Mexican president works from isolation after positive virus test
MEXICO CITY » Mexico President Andrés Manuel López Obrador worked from isolation Monday, a day after announcing that he tested positive for COVID-19, and was absent from his daily news conference for the first time in his two years in office.
The president, who has rarely been seen wearing a mask, stayed out of sight as his country registered its highest levels of infections and deaths yet. He has been criticized for his handling of Mexico’s pandemic and for not setting an example of prevention in public.
He spoke by phone Monday with Russian President Vladimir Putin, and spokesman Jesus Ramirez said afterward on Twitter that Mexico would receive 24 million doses of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine, though it has not yet been approved for use in the country.
López Obrador appeared “with resolute spirit, working and looking good,” Foreign Affairs Secretary Marcelo Ebrard, who is also isolating and awaiting test results, said on Twitter.
Also Monday, the son of Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim announced that his father has COVID-19 and is responding to treatment. Carlos Slim Domit wrote on Twitter that his father started having minor symptoms a week ago and sought care at one of the country’s foremost hospitals.
The president announced the diagnosis Sunday on his official Twitter account, saying, “The symptoms are mild but I am already under medical treatment.”
The 67-year-old López Obrador had a “light” case of COVID-19 and was “isolating at home,” said José Luis Alomía Zegarra, Mexico’s director of epidemiology.
On Monday, Interior Secretary Olga Sánchez Cordero said the president had designated her to hold the daily briefings until his return. She said López Obrador was well and strong.
“He is carrying out his functions as president of the republic. He will continue keeping an eye on public affairs,” she said. Sánchez Cordero, who spoke without wearing a mask, said she was awaiting test results of her own.
Despite his age and high blood pressure, López Obrador has not received a vaccine, though Mexico has received batches of Pfizer-BioNTech doses. He has said that health workers would be the first to get them. Under the government plan, people over 60 will start being vaccinated in February.
López Obrador has maintained a busy travel schedule, taking commercial flights. He spent the weekend in San Luis Potosi and Nuevo Leon states, where he was photographed without a mask.
He has also resisted locking down the economy, noting the devastating effect it would have on so many Mexicans who live day to day. The country has registered nearly 150,000 COVID-19 deaths and more than 1.7 million infections. A new wave of infections has pushed the health system of the capital city close to saturation.
Early in the pandemic, asked how he was protecting Mexico, López Obrador took two religious amulets from his wallet and proudly showed them off.