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.
Trump Says Iran Just Alerted Him That They Are in ‘A State of Collapse’
FCC Takes ‘Unprecedented’ Action Against Disney in Response to Jimmy Kimmel’s Melania Trump Comment: Report
Emmer says MN fraud raids send ‘crystal clear’ message after feds hit dozens of sites
Breaking: FBI Raids ‘Quality Learning Center’ and 21 Other Locations in Somali Fraud Crackdown
Cuccinelli says Dems undercut own redistricting defense as Virginia justices press ‘Yes’ camp
OPEC Unexpectedly Loses a Member in Shock to Global Oil Market
Inside the hottest party in town as royal mania takes over Washington
Rep Cory Mills draws first Republican challenger as sexual misconduct allegations, expulsion threat mount
FBI raids Minneapolis childcare facilities, part of sweeping fraud investigation
Three college frats in crosshairs as hazing claims of booze, burns and hospital trips spark crackdown: school
Brooklyn attack leaves 3 injured, suspect wearing Iranian flag shirt arrested by NYPD
Mike Johnson says King Charles’s speech to Congress will be a ‘unifying event’
Recall Issued for Fitness Item Amid Dangerous Injuries: 50K Units Affected, Victims’ Bones Broken
Democrat Governor Hopeful’s SPLC Board Tenure Overlapped with Alleged Payments to Extremist ‘Informants’
SPLC kept paying Aryan Nations operatives after bragging about bankrupting them
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.
