Despite 85 Percent of Mexicans Using Masks Coronavirus Cases Soar

The Mexican Health Ministry announced last week a record number of coronavirus infections reported, with 7,615 confirmed cases in one day. The nationwide number of cases is 338,913, according to a Reuters report.

The ministry also reported 578 more deaths, bringing the fatality count from the virus to 38,888.

These numbers are despite the fact that Mexico has one of the strongest mask mandates, with 85 percent of Mexicans wearing masks, according to YouGov and the Imperial College of London surveys from June 22-28.

Amazing data here: Mexico, with essentially uncontrolled #sarscov2 spread, has the second-most mask wearing of any country; the Nordic countries, which have almost no transmission, have the least. Canada is well below the US. Because masks work! pic.twitter.com/5y9zJuFYbw

— Alex Berenson (@AlexBerenson) July 18, 2020

And the Mexico Daily News reported about the widespread mask-wearing in Mexico, including that 24 of the 31 states require they be worn in public places:

Residents of Aguascalientes, Campeche, Coahuila, Chihuahua, Mexico City and Durango have been required to wear a mask outside their homes since April. Authorities in Hidalgo, Jalisco, México state, Michoacán, Morelos, Nuevo León, Oaxaca, Puebla, Quintana Roo, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Yucatán and Zacatecas have also mandated the obligatory use of masks in public spaces since April.

Guerrero Governor Héctor Astudillo followed suit on June 15, ordering citizens to wear masks in both public and private places, and four more states mandated the compulsory use of masks this month.

The State Committee for Health Safety in Guanajuato said on July 2 that residents must wear masks in all open and closed public spaces across the state’s 46 municipalities, while the Sonora government decreed their mandatory use on July 5. The governors of Colima and San Luis Potosí this week joined a pact with their counterparts in nine other states that decrees the mandatory use of masks in all public spaces.

The News Daily reported that three states — Nayarit, Querétaro, Veracruz – require masks on public transit but not public spaces, while Baja California, Baja California Sur, Chiapas, Sinaloa, and Tlaxcala have not issued any mask orders.

“Despite mandating the use of masks in public, Mexico’s coronavirus pandemic continues to grow, with more than 100,000 new cases reported so far this month,” the media outlet reported.

Data provided at a Friday coronavirus press briefing showed that 46 percent of general care hospital beds set aside for coronavirus patients are currently occupied, while 38 percent of those patients using ventilators.

Deputy Health Minister Hugo López-Gatell said, however, that overall, increases are waning.

“At this time, none of the municipalities are trending upwards [in case numbers],” Lopez-Gatell said.

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