Prodded by US, Mexico aims to restart industrial plants

MEXICO CITY (AP) — President Andrés Manuel López Obrador pledged Wednesday to begin reopening Mexico's economy next week — encouraged by U.S. officials — even as hospitals from Mexico City to the border reeled under the pressure of the largest one-day jump in COVID-19 case numbers and the lack of testing made decision-making difficult.

Economy Secretary Graciela Marquez said the reopening would be “gradual, orderly and cautious," and that by May 18, industries like construction, mining, and car and truck manufacturing would be allowed to resume.

Mexico’s top advisory body on the coronavirus pandemic, the General Health Council, said Tuesday it had decided to classify those industries as “essential activities” that are allowed to continue working during a lockdown aimed at fighting the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Mexico has been under pressure from U.S. officials to reopen auto plants because without them, integrated supply chains would make it hard for plants in the U.S. and Canada to reopen.

The announcement came as hospitals from Mexico City to its northern border with the U.S. were nearing overload, and manufacturing workers in border cities like Ciudad Juarez had only recently been sent home following protests prompted by the wildfire spready of the coronavirus through their plants.

Mexican health officials on Tuesday reported its largest single-day jump in COVID-19 case numbers, with 1,997 new cases and 353 deaths, bringing the total to has over 38,000 confirmed cases and almost 4,000 deaths.

Officials have acknowleged the actual infection numbers are many times that number. Mexico has done relatively little testing, with about 120,000 coronavirus tests reported so far in a country of almost 130 million. That is equivalent to only about 0.6 people per 1,000 inhabitants tested, the lowest...