Mexico: Virus testing expands to Latam's biggest market

Local health officials have set up a COVID-19 testing centre inside Mexico city's 'Central de Abastos', Latin America's largest produce market, and launched an informational campaign to protect workers and customers in a place where social distancing is difficult to achieve.

Lab technicians Rocío Bautista Avalos and Ulises Cadenas Santana said they have been testing an average of a hundred people per day since the testing centre was set up in early May.

"Many people come from other states of the country and converge in this spot," said 32-year-old Cadenas. "They might get infected here, and the following week they have to come back to bring their cargo to be sold."

According to market officials, the 'Central de Abastos', catered to around 300,000 people every day before the pandemic and has implemented health measures such as quick temperature checks throughout the market.

Rocío Bautista Avalos, a lab technician with over 15 years of experience and who has been testing people for the new coronavirus since the crisis started said she had seen a change in people's attitudes towards the pandemic as they learn about relatives, acquaintances, or neighbours falling sick or even dying from COVID-19.

"Now people are taking it more seriously; they don't think it's a government smokescreen anymore," she said. "They are taking safety measures more seriously, and that benefits us all."

For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia and death.

(Representative Image)