Coronavirus predictions, case numbers ‘absolutely invalid,’ accuse ex-ministers

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May 6, 2020

Former health ministers Córdova, left, and Narro.

The federal government’s coronavirus predictions are “completely invalid,” according to one former health minister, while another described its Covid-19 statistics as “almost irrelevant.”

José Narro Robles, health minister during the second half of former president Enrique Peña Nieto’s term, claimed that it is the second time that Deputy Health Minister Hugo López-Gatell has made mistakes in calculating the prevalence of an infectious disease. The deputy minister was also a federal health official during the 2009 swine flu pandemic.

“Dr. López-Gatell’s statistics are wrong once again. They were wrong in 2009 and they’re wrong in 2020,” Narro said.

The former health minister said the government has failed to perform sufficient tests to have an idea of the “reality of the course of the epidemic.”

By not testing widely, the government has failed to detect many people who are infected and thus missed an opportunity to avoid the transmission of the coronavirus, Narro said.

Without reliable case numbers, it is not possible to measure accurately the effectiveness of the steps put in place to contain the virus or to estimate what is going to happen, he said.

López-Gatell said on Tuesday that the peak of Covid-19 transmission would be this Friday after previously predicting that the peak would be today.

But according to Narro, the estimates offered by health authorities are “completely invalid.”

He charged that in not testing widely for Covid-19, the government has made the same mistake as that made by the administration led by former president Felipe Calderón during the swine flu pandemic.

For his part, Calderón’s health minister between 2006 and 2011 predicted that without wider coronavirus testing, there will be an even worse Covid-19 outbreak when restrictions – currently scheduled to expire at the end of May – are lifted.

“We want to go back to work,” said José Ángel Córdova Villalobos, but before that happens widespread testing needs to occur to ensure that people infected with Covid-19 but who have no symptoms don’t spread the disease.

“Tests are essential, … [if] we start doing normal activities the risk of a new outbreak – and the World Health Organization said this – could be very high,” he said. “We’ll lose … a lot of what we’ve gained.”

Córdova said that the coronavirus predictions and cases numbers presented by the Health Ministry “give the impression” that the authorities are only interested in acknowledging “controllable figures” rather than “accepting that there might be many more cases.”

It appears that there is scant interest on the part of the government to know the real number of Covid-19 cases, Córdova charged, adding that having so many suspected cases of Covid-19 – there were more than 16,000 as of Tuesday – is “very questionable.”

“If I have a suspected case, it’s because [the person] has symptoms: if he has symptoms, I do the test and if I do the test there are no doubts anymore. [The case] is not suspected, it’s confirmed or dismissed,” Córdova said.

“All these inconsistencies make one begin to doubt the validity of the figures. … Up to this time, I believe that they are almost irrelevant, … we can no longer believe that they are true. The only real figures will be those of hospitalized patients … and the number of deaths,” he said before adding:

“But they’re also leaving some [deaths] out, I don’t mean intentionally, but cases labeled as atypical pneumonias, … many of them were most probably due to coronavirus.”

The Health Ministry last month presented estimates of case numbers based on the sentinel epidemiological surveillance system. They indicated that there were about eight undetected Covid-19 cases for each confirmed one.

However, López-Gatell said this week that the system is no longer the principal means of measuring the pandemic because it was no longer practical, given the higher rapidity with which new cases are occurring.

Source: Milenio (sp)

Los Pinos Cultural Center repurposed to house medical personnel

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Susy Buchanan

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May 6, 2020

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Los Pinos is now providing accommodation to frontline medical personnel.

The former presidential mansion and 196 hotels are now providing housing for medical staff on the frontlines of the coronavirus pandemic in Mexico City.

City Express, Holiday Inn Express and Fiesta Inn are among the hotel chains that have committed to supporting healthcare workers, and many have been doing so since mid-April. More than 2,560 hotel rooms have been made available thus far.

Medical workers must show hotel personnel identification as well as a signed letter from their hospital’s director.

The hotels’ participation comes in addition to the federal government’s decision to turn Los Pinos, occupied by Mexico’s presidents until Andrés Manuel López Obrador took office, into a temporary shelter for doctors and nurses.

“In the case of Los Pinos and all these hotel efforts, which there are many, it is specifically for workers who are in contact with Covid patients,” explained Zoé Robledo, director of the Social Security Institute (IMSS). “They are the ones who carry the greatest burden, the greatest stress, and of course we are taking care of them.”

The Los Pinos Cultural Complex will be able to offer 58 doctors and nurses from three different hospitals a safe and clean space to rest, eat, do laundry, exercise and use the internet, the IMSS director said.

An internal survey of medical staff showed that 86% were in favor of the shelters, many citing long commutes between work and home using public transportation, as well as a desire to protect loved ones from infection.

As of May 5, 6,999 confirmed cases of the coronavirus have been reported in Mexico City, and 543 deaths. Oliva López Arellano of Mexico City’s Ministry of Health said 97 health workers have been infected and 13 have died.

Source: Telediario Bajío (sp), Reforma (sp)

National Guard investigated for extortion in Sonora

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Susy Buchanan

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May 6, 2020

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A National Guardsmen at the home of a man from whom he demanded money.

In another scandal at the national security force, at least two National Guard officers assigned to Ciudad Obregón, Sonora, are under investigation for extortion after a video surveillance camera caught them repeatedly trying to break into a private home and demanding an 11,000-peso (US $452) bribe.

The footage, apparently filmed on April 30, May 1 and May 3, is filled with expletives and threatening language.

“I already have the grenades here, do not make me use one of those grenades because you are going to pay me,” the armed, uniformed officer can be heard shouting during one of the videos.

In another, an officer breaks a porch light with a wooden board. “Give us the money, dude, and we will stop bothering you.”

The subject never opens the door.

After the videos were released, the National Guard stated that the alleged perpetrators will be investigated and the full weight of the law will be applied. “Neither in this nor in any other case will impunity be allowed,” said the institution.

“With absolute outrage today we watched a video circulating on social networks in which elements of this institution in #Sonora can be seen carrying out behavior totally removed from the laws, principles and values of the National Guard,” the force posted to its official Twitter account. “We will not rest until we eradicate this type of behavior, which does a lot of damage to our nascent institution.”

The incident comes a little more than a week after photos surfaced on social media of National Guard officers sharing a meal with a family of politicians linked to criminal activity in Venustiano Carranza, Puebla.

A senior official in the Guard’s internal affairs division was relieved of his duties last week while under investigation, the force announced on social media. He was one of seven guardsmen in the photos.

On April 29, a video surfaced of uniformed National Guard members who were stripped of their weapons by local police in Los Reyes, Michoacán, because they appeared drunk and were acting aggressively.

And on May 4, the news website La Silla Rota posted a series of photos purporting to show National Guard officers in Irapuato, Guanajuato, throwing a party attended by sex workers.

President López Obrador formed the National Guard in 2019 in a new effort to bring organized crime under control.

Source: Infobae (sp)

Animal control agency picks up 188 dogs from Puebla streets

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Cody Copeland

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May 6, 2020

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The Puebla animal control agency has rescued 188 abandoned dogs from the streets in the city during the coronavirus quarantine.

Animal control agents, who found the dogs in various states and ages, believe that many were abandoned due to fears of the coronavirus.

“There’s no evidence that pets have transmitted the disease, therefore there exists no justification at all to take extreme measures with pets that can affect their wellbeing,” said a member of one of the city’s animal control brigades.

After capture the animals are taken to a refuge in the south of the city where they are given medical care, food, shelter and rehabilitation until they are ready to be put up for adoption.

“People send us reports that they see [dogs] in the street, sometimes they’re the same people feeding them until we arrive,” said the animal control agent.

Puebla’s animal control department made a call to citizens to avoid walking their dogs in public during the quarantine period. It also advised pet owners to make sure they have all the proper vaccine and ownership documentation in case of emergency.

Source: El Universal (sp)

Do something about cartels, AMLO, or lose control of the country

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Sarah DeVries

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May 6, 2020

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Look, I’m no purist.

I believe in redemption. I believe that most “bad” people can get mostly better, become model citizens even. As a rule, I give everyone the benefit of the doubt until they have absolutely, unequivocally, proven me foolish, which is something that doesn’t happen nearly as often as the pessimists among you might suppose.

But what the hell is going on here? Seeing members of drug cartels openly carrying their illegal weapons as they hand out charity to those in need is just too much to handle. It produces in me a visceral no before my brain has even had a chance to fully reason over it.

Is this where we are now, really? The Mexican government machine is so weak that absolutely nothing can be done about murderous criminals becoming an actual shadow state? Please tell me that narco gangs haven’t been allowed to take over the nation’s role in supporting poor citizens through these difficult times. It feels like a nightmare.

I have a feeling the government would have said, “No, no, thank you, absolutely not!” if they’d been asked their opinion on the matter, but they didn’t get asked about their opinion, as far as I can tell. This, of course, is another problem. If criminal gangs are being charitable with impunity, there’s not much hope of controlling any other aspect of their efforts.

My biggest fear here is that the “What’s the harm? They’re doing good work!” narrative will take over among enough people that it makes it seem like a valid side to take, which it is not.

It feels like a sexually abusive parent trying to insist over and over that when he’s not terrorizing his child, he’s giving it a loving and caring home. It’s just too much, and it fills me with a kind of dread that I’m (thank heaven) not very familiar with.

To be clear, they are not doing “good work.” They are doing manipulative work aimed at getting ordinary and often desperate citizens on their side.

Their actions accomplish several things: first, it gives them legitimacy and respect. If push comes to shove and there’s an attempt to run them out of town, who will come to their defense and insist that their crimes are “no big deal” compared to all the good they’ve done? You guessed it.

What especially worries me is that this isn’t the first time that something like this has happened. Remember that time when the Cartel del Noreste (CDC) played Santa Claus, handing out gifts to children? Then there was the Children’s Day celebration put on by the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG). Or how about the time that the CJNG handed out bags of supplies to stricken residents after Tropical Storm Priscilla?

This is diabolically successful way for them to influence the hearts and minds of young people, who will remember them as yes, perhaps a bit scary, but mostly as men who did the right thing when it was time to do the right thing.

And that’s what I keep coming back to: what on earth must children think? I can’t even imagine the collective sociological trauma and confusion that will come from children growing up and being shown more kindness from their society-wide abusers than their country.

What’s the particular power these groups hold over the government? I’m sure in some part it’s simply their weapons. But to what extent is it a real respect? After all, a very large percentage of police officers are not even certified to be police officers in the first place. I often wonder what kind of training they get for dealing with those in drug cartels. Perhaps none, and I am being unfair.

Might any of the gang members truly be helping from the heart? Sure, it’s possible. Humans hold all kinds of conflicting dualities inside of them, and those working in the criminal organizations are, indeed, human.

But for goodness’ sake, Mexico, beat them to the do-gooding! AMLO: your whole schtick has been to transform society by ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to develop their full potential and the ability to live a dignified life, no matter how “low-skill” one’s job might be.

You’ve been trying hard to accomplish that while at the same time embracing a non-violent approach to gang violence, and this is what we get: government officials and police twiddling their thumbs and whistling while avoiding contact with criminals with automatic weapons getting to show off how good and vital they are to the community. Few things both scandalize and outrage me, but this scandalizes and outrages me.

To the Mexican government: get out there and do something about this! You’re a half a thread from losing complete control of this country. Please.

Sarah DeVries writes from her home in Xalapa, Veracruz.

Crime suspects beaten and burned to death in Puebla

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Cody Copeland

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May 6, 2020

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The vehicle in which lynching victims had traveled burns in Puebla.

An angry mob in Los Ángeles Tetela, Puebla, beat and murdered two men they accused of assaulting residents and robbing businesses on Tuesday.

Some of those involved told the newspaper El Sol de Puebla that the two men arrived in the community around 10:00 a.m., both armed and apparently inebriated aboard a white sedan with Puebla license plates.

They alleged that the two men hit an elderly woman, assaulted a young woman, stole from a local business and threatened anyone they saw in the streets.

The men’s actions sparked the ire of residents, who organized a search party to find them. They cornered the alleged attackers in a field near a highway junction.

The mob beat the men and then burned their bodies inside the car in which they were traveling.

Authorities were alerted to the events via a 911 call. Dozens of municipal and state police, firefighters and investigators arrived on the scene to find two dead bodies inside the vehicle, both burned beyond recognition.

Source: El Sol de Puebla (sp)

Health minister says virus curve is flattening; peak contagions will be seen Friday

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MND Staff

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May 6, 2020

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López-Gatell addresses Tuesday's press briefing.

Mexico’s coronavirus curve is flattening, Deputy Health Minister Hugo López-Gatell said on Tuesday, as the country recorded its biggest single-day increase to its Covid-19 death toll.

López-Gatell told a press conference at the National Palace that thanks to the social distancing measures put in place, case numbers are now doubling every six days whereas earlier in the pandemic they were doubling every two days.

“What that means is that the epidemic is increasingly slower, we’ve flattened the curve. But so that nobody gets confused and misunderstands, flattening the curve doesn’t mean that it’s completely flat. And completely flat wouldn’t mean that we don’t have an epidemic,” he said.

The deputy minister said that the national social distancing initiative that officially commenced on March 23 has succeeded in keeping Covid-19 infections about 75% lower than what they would have otherwise been.

“Without mitigation interventions” the peak of Covid-19 transmission would have been on April 2 – “a very early peak” López-Gatell said.

Covid-19 cases in Mexico as of Tuesday evening. milenio

“We have gained time,” he said, adding that the most recent prediction is that the transmission peak will be this Friday.

“I said May 6 [but by] updating the prediction an additional gain is seen,” López-Gatell said, explaining that the epidemic curve is “flatter now than what was predicted on April 29.”

But while the curve is flattening in most states, Covid-19 case numbers have recently risen sharply in Morelos, Nayarit and San Luis Potosí.

With clusters of infections popping up in different parts of the country and the appearance of new outbreaks inevitable, López-Gatell stressed that stopping a pandemic from one day to the next is impossible, describing any notion that is possible as “a fantasy.”

He said that in the situation currently faced by Mexico, there are three main objectives: to delay the peak of the pandemic, to bring the epidemic curve under control and to have fewer overall cases. However, the flattening of the curve will only be maintained “if we stay at home,” the deputy minister emphasized.

In an interview with the news agency Reuters on Monday, López-Gatell declared that Mexico is winning the battle against coronavirus, asserting that there is sufficient spare capacity in the health system to respond to the pandemic’s peak.

Mexico City continues to be the federal entity with the highest number of Covid-19 deaths. milenio

“The numbers are encouraging. We still have a very broad response capacity,” he said, adding that Mexico has managed to “change the course of the epidemic” via social distancing measures including the closure of schools and the suspension of all nonessential economic activities.

But while touting the position Mexico is currently in, López-Gatell conceded that it was likely that a “second big wave of Covid-19” will come with the arrival of flu season in October. He also conceded that the number of coronavirus-related deaths is probably higher than that reported by health authorities.

Influenza deaths are underestimated every year “so it would be no different in the case of an emerging disease like Covid-19,” López-Gatell said.

That remark came a day before the Health Ministry reported 236 new deaths on Tuesday, the first time that the daily death toll has exceeded 200. Mexico’s tally of coronavirus-related fatalities now stands at 2,507, the 15th highest in the world.

Director of Epidemiology José Luis Alomía said Tuesday night that an additional 224 fatalities are suspected to have been caused by Covid-19 but have not yet been confirmed.

Based on confirmed Covid-19 deaths and cases, Mexico’s fatality rate is currently 9.6 per 100 cases.

Alomía also reported 1,120 new Covid-19 cases, taking Mexico’s accumulated number of confirmed cases to 26,025. Of that number, 6,708 cases are considered active, he said.

There are also 16,099 suspected coronavirus cases across the country, while more than 105,000 people have now been tested for Covid-19.

Mexico City continues to lead the country in terms of both accumulated and active cases, with 6,999 of the former and 1,714 of the latter. The capital also has the highest coronavirus death toll in the country with 543 fatalities to date. Baja California is second with 289 deaths while México state has reported the third highest number of fatalities, with 227.

Health Ministry data shows that only 31% of general care beds set aside for Covid-19 patients across the country are currently occupied, while only one in four beds with ventilators are in use.

However, the availability of beds is much lower in Mexico City hospitals, where 71% of general care beds and 58% of those with ventilators are currently occupied by Covid 19 patients.

Source: El Universal (sp), Milenio (sp), Reuters (sp)

Organizations charge narcos’ help for needy shows authorities’ failure

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Susy Buchanan

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May 6, 2020

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Both soldiers and sicarios distribute care packages in Mexico.

A coalition of more than 30 nonprofit organizations has demanded that the government increase the distribution of food to those most affected by the coronavirus and not leave the task to criminal organizations.

In recent weeks organizations such as the Jalisco New Generation and the Gulf cartels have seized on the marketing strategy of handing out boxes of food, emblazoned with their brand, stepping into a role the coalition argues that the government should be filling.

The coalition, composed of groups including Common Cause, Mexico United Against Crime, Mexicans Against Corruption, and even the Michoacán Chess Clubs Association, says that cartels have donated “narco-pantries” to the needy in at least 12 states across the country.

“There is no antecedent in the country’s history of media campaigns of such intensity, and they are the result of regional and even national coordination between organized crime to carry out propaganda competition with local and federal governments,” they said in a joint statement containing 140 signatures.

Organized crime has taken advantage of the absence of the government to position itself as a benefactor, both in rural and urban areas of the country, they said.

A representative of Alejandra Guzmán delivers a box of supplies. — A representative of Alejandra Guzmán delivers a box of supplies bearing the image of her father, convicted drug lord El Chapo.

“These criminal groups take advantage of the dismantling of social support programs and institutions and the worsening of the economic crisis to reinforce an image of sensitive and effective benefactors,” the statement continued.

The coalition denounced the lack of official condemnation of the cartels’ community handouts, calling them deceptive measures to garner support ahead of the violence, kidnapping and extortion that occur when a cartel infiltrates a town.

The coalition demands that “governments build true networks of economic and social support that allow all Mexicans to glimpse a different horizon than that of ineptitude, irresponsibility, indolence and organized crime.”

At a press conference on April 20, President López Obrador acknowledged that cartels have been distributing groceries. “This does not help,” he said, urging criminals to stop delivering food items and instead focus on love for their fellow man.

The National Defense Ministry reports that since April 6 it has delivered 517,508 care packages of food in Baja California Sur, Campeche, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Guanajuato, Nayarit , Quintana Roo, Sonora and Yucatán.

Source: Reforma (sp)

Surplus oil that Pemex can’t sell will fire CFE’s old and inefficient generators

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MND Staff

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May 5, 2020

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solar panels — Trial runs allowing solar parks to inject electricity into the grid have been suspended.

The federal government will use fuel oil it is unable to sell to fire old and inefficient power plants operated by the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE).

Energy sector experts charged that the plan announced by the National Energy Control Center (Cenace) last week “to improve the reliability of the electricity system” is designed to make use of excess fuel oil produced at Pemex refineries.

They also criticized a decision to suspend trials that allowed wind farms and solar parks to provide electricity for the national grid.

The state oil company produced 11.44 million barrels of fuel oil in the first quarter of the year but was only able to sell 43% of it because new environmental rules prevent tanker trucks from using the Pemex-produced derivative.

“They were processing 400,000 barrels per day [of crude] in the refineries and … 26% [of that amount became] fuel oil; now that they are planning to increase production, they will logically generate more barrels of a product that no one in the world wants. Now they’ll be able to burn it at CFE plants,” said César Cadena, president of the Nuevo León Energy Cluster, a civil society organization.

Independent energy analyst Ramsés Pech also said that the plan to re-fire or make greater use of old CFE plants is motivated by the desire to use the unwanted fuel oil. Jorge Arrambide, a lawyer who specializes in energy matters, said that CFE plants that run on fuel oil are generally expensive to operate and big polluters.

The experts told the newspaper Reforma that the fuel oil plan will allow the CFE to reopen or make greater use of inefficient power plants whose operation is harmful to the environment. They also said that their use could cause power prices to go up.

The Business Coordinating Council (CCE) was also critical of the plan, stating that it favored state-run plants over private renewable energy companies. The former pollute more and produce more expensive power, the CCE said.

The influential business group charged that without technical or legal justification, Cenace “has disregarded its legal mandate to protect the national electricity system and competition in the electricity market.”

Thousands of commercial and industrial CFE customers will be adversely affected, the CCE said.

The business group said that it would take legal action against the Cenace plan on the basis that it prevents new clean energy plants from completing the trials required to begin formal operations.

In addition to announcing that fuel oil would be used to power CFE plants, the energy control center said that trials that allowed wind farms and solar parks to inject electricity into the national grid in high demand periods would be suspended on May 3.

During the coronavirus health emergency period, the injection of additional energy from so-called “must run” power plants operated by the CFE will be prioritized to reduce the possibility of supply problems, Cenace said.

At least 28 wind and solar projects will be affected by the suspension of trials, said Víctor Ramírez of the Mexico Climate and Energy Platform, a renewable energy advocacy group.

The CCE said that Mexico’s renewable energy sector is worth more than US $20 billion and must be protected.

“The private sector will take the legal steps necessary to defend a level playing field and the right of Mexicans to a healthy environment,” it said.

Source: El Economista (sp), Reforma (sp)

Shipment of ventilators shows US is a friend, says foreign minister

By

MND Staff

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May 5, 2020

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The first shipment of ventilators arrives from the US. — First ventilators arrive from the US.

In times of adversity you learn who your friends are, Foreign Affairs Minister Marcelo Ebrard said on Tuesday after the government took possession of a shipment of ventilators from the United States.

“The United States is a friend of Mexico, this is the proof,” Ebrard said at an event at Toluca Airport after the arrival of 211 ventilators on a flight from Reno, Nevada.

The purchase of the life-saving medical machines came after United States President Donald Trump made a commitment to sell them to Mexico during a telephone call with President López Obrador last month.

Ebrard said that 189 of the new ventilators will go to the National Institute of Health for Well-Being (Insabi), the government department responsible for Mexico’s new universal healthcare scheme, and 22 will go to the navy.

Insabi chief Juan Ferrer said that the ventilators will be installed in hospitals in cities with high numbers of Covid-19 cases such as Mexico City and Tijuana, Baja California. He said that the ventilators – of which there are four different types made by the company Hamilton Medical – were purchased at preferential prices below market value.

For his part, navy chief Rafael Ojeda said that 12 of the ventilators are designed specifically for use by the military. The Hamilton T1 military ventilators can be installed on ships, helicopters and planes to help keep ill or injured patients alive as they are transferred to hospitals.

Ebrard said that more ventilators will be brought to Mexico from the United States later this month. At least six flights will bring about 610 of the machines, he said, adding that more shipments could arrive in June.

López Obrador said on April 19 that President Xi Jinping of China and Trump had agreed to sell Mexico 1,270 and 1,000 ventilators, respectively. Ebrard said earlier the same month that Mexico would buy US $56.6 million worth of medical supplies from China to respond to the coronavirus pandemic.

The ninth of 20 planned flights carrying supplies from Shanghai touched down at the Mexico City airport last night.

Source: El Financiero (sp)