Mexican Border State Extends Coronavirus Emergency Measures into July

Health officials from the Mexican border state of Tamaulipas extended coronavirus emergency measures through July 15 as the region continues to see a spike in cases. The move comes in direct opposition to messages pushed by Mexico’s President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador who is already calling for resuming normal activities — even as cases continue to spike.

A new decree issued by the Tamaulipas state government pushed back the initial return to normal activities that had been scheduled for June 1 to July 15. The move comes as the border state continues to see a rising number of cases particularly in Nuevo Laredo and in Matamoros. The decree called for a series of safety steps that will continue to be taken for essential activities and the gradual return to non-essential activities.

As Breitbart Texas reported, this week Tamaulipas kicked off a new health enforcement operation at various international ports of entry where they check the temperature of incoming travelers from Texas. They are also ensuring travelers are following the various sanitary steps including the mandatory use of facemasks. Those who do not follow the health protocols are not allowed into the country.

The steps implemented by Tamaulipas are in contrast with those of Mexico’s president who is already asking for a return to normal activities. Despite assurances from Mexico’s Undersecretary of Health Hugo Lopez Gatell about flattening the curve and getting the pandemic under control, Mexico became the country with the eighth-most coronavirus fatalities with 9,415 deaths since the pandemic started and a total of 84,627 cases.

Al 29 de mayo de 2020 hay 84,627 casos confirmados, 16,209 confirmados activos y 38,846 sospechosos por #COVID19. Se han registrado 140,553 negativos, 9,415 defunciones confirmadas, 818 defunciones sospechosas y fueron estudiadas 264,026 personas. 1/3 pic.twitter.com/M52KhpvoXe

— Hugo López-Gatell Ramírez (@HLGatell) May 30, 2020

Despite the record-setting figures, the true scope of the pandemic could be much higher since, as Breitbart Texas reported, Mexican federal health officials have been widely accused of undercounting and using questionable statistics to downplay the severity of the pandemic.

Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com. 

Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.