Jalisco senator Clemente Castañeda has called Hugo López-Gatell, the federal government’s Covid-19 point man, “irresponsible” for suggesting there is no scientific evidence that using face masks can prevent the transmission of the novel coronavirus.
“It goes against the recommendations issued by international authorities and puts the lives of Mexicans at risk by discouraging their use,” Castañeda said of the deputy health minister’s April 27 comments.
Castañeda seemed to imply that López-Gatell was taking aim at states such as Jalisco that have made wearing face masks mandatory in all public places.
The minister said that while he did not oppose local authorities forcing the population to wear face masks in public, he stressed that other measures such as hand washing and physical distancing should not be neglected.
López-Gatell said using face masks can give people “false confidence” and as many as 50 percent of the population use them incorrectly.
“The most important thing is that face masks are not regarded as the main measure to control the Covid-19 epidemic,” he said.
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