Guanajuatenses are well informed on Covid 19 Five States stand out as the most transparent and most efficient in their fight against the Covid 19
Five States stand out as the most transparent and most efficient in their fight against the Covid 19
Estado de Mexico and Mexico City are among the worst in revealing details about the evolution of pandemic in their territories
Guanajuato and Aguascalientes decided to open up their statistics on the advance of coronavirus
Mexico City/ 5º Elemento/Gto News
In Mexico three out of every ten people are unable to know how the Covid 19 contagion advances in their city or their municipality, since State authorities in their territories decided that that information should be kept in reserve.
Four States in Mexico and Mexico City, which comprehends an area where 30 per cent of Mexicans live, are opposed to inform on the daily evolution of infections of Covid 19 at local-municipal level or at cities head of municipalities, they argue that if they do so they would transgress the personal data of patients, and they could generate panic or cause discrimination.
This is the data that comes out from a report by “5º elemento” (Fifth Element) a national group of reporters who are willing to inform citizens in Mexico and avoid them being deprived of important information which could harm them.
In contrast to Estado de Mexico and Mexico City, other 27 States in Mexico inform their citizens in different degrees of detail about the daily advance of contagion not only in their territory, but down to detail in their municipalities, according to a follow up from April 3rd to April 13th by 5º Elemento of the State Government official sites, their Secretaries of Health and their official social networks.
5o Elemento is directed by Alejandra Xanic, and has among its staff Marcela Turati the Project Coordinator, a well renowned Mexican journalist and they created a ranking to rate the most transparent and the most obscure Mexican States.
The ranking considered the updating of data, the degree of specification made at municipality evel, the detail on sex, age and pre-existing sickness of infected patients, if those sickened required hospitalization, and how easy it is to find statistics information.
“As we have seen all over the world, access to information is one of the best ways to combat the sickness, because we should know where the places of spread is higher”, said in an interview Michael Bess, an investigator of the History Division of the CIDE, and who is part of the equipment created by the academic institution to trace the public data on Covid 19 in Mexico.
Guanajuato, Aguascalientes and Veracruz are the leaders in the group of States that decided to make more transparent and publicly register the advance of the pandemic in their municipalities.
Guanajuato decided to make public the statistics of contagion down to the municipality level since the first outburst of the pandemic.
“Thanks to these actions the Guanajuatenses come close, they offer support, donations, they coordinate with municipalities, with institutions and they help us decide, put up security barriers and provide real support to the population”, said a speaker of the Secretary of Health in Guanajuato.
“This information is offered so that society knows the details and has proper prevention measures”, said the speaker of the Secretary of Health of Aguascalientes.
A diferente perspective
“If half of those infected are in Tingüindin, Michoacan (a non existent place in Mexico), people in Mexico City will say: I am not in Tigüindin, so my risk is minor”, said the General Director of Promotion of Health of the Federal Health Secretary, Ricardo Cortes Alcala. In his press conference at the National Palace on March 29th.
As a first, the Federal Secretary of Health turned over on Monday an “open” data base that contains a “certain” municipality information. Still, the registry has some ‘inconsistencies’ since it reports people who died before showing any Covid 19 symptoms and “pregnant men” infected with Covid 19.
The most transparent
- 1.- Guanajuato
- 2.- Aguascalientes
- 3.- Veracruz
The most obscure
- 30.- Queretaro
- 31.- Ciudad de Mexico
- 32.- Estado de Mexico
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