Face Masks Not Essential / Vaccination Plan on Tuesday

Face mask use is not essential. The use of face masks to fight the COVID-19 pandemic is not essential because everything is related to how every person takes care of themselves, President López said. “It is not essential. There are other measures and I think that the best thing is to maintain a healthy distance and to take care of ourselves,” he said after the World Health Organization (WHO) asked Mexico to strengthening its strategy to contain the pandemic, urging its leaders to set an example for their compatriots. López Obrador noted that he is a citizen like any other and that he pays attention to the minister of health, who is an eminent expert. The president said that if someone feels safer by using a face mask then that person should use it. “Everyone is free, and whoever wants to put on a mask and feel more secure can do so, I am not preventing it. What I want is for all of us to act responsibly and take care of ourselves,” he said.

Vaccination plan on Tuesday. The COVID-19 vaccination plan in Mexico will be unveiled by the Ministry of Health next Tuesday, President López Obrador said. “We are already working with all companies, also simplifying authorization processes at COFEPRIS to prevent bureaucracy from stopping them,” he said. The president highlighted that his administration is working “day and night” to get the approvals for the new drugs. “The vaccine is the best thing we can have; this is going to really help us to face this pandemic,” he said.

Etileno XXI plant contract canceled. President López Obrador said that the contract for the supply of gas to the Etileno XXI plant has been canceled. “They reported to me this morning that they had notified the company because this leonine contract signed by the (Felipe) Calderón government is not being corrected,” he said. The president said there is no longer any natural gas for the Odebrecht subsidiary because the contract expired and it will not be renewed. “There is also a complaint of corruption against this company and they don’t want to reach an agreement; they want gas to continue to be sold to them at 25% of its cost in the market and that the people of Mexico subsidize them, and also collect fines. We cannot continue with these types of contracts because we would become accomplices to corruption,” he said.

Boasts support of 71.1 percent of Mexicans. President López Obrador presented the results of a telephone survey that revealed that 71.1 percent of Mexicans support him. “According to a survey, 71.1 percent want me to continue (in office) and 23 percent want me to resign. Over 2 percent said they don’t care and 3.9 percent did not answer,” he said. Before his second State of the Union address yesterday, several outlets reported that López Obrador’s popularity is still strong, but with more discrete figures. “You see that I always have other data,” he said.

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Click HERE for full transcript in Spanish