(Photo: Reuters)

Around the world, China has delivered medical equipment and supplies like masks, thermometers, ventilators, and test kits that total up to nearly $1.4 billion. The South China Morning Post continued to report that the arrival of these medical supplies in Mexico was last Wednesday.

According to Deputy Health Minister Hugo López-Gatell, the air bridge from China to Mexico will become a gateway for continuous supplies.

"This is not the only flight," he added. "Ventilators, monitors, and other, more specialized equipment will be coming soon." 

López-Gatell said in a briefing that Mexico City especially must prepare for the pandemic. Because of its dense population, it is expected to become a hotspot.

Phase 3 of the Pandemic

In an article by Milenio, experts from the Mexican Society of Emergency Medicine (SMME) confirmed that since March, Mexico has been in phase 2 of the outbreak of the coronavirus and that it will only be a matter of time before they approach phase 3. Further on, they say that authorities estimate the end of April will infect between 600,000 to 1.2 million.

Of that number, the experts added that "10,500 would be serious cases that could merit admission to emergency departments and intensive care units."

The Health Ministry confirmed that as of Thursday, patients in Mexico tested positive for the coronavirus increased to 3,441 while deaths rose to 194.

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    Medical Heroes In Distress

    As the infected numbers overwhelm health facilities and resources, medical workers are becoming more at risk of contracting COVID-19. Perhaps one health center with the most significant outbreak yet, with 42 personnel tested positive for the coronavirus, is the General Hospital in Cabo San Lucas.

    Meanwhile, the Coahuila Health Ministry shows that 32 doctors and nurses at the Mexican Social Security Institute (IMSS) were also confirmed for COVID-19. One doctor has already died. Susana Nájera Sánchez, a colleague of the deceased doctor, said that there is a lack of necessary medical supplies.

    As such, medical workers all over Mexico are demanding the provision of personal protective equipment (PPE) since the number of patients positive with COVID-19 cases in the hospitals have begun to surge. They also issued a flood of complaints about IMSS General Director Zóe Robledo in particular, whose failure to acknowledge the health crisis and generally provide hospitals with equipment and supplies has led to the worsening of the situation.

    National health workers union leader Arturo Olivares Cerda said that the hospital staff is becoming increasingly at risk of infection due to the lack of equipment.

    "There will always be a risk, but if we have all the instruments to confront coronavirus, the risks decrease considerably," Olivares said.

    Most of the health workers claimed to procure equipment and precautionary items such as soap, alcohol, and wet tissues by their initiative because of the insufficient provisions in the hospital.

    "The authorities told us that it was part of our commitment as doctors to obtain the resources by our own means," they wrote in a letter for protest. "We want to work, and we want to serve, and we want to live to teach the next generations."