Mexican president says his COVID-19 case is 'like a cold'

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador said Tuesday he was hoarse and had a sore throat after testing positive for COVID-19 for the second time.

But López Obrador predicted that “this virus is on its way out” and that “things will get back to normal very soon.”

The president appeared on a video feed at the morning press briefing he normally runs at the National Palace in Mexico City.

He suggested he had the omicron variant, saying “fortunately, this variant does not have the degree of danger that delta did, and I am experiencing that.”

López Obrador said he had no fever, and his oxygenation was good. “It is like a cold,” he said of his symptoms. The president is fully vaccinated, and has had a booster shot.

Health Secretary Jorge Alcocer said López Obrador could return to the briefings as early as next week.

In 2021, López Obrador returned to his daily news briefings in February after a two-week absence when he caught coronavirus in January.

At the time, López Obrador revealed he received experimental treatments, which he described only as an “antiviral” medication and an anti-inflammatory drug.

This time around, the president said he was taking only paracetamol, a mild pain medication.

On Monday, the president told Mexicans to just assume they had COVID-19 if they had symptoms. The number of confirmed cases spiked by 186% last week.

López Obrador claimed the omicron variant is “a little COVID,” noting hospitalizations and deaths had not increased at the same rate as new cases. However, experts say those are both lagging indicators that may not show up for weeks after infections spike. In the U.S., where the omicron wave hit before it did in Mexico, COVID-19 deaths have again started to...