353 Deaths and 1,997 Infections in One Day

The Ministry of Health reported 353 new deaths from COVID-19 bringing the total to 3,926, while 1,997 positive cases were confirmed since yesterday, bringing the national total to 38,324.

During today’s special briefing Deputy Minister of Health Hugo López-Gatell reported on the meeting held by the federal and state authorities to assess to return to the “new normal” announced early in the morning by President López Obrador. López-Gatell warned that life can no longer be as it was before as particular safety measures should be implemented. A gradual and careful process to avoid a new outbreak must be followed, the official said.

Due to the International Nurses Day, a group of nurses attended the briefing in National Palace and sent a message of sympathy and support to all IMSS staff and health workers in public and private sectors.

As of Tuesday, May 12

1,997     new cases (from yesterday)

38,324   confirmed cases nationwide

22,980   under investigation

3,962     deaths

Impact on markets (19.30 hrs)

US Dollar              MX$24.17            (1.06%)

BMV IPC               37,462.89             (-0.45%)

Dow Jones          23,764.78             (-1.89%)

555,247 jobs lost in April

Over 555,247 jobs registered at IMSS were lost in April, of which 66 percent were permanent and 34 percent temporary, the institute has reported. “As a consequence of the effects of the health emergency, in April there was a monthly decrease of 555,247 positions, equivalent to a monthly rate of minus 2.7 percent,” IMSS stated. The accumulated figure for March-April, when social distancing and the closing of workplaces started, rose to 685,840 jobs. The figure reported for April is nine times higher than that observed in the same month of 2009, when the influenza A-H1N1 first cases were reported.

Health traffic light system approved

The General Health Council reported that it approved the implementation of a weekly traffic light to determine activities that can be carried out in each state starting June 1. This measure is part of four agreements approved for the progressive easing of containment measures and resuming productive activities. “Starting June 1 2020, the Health Minister will define a weekly traffic light for each state. The color will permit certain economic, educational and social activities with specific levels of intensity,” the office posted in its Twitter account.

Mexican crude at US$21.95 per barrel

The Mexican crude basket closed the trading session at US$21.95 per barrel after registering a marginal gain of 9 cents, or 4.27 percent compared to Monday's session, PEMEX reported. The price of the Mexican basket closed in line with the WTI and Brent benchmarks, driven by announcements of production cuts from various countries in the Persian Gulf, with Saudi Arabia leading the way. Saudi Arabia's energy ministry asked state oil company Aramco on Monday to cut output by an additional 1 million barrels a day from June.

Extreme poverty warning

Mexico would be the country with the greatest impact in terms of extreme poverty derived from the COVID-19 health crisis, according to ECLAC. The UN office stated that Mexico’s extreme poverty might increase 4.8 percentage points compared to the previous year, going from 11.1 to 15.9 percent of the population. The projection did not consider measures announced by the government to mitigate the impact of the crisis, which may change these results, said ECLAC head Alicia Bárcena.

Cabinet-governors meeting

Minister of Interior (SEGOB) Olga Sánchez Cordero together with members of the federal cabinet and 31 state leaders held a preliminary meeting for the formal presentation of the plan for the return to the new normality that President López Obrador will detail tomorrow. The objective of the meeting was to make the general presentation about resuming activities and also listen to the observations of the state leaders whom expressed their concerns about the reactivation of productive activities.

Japan calls to avoid Mexico

Japan’s Foreign Ministry today extended the traveling restriction to 13 countries, including Mexico, due to the high rates of reported infections. Chancellor Toshimitsu Motegi explained that Mexico was placed on the list along with other Central and South American nations.

Iztapalapa has most cases

Mexico City Head of Government Claudia Sheinbaum reported 819 deaths from COVID-19 and 9,982 confirmed cases in the city, according to the latest report from the federal Ministry of Health. In Iztapalapa, cases continue to increase to 1,963, as well as in Gustavo A. Madero where there are 1,296 positive cases reported.