The first cases of Coronavirus in Mexico have been announced and confirmed by the Health Ministry and it has causes citizens to panic. Most rushed to the nearest pharmacies to purchase face masks, a preventative item.

As soon as they discover that all the face masks at every pharmacy, whether it was a small local pharmacy or large chains are all out-of-stock, they were displeased since it was only a few hours after Hugo López-Gatell, the Deputy Health Minister announced in the morning press conference of the president regarding the newly discovered cases of COVID-19. Coronavirus, the epidemic that originated in Wuhan, China last year, had been discovered in Mexico City and Sinaloa.

According to a statement of El Universal, a newspaper, panic-buying of face masks also took place in several parts of the United States, but it was more widespread in Sinaloa and Mexico City.

Nearly all the drugstores in a mecca, a historic center of the capital, in search of medicines and medical supplies, had their supplies of face masks and anti-bacterial gel depleted shortly after the report of the arrival of the virus in Mexico. El Universal stated that a pharmacy in downtown set up a sign to announce that they do not have any sources of face masks anymore.

On a busy Friday in the streets of Mexico, vendors of face masks suddenly appeared and took advantage of the crisis and the panic of the people. It has been reported that few pharmacies in Mexico state raised the prices of the face masks to 200% at the demand of the items also rose.

El Universal said the population of people using face masks of diverse designs and colors on the public places in the capital had significantly risen.

A couple wear protective face masks on the street after the governor of the northern Mexican state of Coahuila said on Saturday that a new case of coronavirus had been confirmed, in Mexico City
Reuters

Karla, a woman recognized wearing a pink-colored mask in the metro station of zócalo that in this season, people die from influenza more than coronavirus and that scares her more than the virus coming from China.

It was rare to find anyone who isn't wearing a face mask outside the National Institute of Respiratory Diseases, located in the Tlalpan borough in southern Mexico City.

El Universal was told by the small medical supplies store, which is in front of the emergency department, attendant that he normally sells around 15 to 20 masks every day yet the demand jumped up to 50 this week, and that it completely drains him. Karina López, the owner of the pharmacy nearby, stated that even before the news about coronavirus had reached Mexico, her stocks of face masks have already depleted.

She explained that anyone could find stocks of face masks in hardware stores better than they could find in pharmacies since hardware stores market face masks for painters and respirators.

Health experts suggests that to be protected from COVID-19, everyone should wash their hands completely and frequently, prevent touching the mouth, nose, and eyes, when sneezing and coughing, covering the mouth with inner of the elbow is a must, and to avoid contact with someone with similar symptoms, and that they should not solely rely on wearing a masks.

López-Gatell also advises people to avoid greeting other people with hugs and kisses yet his message didn't arrive to the president.

During an event in the Chontal, an indigenous community, López Obrador greeted all supporters with plenty of hugs and kisses on Friday afternoon and those greetings were returned.

Alicia Sánchez stated that Obrador came from their place and that to greet him with hugs and kisses is something they want to do and they want to tell him that they are with him until the end.