TIJUANA (KGTV) -- Coronavirus cases in Tijuana are on the rise and medical staff and even celebrities are speaking up about a lack of supplies at local hospitals.
According to the governor of Baja California, Jaime Bonilla Valdez, as of Monday, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Tijuana is now up to 240. Twenty-one people have died and the city has 190 suspected cases.
Late Sunday night, Mexican comedian and actor Eugenio Derbez published a video to his Instagram page, broadcasting to his 14 million followers. In the video, Derbez read a letter he says he received from a doctor at "Clinica 20," a federal hospital in Tijuana. The doctor, he says, is desperately asking for PPE supplies like N-95 masks, goggles and protective gowns.
Hours later, a representative from Mexico’s Social Security Office posted a video in response, calling Derbez’s claims "fake news" and adding that there was no need for PPE.
However on Monday in a press conference, Baja’s governor admitted some of the shortages at that hospital, saying federal facilities did not properly prepare. Governor Bonilla Valdez also said that as a result of not being ready “doctors are dropping like flies,” but did not say how many doctors or nurses are sick.
Doctors in Mexicali tell 10News there is a great need for supplies in Baja, quickly.
Our reporting partner, Televisa, reports that officials statewide did announce that there are eight doctors and four nurses that have tested positive for COVID-19, two of them are in serious condition. Officials did not say where those doctors and nurses worked.
Tijuana does have a social distancing order in place until at least April 30.
