Covid in Mexico: the medical profession exhausted as the epidemic resumes

Audio 01:16

Paramedics transport a patient with symptoms of Covid-19 to an ambulance for transfer to another hospital in Mexico City on November 13, 2020. REUTERS - HENRY ROMERO

Text by: RFI Follow

5 mins

In Mexico, the coronavirus is showing signs of recovery after a slight lull.

Unlike Europe, the first wave of the virus has never ebbed and several states in the country yet again record an increase in contagions and hospitalizations.

In hospitals, exhausted health professionals prepare for a new crisis situation.

Publicity

Read more

With our correspondent in Mexico,

Alix Hardy

Never have the interior of a hospital and the outside world seemed to be two different realities.

Dr Francisco Espinosa is an immunologist, but for the past nine months he has been treating mainly Covid patients in his office at a private hospital in Mexico City.

“ 

I see between four and eight Covid patients every day and I have a hard time finding space for those who need to be hospitalized, even when they have good health coverage.

All the major hospitals are again saturated.

But in the streets we see that people, worn out by the pandemic, are slacking off.

We see fewer masks, the road traffic is as dense as before. 

"

Read also: Covid-19: Mexico has in turn passed the 100,000 victims mark

Public policies in recent decades have greatly weakened the Mexican hospital system.

If in addition the population demobilizes, the fight for caregivers will be more difficult than ever, warns Damaris Navarro, doctor in a Covid unit.

 I am not only disappointed with the government.

He should protect us better, and there should be more of us.

But I am also angry with the people who seem indifferent to our sacrifice.

If people did their part, there would be fewer patients in the hospitals and our exhaustion would not be as great.

 "

Caregivers who pay a high price for their commitment: nearly 2,000 of them have lost their lives due to Covid-19 in Mexico, the heaviest toll recorded in the world. 

Read also: Covid-19: with a million cases, Mexico is taking new measures

Our selection on the coronavirus

Listen to our

Coronavirus Info

column 

Our 

explanations

 :


→ 

What are the persistent symptoms of Covid-19?


→ 

Young people and Covid-19

: health authorities concerned


→ 

Immunity to Covid-19 would be short-lived


→ 

Promising results for the vaccine against the coronavirus

How to make a mask and use it well

See also the

records

of

RFI Knowledge

on Covid-19


→ 

Birth of a pandemic


→ 

Daily proof


→ 

The history of epidemics


→ 

Science facing Covid-19


→ 

The geopolitical consequences

Newsletter

Receive all the international news directly in your mailbox

I subscribe

Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application

google-play-badge_FR

  • Mexico

  • Coronavirus

On the same subject

Covid-19: Mexico has in turn passed the 100,000 victim mark

Covid-19: With One Million Cases, Mexico Takes New Measures