This new variant of the virus, called “B117”, is, according to current knowledge, significantly more contagious than previous ones. It is generally assumed that it first spread to southern England.
The coronavirus mutation first discovered in the UK, and apparently much more contagious, has now been detected in Mexico as well.
The Tamaulipas state government said this Sunday (01.01.2021) that a 56-year-old man had tested positive for the new strain of the coronavirus, known as B117, at the Matamoros airport.
According to the report, he had returned from a trip abroad and arrived via Mexico City. All other passengers and crew members on the plane tested negative.
Confirmation of the case was later given by the Ministry of Health of Mexico through the director of Epidemiology, José Luis Alomía, during the daily press conference in which the technical report of the pandemic in the country is presented.
Alomía said that during the flight the patient did not present symptoms, although for safety he isolated himself and his company asked him to take a test that was positive.
Alomía explained that the patient was hospitalized on January 4 because he had an oxygenation of 84% and although he was discharged to continue with outpatient treatment, last Friday he entered a private hospital in Matamoros and on Saturday he had to be intubated .
10,003 new infections in Mexico
This Sunday, Mexico registered 10,003 new infections of the coronavirus in the last 24 hours for a total of 1,534,039 confirmed cases, reported authorities of the Ministry of Health.
In addition, 502 new deaths were recorded, bringing the number of fatalities to 133,706.
With these figures, Mexico remains the fourth country in the world with the most deaths from the pandemic, behind the United States, Brazil and India, and is the thirteenth country in the world in terms of number of infections, according to Johns Hopkins University.
Mexico began immunizing medical personnel on December 24, with a possible shutdown at the end of January, and expects the 15 million adults over 60 to be vaccinated by March.
In addition, Mexico seeks to immunize its almost 130 million inhabitants until March 2022.
Source: dw.com