Mexico Considers Border Restrictions as U.S. COVID-19 Cases Rise

In an ironic twist, due to the growing number of cases in the U.S., health officials in Mexico are considering border restrictions for Americans looking to enter their country.

On Friday, Mexico’s Deputy Health Minister told reporters that the spread of the coronavirus coming from the U.S. is a concern and could result in action taken at the northern border to remedy it.

“If it were technically necessary to consider mechanisms of restriction or stronger surveillance, we would have to take into account not that Mexico would bring the virus to the United States, rather that the United States could bring it here,” Lopez-Gatell said.

According to Reuters, Mexico has confirmed 26 cases of the coronavirus so far, with no reports of deaths.

However, Reuters goes on to report that the low number of cases in Mexico, which has a population of 130 million, “has raised questions about the government’s relatively hands-off approach to the epidemic.”

To no one’s surprise earlier this week, with no proof whatsoever, President Trump said the coronavirus proved the need for a border wall, writing Twitter, “We need the Wall more than ever!”

Trump also erroneously stated during a rally in South Carolina last month that the portion of the wall that has been constructed so far is “one of the reasons U.S. coronavirus] numbers are so good.”

Trump continued the lie, saying, “We will do everything in our power to keep the infection and those carrying the infection from entering our country. You’ve all seen the wall has gone up like magic.”

But as Wired points out, actual research on the matter proves no such thing. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) and analysis of flu data that looked at the 2009 H1N1 influenza outbreak, travel bans overall have not proven effective in slowing the spread of disease.