Life is a beach.
The health official who led the COVID-19 response in Mexico was cut short on a maskless beach holiday and ignored his own advice to ‘stay home’ during the pandemic.
Dr. Hugo López-Gatell, deputy secretary of health, was caught in photos as he relaxed in a beach resort in southern Oaxaca, about 500 miles from his home in Mexico City, the Los Angles Times reported.
He was seen in one photo outdoors at a bar by the water with a woman – and he was not wearing a mask.
In a second photo, he was caught talking on a cell phone with his mask under his chin while on a busy flight from Mexico City.
López-Gatell flew to the beach destination on New Year’s Eve, taking a break from his nightly news conferences in which he provided the news of the pandemic and often urged residents to ‘stay home’, the LA Times reported.
Critics slam his trip as the country struggles with one of the highest coronavirus death rates.
“He is traveling at the worst moment of the pandemic,” political writer Denise Dresser wrote on Twitter, reports the LA Times.
“He is far from where he needs to be: with health professionals, conduct the vaccination campaign, set an example.”
López-Gatell defended his trip on Monday, saying he had ‘nothing to hide’.
“I went to visit very close family members, very good friends, and we were in a private house during the days at the end of the year,” he said, reports the Daily News.
He also admitted that he had visited the restaurant, where he was photographed without a mask – but pointed out that he did not dispute any rules there, as the cases are lower than in other regions.
He claims that the criticism of his trip was politically motivated.
“In the election context, it is clear that different political forces want to take advantage; they want to create demons and create enemies to position themselves,” he said.