Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Friday that if face masks were “considered to help, then I would do it.”
When asked by a reporter why he doesn’t wear a face mask and how that message would influence people, López Obrador said that it’s not “scientifically proven.”
The World Health Organization and public health experts have emphasized masks are one of the most effective tools to help fight the pandemic.
López Obrador said the country’s health ministry, lead led by Dr. Jorge Alcocer and Dr. Hugo López-Gatell, advised him not to wear a face mask.
“The main point of all the campaign has been the ‘safe distance,’ and we’ve taken care of this. Dr. Alcocer and López-Gatell have told me that I don’t need to wear a mask if I keep the distance, in the places where is necessary, I’ll wear it,” López Obrador said.
Some context: Mexico’s health ministry reported 7,573 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Friday, bringing the country’s total to 378,285.
López Obrador has said that the high numbers are due to “increased testing and a delay of the information,” though Mexico has one of the lowest testing rates of any large country worldwide.
