López-Gatell was photographed this weekend at a restaurant by the sea in the Mexican state of Oaxaca, in the tourist-friendly beach town of Zipolite. The images quickly took to social media.
He can be seen sharing a table with a woman. He does not wear a mask, which is not necessary while sitting in restaurants and being allowed to be open.
Another viral photo from a few days earlier also showed López-Gatell in an airplane aisle with his cellphone, with his mask under his nose and chin.
Traveling through Mexico is currently largely unrestricted, so the Deputy Minister of Health did nothing illegal by traveling, although he disregarded his own guidance and that of local officials.
Many in Mexico are seduced by the hypocrisy of the Johns Hopkins-trained epidemiologist, whose message of Quédate en casa, or Stay at Home, has become a household phrase. Since the start of the pandemic, López-Gatell has held nightly press conferences that are widely broadcast in Mexico, in which he urges people to wear masks properly and practice social distance.
Online, people have expressed anger that López-Gatell would travel at a time when medical staff are under such pressure. “When thousands of doctors have not seen their families or died in Mexico, when tens of thousands of health workers can not dream of going on vacation, a picture comes,” writes Xavier Tello, a health policy analyst in Mexico.
In the hard-hit Mexico City, nearly 30 public hospitals report reaching 100% capacity, while many others are approaching the point. The metropolis returned to Red Alert, the country’s highest coronavirus alert indicator, more than two weeks ago. This has forced many businesses to close temporarily amid a mandate to stop all non-essential activities until at least Sunday. And yet the deputy health secretary traveled from Mexico City anyway.
A Mexican government source confirmed the authenticity of the photos. The Ministry of Health did not respond to requests for comment, but López Gatell is expected to address the incident during a press conference Monday night at 8:00 PM EST.
Recently confirmed deaths and cases have been steadily increasing across the country since early October, with recent daily numbers of the highest pandemics. More than 127,000 people have died from the virus.
Asked about Lopez Gatell’s travels, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said reporters should address these questions to the deputy secretary, but this seems to justify the trip.
“He worked very hard, he fulfilled his responsibilities,” López Obrador said. “It is good that there are such public inquiries, but civil servants also have rights.”