5,662 New Cases Set Daily Record

The Ministry of Health registered 667 new deaths from COVID-19, bringing the total to 19,747. A further 5,662 cases than yesterday raised the national total to 165,455. This is the highest daily increase of confirmed cases reported in a single day.

Director of Epidemiology José Luis Alomía said that there are 23,528 active cases concentrated mostly in Mexico City, State of Mexico, Puebla and Tabasco. These states, along with Baja California and Veracruz, top the list for most accumulated cases.

During today’s briefing, Deputy Minister of Health Hugo López-Gatell said that if someone has contact with a person infected with COVID-19, then they should be tested in the next five to seven days. “The virus, when it enters the body through the known routes - mouth, nose and eyes- begins to replicate. If I test someone 25 minutes after another person might infected him, then he will likely test negative,” he said.

As of Thursday, June 18

5,662     new cases (from yesterday)

165,455 confirmed cases nationwide

59,778   under investigation

19,747   deaths

Impact on markets (19.30 hrs)

US Dollar              MX$22.72            (2.04%)

BMV IPC               37,632.89             (-0.70%)

Dow Jones          26,080.10             (-0.15%)

Economic activity drops 19 percent in April

The economic blow stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic will be felt more sharply more during Q2, with preliminary data showing that economic activity fell almost 19 percent in April, Minister of Finance (SHCP) Arturo Herrera said. During Banorte’s podcast “Norte Economico,” with analysts Gabriel Casillas and Alejandro Padilla, the SHCP head reiterated his economic recovery forecast “in the form of a Nike logo,” which implies a slower recovery after a faster plunge. “Preliminary figures show a drop in the economic activity of between 18 and 19 percent in April, and perhaps slightly less in May,” he said.

De la Fuente asks to support WHO

Mexico's ambassador to the United Nations Juan Ramón de la Fuente said the World Health Organization (WHO) acted late to face the COVID-19 pandemic, but that the only remedy is to strengthen its role. “There are countries that are interested in weakening the WHO. In Mexico we will continue to support it because, beyond some limitations or errors during the pandemic, they are our best option and what is convenient is to strengthen it,” he said.

Traffic light, not an imposition

Minister of Interior (SEGOB) Olga Sánchez Cordero said the traffic light system used to signal the readiness of a state to return to the new normal is not an imposition by the federal government, but a proposal to create synergies. The official noted that given that each entity faces its own problems and that governors must identify them and decide on resuming activities. “It’s not about imposing a single traffic light across the federation, but about the creation of synergies,” she noted.

CONCAMIN highlights good communication

Given differences between federal authorities and private sector, the Confederation of Industrial Chambers (CONCAMIN) head Francisco Cervantes said that there is not a break up with President Andrés Manuel López Obrador government, but some distancing. “We continue to communicate with the whole federal government,” he stated during a videoconference with Senate coordinator Ricardo Monreal, who noted that it is necessary to promote a reunion between the president and the businessmen.

Peso drops 2.04 percent

The Mexican peso lost 2.04 percent against the US dollar after closing today’s trading session at MX$22.72, or a drop of 45.50 cents compared to the MX$22.27 recorded yesterday, according to Banxico. Concerns on new COVID-19 outbreaks in China and the US had a negative impact on the greenback in international markets.

WHO expects 2 billion vaccine doses

The World Health Organization (WHO) said it expects that this year hundreds of millions of doses of coronavirus vaccines can be produced and that 2 billion doses will be available by 2021, the agency's scientists team head Soumya Swaminathan said.