado, United States, although early reports of his death were false. As of 14 March, there have been 41 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Mexico.

The 14 and 15 March Festival Vive Latino (rock and Latin music) in Mexico City opened according to schedule, in spite of fears of contagion. Temperatures of the 70,000 people who attend each day were taken at the door and anti-bacterial gel was widely distributed. Organizers said that the Passion Play of Iztapalapa would continue as scheduled in Holy Week. Tito Domínguez, vice president of the organizing committee, noted that a miracle had saved Iztapalapa during the cholera outbreak in 1833.

On 14 March, the Secretariat of Education announced that Easter break, originally planned from 6 to 17 April, would be extended from 20 March to 20 April as a preventive measure. The Secretariat of Finance and Public Credit (SCHP) announced it was taking measures to prevent a 0.5% fall in gross domestic product (GDP). Drugstores in Cuernavaca report shortages of masks, antibacterial gel, and other items. On the same day the Autonomous University of Nuevo Leon, (UANL) (the country’s third largest university in terms of student population) suspended classes for its more than 206,000 students starting on March 17 and ending until further notice.

The Norteño group Los Tres Tristes Tigres released a song on 15 March titled El corrido del coronavirus.

On 15 March, Claudia Sheinbaum stated that Mexico City expects to spend an extra MXN $100 million (US $4.4 million) to prevent the spread of COVID-19. The first confirmed case of coronavirus in Acapulco, Guerrero is reported.

On 16 March, lawyer Marco Antonio del Toro petitioned the federal courts to cease all but essential activities for a period of 30 to 40 days because of the coronavirus outbreak. The total of confirmed cases reached 82. The Autonomous University of the State of Morelos, (UAEM) suspended classes for its 22,000 students. A diplomatic incident arised between the governments of Mexico and El Salvador, concerning 12 Salvadorean citizens wearing face masks on a plane departing from Mexico City to San Salvador. Nayib Bukele, president of El Salvador, denounced as "irresponsible" that they were allowed to board the plane along with other passengers and offered to send a plane to transport them without contact with other people, while the Mexican government claimed that there were no reasons to assume that they were positive for COVID-19. Eventually, the flight was canceled.

On March 17th, 11 new cases were confirmed, raising the national total to 93, with Campeche being the only state with no confirmed cases.