Mexico Finance Minister Herrera Tests Positive for Covid-19
Mexico’s Finance Minister Herrera Tests Positive for Covid-19
(Bloomberg) -- Mexico’s Finance Minister Arturo Herrera has tested positive for Covid-19 and has mild symptoms, making him the highest ranking member of the administration to come down with the virus.
Herrera said on his Twitter account on Thursday he’s in quarantine and working from home. He has participated in at least two events alongside President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador in the past week, and neither wore a mask.
The Lopez Obrador administration has focused its message on reopening the economy in recent weeks, despite criticism by some health experts who worry the nation is still reporting record rises in daily coronavirus cases and deaths. The president has set an example by reviving tours around the country and bringing members of his cabinet with him, or having them appear in public events, many without face masks.
Herrera appeared in person with Lopez Obrador and other top officials in a video on Monday as well as the president’s daily press conference on June 18. He has given a series of media interviews in the past week, including one on Wednesday at top broadcaster Televisa’s studio.
Earlier on Thursday, Herrera participated virtually at the Bloomberg Emerging & Frontier Forum 2020.
Herrera was largely out of sight during the first months of the outbreak as Lopez Obrador refused to provide major fiscal aid to companies even as the economy collapsed into what economists expect will be the deepest recession since the Great Depression. But in recent weeks he has made a push to ease concerns about the government’s reaction to the economic impact of the outbreak.
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