MEXICO CITY (Reuters) – The Mexican coronavirus czar has been hospitalized in the past five days for treatment with COVID-19, but is recovering well, said a health official on Sunday, when the country celebrates the one-year anniversary of its first confirmed infection.
Hugo Lopez-Gatell, the face of Mexico’s response to the pandemic, has been criticized for minimizing the need for masks and for leading a limited testing strategy.
Mexico recorded 185,715 deaths from coronavirus, which represents the fourth highest number of deaths from the pandemic in the world, according to a Reuters count.
Lopez-Gatell was admitted for “early hospitalization” last Wednesday after his medical team determined he needed supplemental oxygen, said Ruy Lopez, head of the National Center for Preventive Programs and Disease Control (Cenaprece).
“He has been making good progress and we hope he can be discharged from the hospital tomorrow,” Lopez told a news conference.
The epidemiologist announced a positive test for COVID-19 on February 20, after showing mild symptoms.
Several high-ranking officials in Mexico contracted the virus, including President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who avoided the masks.
Mexico recorded 458 more deaths from coronavirus and 2,810 more confirmed infections on Sunday, for a total of 2,086,938 cases. The government says the actual number of people infected is likely to be significantly higher than the confirmed cases.
(Reporting by Daina Beth Solomon and Sharay Angulo; Editing by Lisa Shumaker, Diane Craft and Raju Gopalakrishnan)