Awards for COVID hospitals/ No vaccine favoritism

Mexico City and State of Mexico are flattening epidemiological curve. Deputy Minister of Health Hugo López-Gatell said that “since the beginning of October, the epidemic curves in Mexico City and the State of Mexico have flattened alongside a decrease in the number of infections; however, the number of deaths and people hospitalized has not yet decreased.” He added that both states reported their first week of reduced infections, which is consistent with the three weeks in which the government reduced mobility in public spaces. “This is encouraging for those who live in the Valley of Mexico," López-Gatell said. On Dec. 19, Mexico City and the State of Mexico announced their return to the epidemiological red light, suspending non-essential economic activities until Jan. 10. Among the activities that remain in operation are food delivery services, energy, transportation, healthcare, funerals, financial, telecommunications, sale and manufacture of medicines, security and public works.

Miguel Hidalgo Awards to medical personnel. Director of the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) Zoé Robledo delivered the Miguel Hidalgo Award to seven representatives of the health sector. “It is a symbolic plaque that will be on display in a very special place of each COVID-19 hospital. With this, we seek to recognize and remember the effort of all the people who work in hospitals: doctors, nurses, orderlies, hospital custodial workers, among others,” Robledo said, adding that there 980 plaques will be distributed to all COVID-19 hospitals.

New batches of COVID-19 vaccines set to arrive. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador announced that on Jan. 4, 11, 18 and 25 new batches of vaccines will arrive in Mexico. These new doses will be distributed in 27 states, "It is estimated that with the Pfizer vaccine, we will cover the entire group of doctors, nurses and healthcare workers, which total around 750,000 people,” the president said. Moreover, AMLO assured that in January the vaccination of elderly people will begin. "An agreement with the Chinese pharmaceutical CanSino was reached for 8 million doses that will arrive from January to March. This vaccine is effective with a single dose and doesn’t require low temperatures, which will facilitate its application."

No favoritism in the application of the vaccine. AMLO called on all Mexicans to act honestly and responsibly in the application of the COVID-19 vaccines. He said that the government will investigate accusations against the Director of the Military Hospital Rayon in the State of Mexico for providing the vaccine to his family. The president explained that before there was a lot of corruption and people thought it was normal; however, the current government is fighting corruption and impunity. “I call on all citizens to help end all these bad habits by denouncing acts of corruption and respecting the vaccination plan. The vaccine is for everyone and I will wait my turn to have it," the president said.

Mexicans must act responsibly. Minister of Health Jorge Alcocer Varela called on all Mexicans to act responsibly, especially during New Year’s Eve. "We need to take better care of ourselves to avoid contagions. The pandemic continues to affect us and the most important thing, especially in this time, is to be healthy," he said.

AMLO says that yesterday’s blackout will not be repeated.The president indicated that yesterday’s blackout affected 12 states and assured that it won’t happen again. Today, the Federal Electricity Commission (CFE) will present a report about the incident. "It will not be repeated. According to the technicians, it was an energy imbalance, some power plants stopped operating, which affected the control of the entire electrical system," said López Obrador. AMLO added he cannot answer for the CFE authorities; however, he guaranteed that Mexico has a good electrical system. Yesterday, the National Energy Control Center (CENACE) reported an energy imbalance in the National Interconnected System, which caused the blackout in 12 states: Nuevo Leon, Hidalgo, Jalisco, Sinaloa, Yucatan, Tamaulipas, Coahuila, Guanajuato, San Luis Potosi, Oaxaca and Veracruz and affected around 10.3 million of users.

AMLO cancels visit to Chiapas on New Year’s Eve. President López Obrador canceled his visit to Chiapas because he intends to stay in Mexico City to elaborate more plans for the COVID-19 crisis. "I have already made the decision that I will not leave at the end of the year. We are going to stay here. We are no longer going to Chiapas because we are expanding the number of beds and equipping hospitals in Mexico City to treat COVID-19 patients. We have availability; however, we must elaborate new plans to gain better control of the situation.”

AMLO reveals corruption in prison contracts. López Obrador revealed that there is corruption related to several contracts to build prisons. "I will give a report of all thefts. Imagine: there are agreements to build prisons; however, those places are later privatized and the company that builds them also has the service of surveillance, food and laundry,” the president said. He added these companies are getting richer because the government is paying the equivalent of maintaining a five-star hotel.

Click HERE for full transcript in Spanish