MEXICO CITY, March 13 (Reuters) – Mexico could consider measures at its northern border to slow coronavirus’ spread into its relatively unaffected territory, health officials said on Friday, with an eye to containing a U.S. outbreak that has infected more than 1,800 people.
Mexico has so far confirmed 16 cases of coronavirus with no deaths, a fraction of more than 1,800 cases in the United States, where 41 people have died.
Mexico’s deputy health minister Hugo Lopez-Gatell said contagion from the United States was a threat.
“Mexico wouldn’t bring the virus to the United States, rather the United States would bring it here,” he said at a news conference “The possible flow of coronavirus would come from the north to the south.”
“If it were technically necessary, we would consider mechanisms of restriction or stronger surveillance,” he said.
U.S. President Donald Trump, meanwhile, says coronavirus bolsters his argument for blocking northbound border crossings with a U.S.-Mexico wall.
Pentagon Inspector General Says Iran War Has Caused ‘Strategic Inventory Shortfalls’ of U.S. Munitions
Former CNN Host Reveals Father Beat Her Until She Was ‘Black and Blue’
Lindsay Clancy judge indefinitely impounds juror names, citing safety and ‘divisive’ attention
Army veteran paratrooper who deployed to Iraq, Afghanistan before helping rescue Fox News reporter dead at 50
China expert warns Beijing wants Americans — not the CCP — to spread its message
Oil squeeze tightens as Iran-backed attacks cripple Hormuz escape routes
Many RNC Convention Attendees Balked at Trump’s Plan to Cut $5K Checks for Americans
Tucker Carlson Defends El-Sayed on 9/11, Condemns His GOP Opponent Mike Rogers
Smithsonian’s dark take on America exposed: Washington dubbed ‘town destroyer,’ Revolutionary War ‘dangerous’
Alito, Thomas shred ‘Hail Mary’ challenge to federal ballot mail rules in dissent
Surrogate who refused abortion asks SCOTUS to intervene as baby could be moved out of Texas
Georgia mayor, 23, ousted 10 months after making history as state’s youngest mayor
Republicans Attack GOP Candidate for Pointing Out How Many Foreign Students Attended Texas-Ohio State Game
Breaking: SCOTUS Blocks Trump’s Mail-in Ballot Restrictions Months Before Midterms
‘Trojan horses’ in America: Congress probes influence networks tied to China, Iran and Cuba
Trump has long called for a wall on the Mexican border as a way to block migrants from entering the United States, and wrote on Twitter that the barrier is now needed “more than ever” as coronavirus spreads.
“To this point, and because we have had a very strong border policy, we have had 40 deaths related to CoronaVirus. If we had weak or open borders, that number would be many times higher!” Trump tweeted on Friday.
Unlike several other Latin American countries, Mexico has yet to take measures such as closing schools or banning entry to people coming from places with high numbers of coronavirus cases.
However, the private Tecnologico de Monterrey university said on Thursday it would suspend academic and classes from next week until further notice, while Mexico’s National Autonomous University (UNAM) said it would tighten preventative measures to prevent the spread of the virus.
Story cited here.
