Health minister tests positive for COVID-19 in Mexico’s Sonora

The man leading the Mexican state of Sonora’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic tested positive for the new coronavirus last week and is recovering at home with mild symptoms, prompting the governor and other state officials to self-isolate and get tested for the virus.

Enrique Clausen, the state’s health minister, announced his positive diagnosis last week, but it was largely overshadowed by the decision by Sonora Gov. Claudia Pavlovich to tighten controls at the state’s border crossings with Arizona to keep out non-essential travelers during the Fourth of July holiday weekend.

“Even though I feel well, I must follow protocols and isolate myself,” Clausen announced Thursday during his daily briefing on Thursday, his first from his home in Hermosillo, the state capital.

“I’ve always told you that COVID is a cruel and ruthless enemy, and that it doesn’t give up,” he added. “I’m here to tell you I won’t either. I will keep on coordinating all actions for my department from a distance.”

During a Monday call with business owners, Pavlovich said she was scheduled to get tested for the virus later that day, El Imparcial newspaper in Hermosillo reported.

Following Clausen’s announcement, the governor said she would go into selfisolation, because she had been in close contact with him.

Sonora reached two significant milestones over the weekend in the fight against COVID-19: surpassing 10,000 confirmed cases and 1,000 deaths. The state’s health ministry reported 10,332 cases as of Sunday, and 1,034 deaths.

On Friday, Nogales overtook San Luis Rio Colorado in the number of reported deaths and has long been ahead in the number of cases, officially becoming the most stricken of state’s border cities with Arizona.

Nogales, Arizona and Santa Cruz County continue having the highest COVID-19 infection rate in the state, while Yuma County also remains a hot spot. Arizona surpassed 100,000 confirmed cases and 1,800 deaths on Monday.

To limit the spread of the virus, Pavlovich announced last week that her government would deploy “sanitary filters” throughout the state during the Fourth of July weekend. But it was unclear if they would remain in place.

That includes Sonora’s five largest border crossings with Arizona: in Agua Prieta, located across from Douglas; Naco, south of Bisbee; Nogales, the state’s most important crossing; Sonoyta, across from Lukeville; and San Luis Rio Colorado, south of Yuma.

The state reported that health officials at these “sanitary filters” had turned back more than 900 cars in the first three days of enforcement. But it’s unclear how many took place in the border communities.

Some residents in the border city of Sonoyta, the gateway to the popular beach city of Puerto Penasco or Rocky Point, blocked Mexico-bound traffic at the border crossing on Saturday, demanding stricter controls. Groups of concerned residents in Nogales blocked traffic back in March, at the onset of the pandemic.

Pavlovich has been calling on the federal government in Mexico City to step up and take measures to limit non-essential travel at the border in the same way the U.S. government has been doing so since March and will continue until at least July 21.

In April, she pressed Mexican President Andrés Manuel Lopez Obrador during a call with other governors to take action but to no avail.

On June 30, Clausen, the state’s health minister, announced the Sonora state government would officially petition the federal government in Mexico City to implement stricter controls at border crossings.

Over the weekend, Pavlovich said on Twitter that she has been in contact with the federal government to push for her state’s request for stricter border controls.

The federal government in Mexico City has yet to announce or implement any border-wide restrictions on travel due to the COVID-19 pandemic.