Jocotepec Mayor José Miguel Gómez López announced that he is carrying out duties in isolation as of February 1 after being diagnosed with Covid-19.
He named municipal solicitor Carlos Alberto Zuñiga Chacón to act as his surrogate for handling in-person meetings on government matters during his period of recovery.
This is the mayor’s third bout with Covid since the outbreak of the pandemic. He first tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus in October 2020. Two months later he was hospitalized after suffering a relapse complicated by pneumonia that forced him to take a temporary leave of absence.
Covid has taken a heavy toll on the Jocotepec government staff since the start of 2022. According to City Hall press chief Felipe Aguilar, a total of 90 employees tested positive for the disease during January, with most afflicted by mild symptoms typical of the Omicron variant. He reported that there were 25 active cases on record at the end of the month, prior to the latest diagnosis for Gómez.