As the novel coronavirus pandemic remains to grapple with the world as the number of positive cases increase, the border protestors in Mexico have shut a US southern border crossing amid fears that untested American travellers will spread the virus.
The chances for the Mexicans to restrict American travellers is said to be higher as Mexico has fewer than 500 confirmed Covid-19 cases, while the US over 65,000.
Mexicans to intensify their measures
Residents in Sonora, south of the US state of Arizona, have promised to block traffic into Mexico for a second day after closing a checkpoint for hours on Wednesday.
They wore face masks and held signs telling Americans to "stay at home". The border is supposed to be closed to all except "essential" business, but protesters said there has been little enforcement and no testing by authorities.
The members of the group Sonorans for Health and Life lead the blockade. They have called for a compulsory medical testing to be done on anyone who crosses from the US into Mexico.
The group has also called for enforcement of the crossing ban on all US or Mexican citizens for tourism or medical reasons, including those who cross the border every day to attend school or work in the US.
Jose Luis Hernandez, a group member, told the Arizona Republic: "There are no health screenings by the federal government to deal with this pandemic. That's why we're here in Nogales. We've taken this action to call on the Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to act now."
The US-Mexico border issue
Meanwhile, the Mexican president has been criticised for his response to the pandemic, as has US President Donald Trump.
According to Mr Hernandez, the Wednesday demonstrations were a "first warning" to Mr Lopez Obrador, popularly known by his initials, Amlo. Authorities must also conduct medical testing on Mexicans deported from the US, said the Sonorans group.
In addition to this, the US President Donald Trump had announced last week that the frontier was to close due to coronavirus. The President had already ensured the cutting down of the number of people crossing the border from Mexico into the US a centrepiece of his administration.
