The new coronavirus variant has arrived in Mexico, specifically in Tamaulipas. A 56-year-old man who arrived in Mexico from Europe tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 type B117. As of press time, he is intubated in a private hospital in Matamoros.
A statement reported that the patient is a 56-year-old man who arrived in Matamoros from Mexico City. He was confirmed to have Covid-19, and in accordance with regulations, a request was sent to the federal government to process the sample to rule out the presence of strains not previously known in the country.
The test results were positive for the new SARS-CoV-2 variant, which first appeared in the United Kingdom in mid-September and has since become the predominant variant in that country.
During the daily press conference, the Director General of Epidemiology for Mexico, José Luis Alomía Zegarra, presented the case that tested positive for the B117 strain.
The patient traveled from Amsterdam, Netherlands, to Mexico City on December 28th. The following day, he departed from the Mexican capital to Matamoros, Tamaulipas, on an Aeroméxico flight. Upon arrival at the border, he underwent a PCR test as per the protocol of his employer and was admitted to a hotel.
The Tamaulipas Health Secretariat intervened in the case on December 31st, when it took a second sample, which was sent to the Institute of Epidemiological Diagnosis and Reference (InDRE) for the detection of the coronavirus variant type.
The patient was admitted to a private hospital on January 4th due to low oxygen saturation of 84 percent. Doctors prescribed outpatient treatment. The man showed improvement in his health in the following days.
However, on Friday, January 8th, he returned to the hospital with respiratory problems that led to intubation until Sunday night. On Sunday at noon, InDRE confirmed that the infection was due to the new variant, also known as the English variant.
The Federation and the state government are developing a protocol to monitor the health of the 45 passengers who shared the flight with the positive case. Currently, none have tested positive for coronavirus; a couple showed symptoms but tested negative, and 31 others are asymptomatic negatives.
“Twelve more people are still being sought; this is handled by the state government agencies to ascertain their health status,” Alomía Zegarra emphasized in his report on the case follow-up.
Tamaulipas Health maintains health surveillance of travelers and the flight crew. Additionally, the State Commission for the Protection against Sanitary Risks (Coepris) implemented a protocol for the control of air borders.
