Mexico seeks to build ventilators as cases rise to 1,890

Mexico's president said Saturday that his government hopes to build ventilators domestically, as coronavirus cases rose to 1,890 and officials reported 79 deaths so far in the pandemic. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Mexico also is seeking to buy up to 5,000 ventilators abroad.

But, he added, “we are testing prototypes to manufacture ventilators in our country, and do it soon.” Mexico also faces a shortage of specialised doctors, and has gone on a recruitment campaign to train and get more qualified people working. But López Obrador said he would try to avoid government budget deficits in coping with the spread of the coronavirus and in dealing with the economic damage from the pandemic.