Mexico to Donate COVID-19 Vaccines/COVID-19 Cases Increase

COVID-19 cases increase by 9 percent. Deputy Minister of Health Hugo López-Gatell reported that there has beenis a 9 percent increase in COVID-19 cases. However, he assured that hospital occupancy continues to decline. "In the last weeks, specifically the 23rd (week of the year) versus the 22nd, we sawee an increase of 9 percent, which is similar to the increase between the 21st and the 22nd. We will be monitoring to see if this percentage increases." López-Gatell explained that there have been spikes in contagions; however, he emphasized that the downward trend continues. López-Gatell added that if there is a significant increase in contagions by Saturday, the government will have to implement more health measures.

Mexico will donate AstraZeneca vaccines to Latin American countries. Minister of Foreign Affairs Marcelo Ebrard announced that Mexico will donate AstraZeneca vaccines to Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago as an act of solidarity. Deputy Minister of Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights Martha Delgado said that the donation is part of the Humanitarian Mission program, in which Mexico previously sent 400,000 doses of AstraZeneca to Belize, Bolivia and Paraguay. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said, "Mexico has to act congruently with its approach if we demand universal access to vaccines. Mexico has to be an example of cooperation and solidarity."

Fourteen states have opened schools for face-to-face classes. Minister of Public Education Delfina Gómez said that around 34,317 schools are open in 756 municipalities in 14 states for face-to-face classes. "There are 14 entities with the face-to-face model, seven7 in community centers and 11 that remain in a mix of face-to-face and online classes until the new school year." The states with face-to-face classes are Aguascalientes, Baja California, Chiapas, Coahuila, Durango, the State of Mexico, Guanajuato, Jalisco, Morelos, Nuevo Leon, San Luis Potosi, Tamaulipas, Veracruz and Campeche, where 387,762 teachers have returned and 3,349,029 million students are expected to return soon.

Femicide rates increase. López Obrador said that there is an increase in feminicides at the national level; however, he assured that "the government is already implementing strategies to assist and combat this increase." IOn May, there were 3,061 homicides and femicides in the country, an increase of 4.2 percent compared to April, when 2,939 of these crimes were registered.

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