MEXICO CITY - Mexico will suspend all
large public and private gatherings for a month as it attempts
to contain the spread of coronavirus, while extending support to
small businesses, government officials said on Tuesday.
Speaking at a regular news briefing, Deputy Health Minister
Hugo Lopez-Gatell said Mexico has seen an increase in
non-imported coronavirus cases and the government will step up
mitigation measures.
"We have decided to temporarily suspend events with 100
people or more," Lopez-Gatell said.
"All gatherings - public,
private, governmental, social - must be avoided throughout the
month."
President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador also suggested that
the titans of Mexican industry are stepping up, noting that
billionaire Carlos Slim told him that he will not lay off any
workers during the coronavirus crisis. A spokesman for Slim's
companies did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Lopez Obrador has received criticism for his relatively
relaxed response to the coronavirus so far. During the news
conference Tuesday morning, his cabinet ministers stood on stage
in a neat line, failing to respect the 1.5-meter (5-foot)
distance recommended by the health ministry.
Nevertheless, Lopez-Gatell stressed Mexico would intensify
measures now that the virus has begun spreading through
"community transmission," rather than simply people returning to
Mexico after traveling to countries hit hard by the disease.
To address the economic fallout from the coronavirus, the
government will give 1 million low-interest loans to small
businesses in the country, Lopez Obrador said.
He also stressed that the government has enough resources to
maintain social programs and confront falling oil prices, as
well as to proceed with signature projects such as the Mayan
train and a refinery near the southern port of Dos Bocas.