Mexico City launched a groundbreaking plan to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic

In Mexico, the relationship between doctor-patient begins when the patient is sick and pays a visit to the doctor when a certain illness is affecting their quality of life or when it is preventing them from fulfilling an activity.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the situation hasn’t changed and society still dismisses prevention. Moreover, this habit has been reinforced by the federal government, who told Mexicans: “if you have a symptom, stay home; if the symptom worsens, ask for medical attention.” This way, the government reinforces the habit of visiting the hospital only when the illness has reached alarming levels.

Can things be done differently? Yes. In recent weeks, the Mexico City government launched a new plan to tackle COVID-19 by deploying brigades to test people and identify the cases in their early stages.

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The results of this new healthcare plan could save thousands of lives. Moreover, the workers traveling throughout the city found that nearly 62,000 residents suffer from chronic illnesses; therefore, in case they contract COVID-19, their lives would be at risk, especially because the majority of them have abandoned their medical treatments.

Mexico City’s strategy aims to leave stay-at-home orders behind to focus in areas with the most active cases and people whose condition could worsen due to chronic illnesses. Since the pandemic started, the lethality of the illness was defined: people who suffer from high blood pressure, diabetes, and obesity were at high risk. The city’s plan would have to be implemented in every city and state with a large number of cases. Locating those who are vulnerable, testing them, and offering them timely medical attention will result in a more efficient strategy to save lives, in contrast with waiting for people to report their symptoms. So far, around 62,000 residents now have the opportunity to overcome the illness in case they contract it.

How many coronavirus-related deaths could be prevented? We will never know the answer. Now, it is important to focus on saving lives.

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