Mexico: the capital Mexico City takes the lead and tests massively
Audio 02:23
Medical staff perform Covid-19 tests at a health post in the Central de Abastos, the capital's main market, in Mexico City, on Tuesday, December 8, 2020 © AP Photo / Rebecca Blackwell
By: Alix Hardy Follow
6 min
Mexico is struggling with a second wave of Coronavirus.
Contaminations and hospitalizations are on the rise in many states, which has earned the country a warning from the WHO, for which Mexico is in bad shape.
The capital Mexico City, the eternal epicenter of the pandemic, has chosen to deviate from the national strategy.
In an attempt to contain the pandemic, the mayor of the city drew the lessons of the first wave and chose to screen massively, in a country which has been reluctant to test since the start of the pandemic.
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Since the end of November, white tents have sprung up in the areas most frequented or affected by the virus.
To get tested, you usually have to go to a public health center, where the results can last for weeks.
Or in the private sector, where a test is expensive.
With its 74 Covid kiosks, Mexico City now offers open access, fast and free antigen tests.
Alma Montes came with her daughter, who is showing symptoms: “
I had the Covid a month ago, but my daughter is only starting to have symptoms.
My parents also feel bad, but since they live in the state of Mexico, in the suburbs, they do not have access to free testing.
We came to test my daughter to see if there was a chain of contagion in the family.
For me this is a very good initiative because it allows people to be taken care of early, and it is very important for the elderly.
"
Each kiosk in the capital performs an average of 200 antigen tests each day.
This represents up to 40% of tests in Mexico which, since the start of the pandemic, has opted not to generalize screening, contrary to WHO recommendations.
Long lines form at dawn in front of the kiosks: “
There are the authorities who think of their citizens and then those who only think of their personal interests.
In Mexico City, in addition to the tests, you are given financial assistance and a food package in case of contagion.
In the State of Mexico which surrounds the capital, an oximeter sells for 50 euros, while in the capital they have remained affordable because the authorities distribute them for free.
All this is beneficial for the population and especially the poorest.
"
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Read also: Covid-19: Mexico has in turn passed the 100,000 victims mark
If it does not replace PCR tests, this screening finally makes it possible to quickly break the chains of contagion in a city which has resumed hectic activity.
Among the patients of the day, Maria Dolores Castillo was surprised by the result: “
I have not lost either taste or smell, in short, I have no symptoms!
I came with the certainty of being negative and in fact, I believe I am the first positive case of the day!
I saw the two small bars on the test.
It is very important that people come to be tested because a lot of people have no symptoms like me and then they infect others.
Someone must have passed it on to me… As a mother, I have no choice, I have to go to the market.
I have a twenty-year-old daughter, now she's going to have to go get tested too
.
"
Thanks to these new measures, the mayor of the capital hopes to avoid a new closure of shops while the situation worsens a few weeks before the Christmas holidays.
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