Mexico buys $ 56.5 million USD of medical equipment from China

The Secretary of Foreign Relations, Marcelo Ebrard, reported that Mexico established an air bridge with China to receive from two to four flights per week with medical equipment, as Mexico made a purchase of 56.6 million US dollars to People’s Republic of China.

On Friday April 10th, more masks and gloves will arrive in Mexico to protect medical personnel from the COVID-19 pandemic. He reported, on the other hand, that Mexico is getting 5,272 additional ventilators and “these will begin to arrive next week.”

At the presidential morning conference, he reported that good relations with the Chinese government allowed him to acquire 11 and a half million K N95 face masks, whose equivalence with N95 has been endorsed by both the United States health authorities and Cofepris in Mexico.

“The second flight is taking off from China, and face masks and other equipment will be received tomorrow to cover the needs of nurses, doctors and medical staff. The shipment will be arriving tomorrow night. I thank the Republic of China for the promptness of our approach, ” Ebrard stated in the National Palace.

Ebrard reported that by presidential instruction, the Foreign Ministry began a relevant international deployment to reinforce the equipment in Mexico in order to face the pandemic, first for the protection of health personnel, ventilators and equipment, “always working in coordination with the United Nations Organization, and in particular with China.

He claimed that Mexico approached large equipment producers – the United States, Canada, the European Union, China and India – but almost all, at the same time, had the same problem in facing the pandemic, pointing to shortages and high prices (especially when it comes to ventilators).

“China was the only governmet that, from the beginning, shared information with us in time. They sent us all their material with manuals translated into Spanish; they designated the company Meheco on March 25 to supply equipment to the Mexican State, and that speaks of the very good relations our two nations have, “he stressed.

Ebrard also mentioned that the first shipment was collected on April 6 in Shanghai and arrived in Mexico on the evenig of Monday April 7.

The Chancellor recalled that by instructions from the president they also knocked on the door to the UN to get equipment, and the good diplomatic relations established by this government – he stressed – allowed Mexico to obtain ventilators in Denmark and other parts of the world.

Andrés Manuel López Obrador has asked the population to stay home and continue caring for vulnerable people.

“We are behaving well, very well, very well. Recommendations are being followed; We have information that mobility has been greatly reduced. The fundamental thing is that we avoid contagions. The more discipline we have, the less disease problems, ” AMLO said in his morning conference.