WHO chief says Mexico is ‘in bad shape’ with COVID-19 pandemic

The head of the World Health Organization said “Mexico is in bad shape” with the COVID-19 pandemic and urged its leaders to take the coronavirus seriously and set an example for their compatriots.

Comments from WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus came on Monday as the death toll in Mexico from COVID-19 rose to 105,940 – the fourth highest in the world – with 1,113,543 confirmed cases of coronavirus. The country’s actual numbers are believed to be much higher, in part because of the low levels of testing.

“The growing number of cases and deaths in Mexico is very worrying,” Tedros said during a press briefing.

Mexican President Andrés López Obrador has been criticized for not often wearing a mask. Although Tedros did not mention names, Tedros urged Mexican leaders to take the pandemic seriously.

“We would like to ask Mexico to be very serious,” he said. “We’ve said it in general: wearing a mask is important, hygiene is important and physical distance is important, and we expect leaders to be examples.”

Mexican government spokesperson on the pandemic Hugo López-Gatell said all comments were valuable but noted that the Mexican government had already warned that the situation would worsen with the onset of winter.

López-Gatell berated the media for being ‘alarmist’ about the pandemic and bristled at criticism that the Mexican government is underestimating deaths from COVID-19 or providing contradictory and weak advice on the port of masks. He told the media that they “don’t have to add drama” to their reporting on the crisis.

Only the United States, Brazil and India recorded more deaths from COVID-19 than Mexico, which topped the 100,000 mark on November 19.