The Pandemic in Mexico

 

By 10 March Mexico had reported 2,137,884 cases of Covid-19, although the reported rate in undoubtedly low since Mexico has carried out relatively few tests. 191,789 deaths have been reported. This likewise is considered to be a low figure: real deaths may be double. 2,849,630 doses of vaccine (equivalent to 1.8% of the population) have been given.

 

Statistics, as we have learned, are tremendously important in the pandemic, but I have been staying in touch with friends and our son in Mexico to understand how daily lives have been affected. The Mexican government publishes a large amount of information (https://coronavirus.gob.mx/), from simple advice about symptoms and prevention of infection, to data by state, and materials in Indigenous languages –there are videos in 52 languages at: https://site.inali.gob.mx/Micrositios/materiales_de_prevencion_covid-19/index.html.

 

The main tool for pandemic management is the semáforo de riesgo epidémico (pandemic risk traffic light) which indicates the level of risk for each of the 32 states. While real traffic lights have three colours, the Covid-19 light has four:

·      red for highest risk (only essential activities are permitted; people can walk around their homes during the day)

·      orange (non-essential businesses can operate with 30% of staff, public spaces can open with reduced capacity)

·      yellow (all businesses open, public spaces open without limits of capacity, all provided that Covid-19 precautions are taken)

·      green (all activities, including schooling permitted)

For the period 1-14 March 2021 no states are red, 11 are orange, 19 yellow and two green (Chiapas and Campeche in the far southeast).

 

The semáforo in December 2020

The semáforo in March 2021

The details of how these regulations are interpreted and enforced varies considerably by state.

 

Our son Chris is Communications and Events Officer for a charity, Pasitos de Luz (Little Steps of Light) (https://pasitosdeluz.org/) that cares for disabled children. Pasitos has been closed since March 2020, but is now beginning to open gradually to receive children, initially in small groups. . Here is Chris’ account, written for the Children’s Shelter of Hope Foundation in the USA which collects donations to Pasitos, of how the pandemic has affected Pasitos and one of the children to whom it provides therapy. Note that this was written shortly before the traffic light for the are changed from red to yellow:

 

“Life in 2021 is still tough for our local communities here in Puerto Vallarta and Banderas Bay. The economy has opened up, but tourist numbers are down and all businesses currently have to shut at 10pm and 8pm in Jalisco and Nayarit respectively, due to the red ‘traffic light’ we mentioned in our December newsletter piece. This means that we are still supporting families with food parcels (we have delivered over 5,000 and counting).

However, over the holiday period blessings fell our way, providing a rainbow of light at a challenging time. Local organizations, such as Vallarta Food Bank, alongside individuals, donated toys for every single Pasitos child, which were welcomed with huge smiles , to mark the Day of the Kings (6th January). And a local health clinic, Salud Digna (Health with Dignity), has donated 300 free health checks, which we have been scheduling for our kids, their families and Pasitos staff.

Since December, we have also been proactive in preparing to welcome back kids to Casa Connor. We are planning to start some outdoor therapies for small groups of children, once the traffic light changes from red. We have drawn up a list of the priority children. There is one little boy who will particularly benefit from being back at Pasitos de Luz and for whom we have high hopes this year. Below we tell you a bit about him and what we think he could achieve in 2021.

 

Ian Jesé, known simply as Jesé, is eight years old and started at Pasitos de Luz when he was six, in 2019. He lives in Puerto Vallarta with his mum, dad, younger brother and his grandmother. Jesé was a difficult case when he first started with us and his progress since then has been truly remarkable.

Jesé is diagnosed with global development delay, which means that it has taken him a lot longer to reach certain development milestones than other children his age. For example, when he arrived at Casa Connor, he could not even crawl by himself, let alone stand up or walk. His ability to manipulate things with his hands was extremely limited; he could not hold a pencil. All of this, combined with the fact that Jesé had little or no control over his sphincter muscles, meant that he was a very shy little boy, with a tendency to lash out if he felt uncomfortable about anything; sometimes hitting or even biting his teachers.

One of the very first things that we did for Jesé was to draw up a weekly eating plan, which we shared with his mother Yaritza. He was worryingly malnourished, because he had not been eating well at home. The children who attend Pasitos de Luz always receive two healthy meals a day, from Monday to Friday, based on vegetables, fruit, grains and good proteins. We explained to Jesé’s mum how she could continue making sure he ate healthily at home too, in the evening and on weekends.

Jesé, wearing his Pasitos shirt, in the physiotherapy room

Thanks to this improved diet, within weeks Jesé had put on a good amount of weight, which really helped with his physical rehabilitation too. Our physiotherapists began their work with Jesé gently, using exercises to gradually strengthen his leg muscles, so that he could stand up unaided. From there, they helped him transition to the parallel bars and then eventually to the treadmill. By the end of 2019 Jesé was confident on his feet and had also become increasingly confident in his social interactions. His tantrums had all but disappeared. He paid more attention to his teachers and he started to make more friends in the classroom. One thing that Jesé really loves is travelling to and from Casa Connor on our school bus. He excitedly points out things he sees through the window, which is such a positive contrast to the frightened little boy who first came to Pasitos in 2019.

 

Jesé and his mother

We feel that 2021 is going to be great for Jesé, and are confident that many more Pasitos kids will reach important milestones too, that were, unfortunately, put on hold last year.

 

If you want to enable kids like Jesé to reach those all-important milestones that many of us take for granted, then please consider giving to Children’s Shelter of Hope Foundation, marked “For Pasitos”. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.”

 

The vaccination programme has only recently got off the ground. One of Chris’ neighbours, a 70-year old Chilean man, received a first dose a little more than a  week ago. A friend in Jacona, Michoacán (a yellow state) described the two days it took to receive the first dose of the Pfizer Biontech vaccine:

 

The church of San Martín and San Agustín, Jacona (founded 16th century)

“My wife and I received the first dose of the Pfizer Covid-19 vaccine a week ago Friday [26 February]. It occurred quite suddenly. We had to stand in line for most of the day on Thursday the 25th, under the hot sun and, of course, with a multitude unconcerned with maintaining 'sana distancia' [a healthy distance]. That ordeal allowed us to obtain 'fichas' [tickets] to return on the Friday for the 'jab'.

 

To our wonderment, the organization on Friday was marvellous, no lines, no waiting, just 4 filters: one's prior registration for the vaccine, review of ID papers, temperature check, blood pressure check, and on to the table for the shot. We were in and out in about 50 minutes, after the obligatory 30-min observation period. We had no ill effects to speak of. My wife had a sore arm and an episode of coughing later on Friday, I only had some minor arm pain. I was told by a friend that harsher reactions indicate the person had been in close contact to an infected person.

 

We are now waiting for the call to go for the second jab. That should be in 2-4 weeks. The program here was strictly for residents of the municipality of Jacona, so we weren't able to get the shots for Salud's [my friend’s wife] mother and uncle.

 

But the municipality of Zamora [the neighbouring, much larger municipality] began the registration process on Thursday past, and my sister-in-law was able to register the old folks (87, 84). We're now waiting for the call to take them in. According to reports, vaccines will be administered from Monday-Thursday. I don't know which vaccine they'll get. We were, by all reports, fortunate to get the Pfizer version. We do feel a little more protected, a little less anxious, but can't let the guard down yet.”

 

In Michoacán, the vaccine is administered by municipality, in Mexico City by delegaciones (boroughs) as a friend told me on 22 February. He and his wife are both retired:

 

“No, we have not been vaccinated yet. Mexico is getting started slowly as vaccines gradually begin to arrive. The Metropolitan area of Mexico City is being vaccinated by delegaciones beginning with elders 60 and over. Both Delia [his wife] and I are registered in a general database for the vaccine, and when they call for Tlalpan [his delegación], it will be our turn. They will come to the house to vaccinate Delia due to her heart attack, but I will have to go to a nearby school to receive the vaccine. It will probably, hopefully, be in March sometime.”

 

Palacio Municipal (town hall) Tlalpan

My friend added:

 

“I took Delia out for a drive yesterday, and was thinking about eating out. quite a few restaurants have terraces and others have set up tables in their parking lots or on the sidewalk, but everyone went out yesterday; just full of people everywhere; long lines waiting for tables, so we decided that if we’ve been inside for a year, we can certainly hold out another couple months.”

 

On the Pacific coast, around the border of the states of Nayarit and Jalisco where our son lives, life seems to have been more relaxed than in the capital for some time. As Chris mentioned in his report for the Foundation, the only restriction on restaurants is that they close earlier than is the norm. Many other activities take place that would prompt a police raid in the UK: dance classes, a temporary ice skating rink, birthday parties with “only” 15 people.

 

I hope for the sake of the hardworking and long-suffering people of Mexico that the vaccine programme soon brngs healt and economic benefits.