Mexican Government Denounces Health Worker Harassment as Coronavirus Cases Hit 2439

Mexican health officials denounced cases of harassment targeting nurses and doctors amid the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19). The announcement comes as nearly 300 new cases push the total to 2,439 since the start of the pandemic.

During a nightly news conference, Undersecretary of Health Hugo Lopez-Gatell and his staff presented the new statistics on the development of the Coronavirus in Mexico. According to health officials, from Sunday night to Monday night, they saw 296 new cases.

#ConferenciaDePrensa: #Coronavirus #COVID19 #QuédateEnCasa | 6 de abril de 2020 https://t.co/LDgKs8y1Lz

— SALUD México (@SSalud_mx) April 7, 2020

Officials also noted a rise in fatalities with a new total of 125. Health officials are looking at 6,295 suspicious cases where test results are pending.

The new spike comes one day after health officials warned that the worst of the pandemic was yet to come.

After the news conference, Lopez-Gatell and other staff members talked about medical workers facing discrimination, threats, or harassment by the public.

“This is a phenomenon that is natural in a sense because the presence of fear and ignorance produces irrational behavior,” Lope Gatell said. “There is no justification for this. It is outrageous that they are taking this out on the health professionals who are the first line of defense against this disease.”

According to Lopez Gatell, discrimination and harassment against healthcare workers would be prosecuted.