Masks Are No Longer Necessary/Debanhi’s Murder

Last report on COVID-19 during morning conferences. The Deputy Minister of Health, Hugo López-Gatell, presented the last report on COVID-19 that will be given during the morning conferences and announced that from now a weekly bulletin report will be published regarding the country’s COVID-19 situation. López-Gatell explained that officials decided not to provide more reports in the morning conference since the country has seen COVID-19 cases significantly drop. “In the last five weeks we have had a very sustained reduction in deaths and infections. We are closing the epidemic cycle and transitioning to the endemic one. We will now report via a weekly bulletin. .”

The Ministry of Health reported that five deaths and 140 infections were registered yesterday, bringing the total number of infections to 5,733,925 and death toll stands at 324,134. Regarding vaccinations, the Ministry reported that 85,804,236 million doses have been administered and approximately 98,378,523 million people have been vaccinated, representing 98 percent of Mexico´s adult population. Health experts have explained that the difference between a pandemic and endemic cycle is that in the first there is an increase in cases in several countries, while the endemic cycle is when a virus is present in a region but with low levels of contagion.

Masks are no longer necessary. López-Gatell announced that although the use of masks was never mandatory, it is no longer necessary to use them especially in open spaces. “The mask is a measure to reduce transmission. However, currently we are in a minimal contagion phase in Mexico and in the world, for which the need to use masks is no longer extreme as it was during the very active periods of the pandemic.” Likewise, López-Gatell announced that beginning May 1, the epidemiological traffic light, which measures the COVID-19 situation in each state, will no longer be used since all states now report low contagions and deaths.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), in some countries the COVID-19 pandemic is coming to an end. The virus is now expected to be stationary like the influenza virus. For this reason, the authorities expect a high incidence of COVID-19 infections during the winter, while in the summer it will be low risk. According to data from health authorities, Mexico went through four waves of COVID-19. The third wave with the Delta variant was the most aggressive, while the last wave with the Omicron variant was the most contagious.

Federal authorities are working on the case of Debanhi Escobar. President López Obrador announced that the government of Nuevo Leon accepted that federal authorities take part in the investigation of the murder of Debanhi Escobar. “We are investigating the case of the young woman who lost her life. We are looking for the causes of her death. The governor of Nuevo Leon accepted my proposal to help with the case. We will share any new information we find on the case,” said the president.

Last week, the Secretary of Security and Citizen Protection (SSPC) reported that a body rescued from a water tank in Nuevo Leon matches the description of Escobar, the 18-year-old girl who disappeared on April 9. Debanhi's death has sparked feminist protests across the country, demanding justice in her case and greater security for all women in Mexico.

In recent weeks, Mexico has seen an increase in disappearances in Nuevo León. According to the National Registry of Missing and Non-Localized People, between March 20 and April 20 Nuevo Leon registered 83 missing women. The northern state was the fifth entity with the highest numbers of feminicides and the first in human trafficking in 2021.