Story By: Jonathan Macias, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Newsflash
Newsflash/@gerardomartp
This is the moment a group of protesters gather outside a Mexican hospital and threaten to burn it to the ground if the authorities use it for COVID-19 patients as proposed.
The incident took place outside the Hospital General Angel Ventura Neri in the city of Axochiapan in the central Mexican state of Morelos one day after regional health secretary Marco Antonio Cantu announced that the medical centre will be set up to treat COVID-19 patients.
The video footage shows a large group of residents outside the hospital at night.
Several people are heard saying: “We will burn it!”
According to reports, the protesters threatened to set fire to the hospital if the authorities went ahead with plans to convert it into a COVID-19 facility.
A residents association met with hospital bosses who claimed they told the health secretary that the hospital, which only holds 34 beds, is not well-equipped to deal with the COVID-19 health crisis, according to local media.
The health secretary previously announced plans to make room for 462 beds for COVID-19 patients in six different hospitals.
The local authorities have yet to respond to the protest.
As of 1st April, Mexico has reported 1,215 cases of COVID-19 and 29 related deaths, according to the latest data from the Johns Hopkins University.
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