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A man wears a surgical mask as he sits outside a closed restaurant, after city officials ordered eateries to close or only serve take-away customers, in Mexico City April 29, 2009. (Reuters) |
At the 2300 hours on the 23rd of April, the dynamic Mexico City was suddenly charged by an epidemic emergency announcement made in the most important states of this crowded country, given by the Mexican Health Ministry, José Angel Cordova Villalobos. In this speech, a rarely-applied measure was taken: the complete suspension of school and academic activities on Friday in the capital city and Mexico State. This was the real event that began the alarm for an emergency health situation, in the beginning only in two states, but days after also spreading to all the country.
The measures that were taken surprised most of the capital's citizens, because of the importance of its implications and the practical ignorance about the presence of a dangerous health situation. Obviously, for most of the people, this measure affected their daily lives one way or another simply because they have to deal with the stay of the children in the house or take preventive measures to go to their jobs, like using face surgical masks.
For me, it was really difficult to face this new situation, because I am currently in an scholarship application process, so I need to take the TOEFL exam as soon as possible. But because of academic inactivity it was delayed, which means I won't be able to apply in time for this scholarship.
During the weekend, the general feeling of the capital citizens was a mix of uncertainty, fear, skepticism and paranoia. Then, the closing of bars, discotheques, restaurants – which are only open to sell takeout food – cinemas, museums, large public parks, religious services, and public football matches, in addition to the extension of the total suspension of academic activities in all the country till the 6th of May, produced a shocking image that forced us to realize the seriousness of the situation.
| "The people's response was, in general, of precaution and a little of fear because we haven't seen anything like this before." |
The announcement also unleashed a paranoia dynamic, mostly in the capital city and deeper with the passage of the days. The people literally crowded the drugstores and the supermarkets to make purchases out of panic, at the beginning of face surgical masks, medicines like antiviral medicine and vitamins, and antibacterial gel (which now are practically exhausted in many parts of the country.) Later, the purchases included plenty of canned food, bottled water, bread, cereal, beans, rice, meat (all kinds except swine) out of fear of a supermarket closure or an eventual shortage in supplies.
The saddest thing is that, even in this hard situation, some people are taking advantage of it, mostly in the economic sense. For example, due to the demand and the scarcity, the face surgical masks' price has quickly risen. Under normal circumstance a mask costs $1 peso; after the government announced the presence of an epidemic, the price rose until it became $50 pesos for each one.
Government Criticized
The people's response was, in general, of precaution and a little of fear because we haven't seen anything like this before. Most people are using face surgical masks, washing their hands regularly, trying not to get out of their houses if it is not strictly necessarily and are carefully alert to the preventive measures and the new information that the media is giving about the development of the situation.
Different perspectives are surging around the epidemic. Some feel that the government is not doing enough and, in fact, that it answered to the crisis late and that the information that is being given is not complete.
The number of people infected or killed by the virus is the most controversial issue. Most are angry about the lack of a well developed health system that allows an effective response to this kind of contingency, that could be able to attend to all the people that are being infected. Now the hospitals have become overwhelmed with people, not because all the cases are swine flu but because every person that feels a little sick rushes to the hospital.
There is also concern over the lack of the needed infrastructure and technology to detect when a new kind of virus is spreading among the Mexican people, rather than being dependent on other countries to provide such knowledge like what is happening in this case.
However, the government has taken several measures to counteract the effects of this epidemic. Besides the closure of crowded places, it also announced full alertness at hospitals 24 hours, the donation of face surgical masks at different points in the city, daily updates on the situation (the number of infected people and the number of deaths that supposedly are related with this virus), the close of public administration jobs, and the implementation of preventive measures in public transportation, like the use of surgical masks and gloves for the drivers.
Nobody is in a position to conclude whether the correct measures were implemented by the government and in the right time. We have to wait and see how the events are taking course and wait until this problem is over. What is really important now, however, is to encourage the international community to be more comprehensive and cooperative with the Mexican people, and not to blame it for the situation that is unfolding. That way, we can take the necessary preventive measures to stop together the expansion of this epidemic and, consequently, to stop its spread to other countries.
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