Group breaks into Mexico hospital and requests reports on Covid patients

At least twenty people broke into a hospital in Ecatepec, in the State of Mexico, to confront medical personnel for the lack of information on the health of their relatives admitted by COVID-19, authorities said on Saturday.

The incident occurred at the General Hospital Las América, of the Institute of Health of the State of Mexico (ISEM), this Friday night, the directive of the medical unit informed the authorities of the entity.

The state government confirmed that at least two groups of people aggressively entered the medical unit and confronted the medical personnel, with the balance of five wounded, an emergency medical specialist, an employee and three members of the surveillance.

They indicated that the attack on medical personnel had as a trigger the death of two patients by COVID-19, which caused other people to request information about the health status of their relatives.

The director of the hospital, Josué López, told local media that in the event of the incident he decided to give notice to the authorities, who in response sent elements of the municipal, state police and reinforcements of the National Guard.

The State Health Secretariat reported this Saturday that measures will be taken to improve the delivery of information to the relatives of hospitalized patients, and medical personnel will also be strengthened in all of the entity's hospitals.

"The state Secretariat of Health informs that additional measures will be taken to be able to provide more information to the relatives of hospitalized patients," the same agency reported.

This Saturday, the security forces guard the accesses at the Ecatepec hospital, a municipality in the State of Mexico, in which a total of 407 confirmed cases and 28 deaths have been registered since the start of the pandemic in late February.

The confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Mexico add up to this day to 20,739 infections with 1,972 deaths, according to health authorities.