Mexico to keep airports open despite coronavirus pandemic

On Thursday, Mexico’s government said it was not planning to restrict international travel to the country or close its borders due to the coronavirus outbreak in spite of major curbs announced a day earlier by the United States.

Standing alongside President Andrés Manuel López Obrador , Deputy Health Minister Hugo López-Gatell said there was no scientific evidence that restricting access to ports of entry would play a significant role in protecting public health .

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He added, however, that screening travelers at points of departure could help prevent the spread of the virus.

“Restricting international travel to Mexico is not planned, nor is it being considered. Nor is closing borders or maritime ports,” López-Gatell told a regular government news conference.

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On Wednesday, U.S. President Donald Trump imposed sweeping restrictions to prevent people from 26 European countries from traveling to the United States for a month as he responded to mounting pressure to take action against the coronavirus .

López-Gatell said Mexico was in constant contact with officials in the United States and Canada to assess the impact of the virus outbreak, and that health ministers from the three countries would hold a teleconference next week.

Nevertheless, on Thursday, Mexico postponed until September a major international tourism conference due to fears over the spread of coronavirus, Tourism Minister Miguel Torruco said.

, one of Mexico’s largest tourism events, was due to be held in the state of Yucatán between March 22 and 25 .

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