Coronavirus: Mexico confirms first two cases of contagion
- President Andrés Manuel López Obrador appeared to play down the seriousness of the Covid-19 illness
- Neither patient was thought to be seriously ill on Friday
Mexico’s assistant health secretary announced on Friday that the country now has two confirmed cases of the new coronavirus.
Hugo Lopez-Gatell said one of the patients was in Mexico City and the other in the northern state of Sinaloa. While a second test is still pending on that case, he said, “We are treating this as confirmed.” Neither patient is seriously ill.
At least five family contacts of the first patient have been placed in isolation. He said one of the men had contact with someone who had travelled to the northern Italian region where there has been an outbreak.
President Andrés Manuel López Obrador appeared to play down the seriousness of the Covid-19 illness, saying “it isn’t even equivalent to flu”.
Seasonal flu kills more people because it has infected far more people, but the new virus appears to have a far higher mortality rate.