López Gatell asks not to find guilty parties and advocates co-responsibility

The undersecretary of Health, Hugo López Gatell, advocated for “co-responsibility” and asked not to find guilty parties for the COVID-19 epidemic.

At the afternoon conference he announced that he expects that on Sunday or Monday he will report on the new traffic light that determines the degree of openness of the states. “Yesterday I expressed that we identified inconsistencies and we are systematically reviewing them.”

It reads: Health does not present traffic light COVID-19 and signals states to give ‘inconsistent information’

It also announced a “rigorous and detailed” system to monitor data provided by states. “

“We call for the shared responsibility of all. Co-responsibility implies that we all have something to do, ”said López Gatell. In his opinion, societies tend to “look guilty” in interpretations that are “not very productive”.

“As this goes a long way, it is useless to think that everything has to come from the government. Let’s focus responsibly”: he said so @HLGatell. pic.twitter.com/fOh3uatFzR

– Political Animal (@Pajaropolitico) July 12, 2020

“Who was responsible for this virus mutating?” He asked several times. He recalled that the mutation of an organism like the virus is a biological phenomenon “that has occurred in the world for millennia.”

“Who is guilty of that? No one in particular. There is no point in thinking that there is one person, two, or seven. There are no responsible people, “he said.

Read: Mexico accumulates more than 295 thousand cases of COVID and 34 thousand 730 confirmed deaths

“One can identify and analyze that the human way of life, particularly during the 20th century and the few years of the 21st century, is the phenomenon responsible for this. But you cannot see that there is a responsible person. It is not a people thing, ”he insisted.

In this sense, López Gatell considered that “the useful lessons that humanity can take do not have to do with blaming an identifiable person by name and surname, but rather a way of living, of relating to each other, in society and with the planet”.

“It is not a matter of entering a reductionism, perhaps simplistic, that this person is guilty or that person is guilty and generate confrontations. This is not a useful type of rationing, ”he insisted.

A day after pointing out to the states and affirming that almost all of them have a lag of at least double the data they offer to the federal government, López Gatell changed his tone.

“We appreciate and congratulate the generally dedicated and responsible action of all the health authorities in this country. These are the President of the Republic, the Health Council, the Secretary of Health and the state governments. Everyone is focused on the task and doing positive actions, “he said.

Now the message was focused on citizens and not on administrations. Although he assured that he wanted to say it the day before, it was that “they do not see their state or municipal government as the sole responsible.”

He asked each of the Mexicans to “take action on the matter” because the virus will be in the form of a pandemic until at least October, but it could be that its widespread presence lasts for two or three years worldwide.

“It is useless to think that prevention actions only have to come from the government,” he said. “We are all part of this and the important thing is to incorporate into our own life and those of those close to us and of all certain practices that are relatively simple: healthy distance; if there is no need to leave, do not leave, if it is not for something imperative; protect sneeze; use the mask as an auxiliary prevention tool, particularly in closed spaces ”.

For the second time since the pandemic spread in Mexico, López Gatell put on his face mask in public and reiterated its usefulness “in closed spaces and public transportation.”

“Mouthguards can be a useful, effective mechanism to interfere with the spread of respiratory secretions from people we don’t want to be spread by viruses. The evidence on the usefulness as a protection barrier to people who do not want to be infected is less solid, “he said.

“Using the mask as an auxiliary instrument of prevention, particularly in closed spaces. There is no clear evidence that it serves as a self-protection barrier, but if it is used massively it will decrease transmission”: he said so @HLGatell. pic.twitter.com/6FoUTMphr0

– Political Animal (@Pajaropolitico) July 12, 2020

Asked about the traffic light, López Gatell remarked that the colors that identify the states remain in effect until Monday. He said he hopes that the status of the states can be modified on Sunday or Monday, once the “inconsistencies” that he had denounced the previous day have been reviewed.

They also wanted to know the opinion of López Gatell towards the opening of CDMX. The doctor pleaded not to blame “each other.” “Instead of pointing out, everyone is aware that we are still in the midst of a pandemic,” he said.

PAN Governors request meeting with Alcocer

While the undersecretary launched this conciliatory message after the remarks of the previous day, the nine governors of the PAN grouped in the Association of Governors of National Action announced that they will request a meeting with the secretary of Health, Jorge Alcocer, to ask for explanations for López’s claims Gatell, who pointed out to the states for not giving reliable information to develop the traffic light.

The governors of Aguascalientes, Tamaulipas, Yucatan, Quintana Roo, Durango, Baja California Sur, Guanajuato and Querétaro participated in a joint act and subsequently announced their common action.