Mexico coronavirus chief sidesteps calls to resign

he of Mexico’s efforts to fight coronavirus pandemic has sidestepped calls to resign after Mexico’s death count rose to overtake United Kingdom as third-highest in world.

Assistant Health Secretary Hugo López-Gatell said late Friday that “I express my respect” to nine of Mexico’s 32 state goverrs who called for his resignation, ding “I hope we can continue to work toger.”

Mexico reported 688 more confirmed COVID-19 deaths on Friday, raising its accumulated total to 46,688. number of confirmed cases rose by a near-record 8,458, bringing Mexico’s total cases so far to almost 425,000.

A letter calling for López-Gatell’s “immediate” resignation bore names of 10 state goverrs, all from opposition parties, was me public Friday, but later one of those goverrs said he h t approved letter and distanced himself from it.

letter blamed ministration of President Andrés Manuel López Obror for “an erratic handling of epidemic and a lack of efficient response” that simultaneously boosted Mexico’s death toll to third-highest in world while suffering an 18.9% drop in ecomic activity in second quarter compared to same period last year.

Mexico has imposed a very lax and partial lockdown of ecomic activity that has t stopped high levels of contagion, but has strangled ecomy. Rar than testing or contact tracing, government has focused on expanding hospital facilities.

federal government has given confusing and mixed messs about wher to wear face masks. López Obror himself almost never wears one, and said Friday “I will use a face mask when re is more corruption,” a reference to his ministration’s anti-graft cruse, which he views as country’s main priority.

Many goverrs have been stung by federal government’s four-color “stoplight” scheme indicating wher a state is allowed to reopen businesses grually. Criteria like rate of infection or hospital occupation levels are used to determine colors, ranging from red for shutdown of all but essential businesses, to green for near-rmality. But many have disputed way those criteria are determined.