COVID-19 on the rise/ Water Crisis in Nuevo León

COVID-19. Mexico’s Deputy Minister of Health Hugo López-Gatell informed that for the 11th consecutive week, COVID-19 cases keep rising. Moreover, he said that there is also an increase in hospitalizations and in deaths. Nonetheless, he reported that this week approximately one million pediatric Pfizer vaccines will arrive to the country.

López-Gatell reported that there is a national average of hospitalizations of 10 percent for people not critically sick with the virus and 3 percent occupation in Intensive Care Units. In its last COVID-19 technical report, the Ministry of Security informed that Mexico has a total of 6,093,835 COVID-19 cases and 325,793 deaths.

In the last 24 hours, the country has registered 4,235 infections and 5 deaths.

Water crisis in Nuevo León. The Head of the National Water Commission (CONAGUA), Germán Martinez Santoyo, revealed that of the 63 companies that use Nuevo Leon´s aquifer, 38 have contacted the state´s government to reach agreements in order to combat water scarcity in the entity.

The Cierro Prieto and La Boca water dams are at 4 and 11 percent capacity, respectively, with minimal provision to the metropolitan supply. Meanwhile, the incorporation of wells into the distribution network is taking longer than expected. Currently, the dams providing water to the population are only contributing 7,760 liters per second of water in contrast to the11,280 liters supply in normal conditions. The accumulated deficit is of 3,000 liters per second and is leaving around 1.3 to 1.5 million people without water.

Nuevo Leon has suffered prolonged drought seasons, and this had led the government to enforce water cuts over the past months. Starting on May 8 until August, 50 percent of the population in the metropolitan area will not have water from 6pm to 6am, unless there is a meteorological phenomenon that refills the water dams. This, in addition to the water cuts that have been enforced once a week where there is no water after 10pm.

Daylight savings. President López Obrador will send today to Congress his initiative to eliminate daylight savings after a survey carried out by the Ministry of the Interior reported that 71 percent of the population agrees with its cancellation.

Click HERE for full transcript in Spanish