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A28 WORLD NEWS
Saturday 9 May 2020
Mexico auto plants to reopen as country weighs virus risks

By MARK STEVENSON But workers at the GM plant
Associated Press in Silao reported receiving
MEXICO CITY (AP) — On a messages with a GMC logo
day Mexico saw its worst telling them to report for
daily increase yet in coro- temperature checks and
navirus cases, foreign- health questionnaires at
owned auto plants began the plant.
setting dates for reopening. Mexico says it wants to be
Volkswagen de Mexico cautious, and indicates
said late Thursday it is plan- that hard-hit cities like Mex-
ning to reopen its assembly ico City, Tijuana, Ciudad
plant in Puebla state and Juarez and Villahermosa
its engine factory in Gua- probably won't allow wide-
najuato state on June 1. spread business reopening
General Motors said it anytime soon.
hadn't fixed "an exact date" Assistant Health Secretary
for reopening its plant, also Hugo López-Gatell said
in the Guanajuato city of Si- Thursday that reopening
lao, but some workers there "doesn't mean that every
reported getting notices to place is going to get back
report for work on May 18. to the same level of nor-
Ford de Mexico said, "We mality."
are working very closely In the past, officials have
with the Mexican govern- In this April 28, 2020 photo, a couple rides a motorcycle past a painted sign reading in Spanish mentioned re-opening
ment, complying with the "Coronavirus. Stay Home," in Iztapalapa, Mexico City. Associated Press business in the least-affect-
health and security proto- ed states, but limiting inter-
cols. We hope to receive Mexico has lost about trade zone could be per- the 3,000 mark. state travel through high-
their approval to operate 500,000 jobs because of the manently affected if they Volkswagen said in a state- way checkpoints. How-
in Mexico." pandemic lockdown, and didn't resume production. ment it was reopening ever, the usual measures
Toyota and Nissan did not small store owners wrote Mexico has said it is working "with the aim of getting the practiced at such check-
immediately respond to a public letter to López on a joint plan with the U.S. needed elements together points — taking travelers'
requests for comment on Obrador on Wednesday and Canada to reopen to ensure a stable supply temperatures and asking
possible reopenings of their complaining they can't get factories, especially auto chain." about symptoms — are of
plants in Mexico. stocks of basic supplies be- plants. In a statement on its re- limited use in stopping the
Pressure is growing both cause hundreds of towns in But the dangers of reopen- opening plans, GM said: spread of the coronavirus.
domestically and from the Mexico have closed them- ing are evident. On Thurs- "We are waiting for the In some places, like the
United States for Mexico to selves off for fear of conta- day, Mexico reported its plan that the Economy De- border assembly plants in
reopen manufacturing ac- gion. largest one-day increase so partment will present for a Ciudad Juarez, across the
tivities, something President In late March, the U.S. gov- far in confirmed coronavi- gradual resumption of ac- border from El Paso, Texas,
Andrés Manuel López Ob- ernment launched a cam- rus cases, with almost 2,000 tivities in the automotive workers have demonstrat-
rador says could happen paign to get Mexico to re- new infections nationwide industry. As soon as authori- ed against being forced to
by May 17 in areas of the open assembly plants, sug- — a 7.2% increase com- ties present that plan, we work in close quarters and
country that haven't been gesting the supply chain of pared from Wednesday's will be able to restart GM with inadequate protec-
hit hard by the virus. the North American free rise. Total deaths neared operations" in Mexico. tion measures.q

Judge to hear lawsuit on Puerto Rico school food crisis

By DANICA COTO the government revealed cafeterias had remained
Associated Press that more than 30 work- closed for more than a
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico ers have tested positive for month since the lock-
(AP) — A judge on Thurs- COVID-19 while activists down was imposed in mid-
day agreed to consider say many students are not March. The Department of
a lawsuit filed by a group receiving meals, noting Education had offloaded
of mothers and nonprof- also that only one instead its food to nonprofit orga-
its who accuse the U.S. of the usual two meals a nizations and a food bank,
territory’s government of day are being distributed. but teachers and others
dodging its responsibility “We cannot be satisfied warned it wasn’t enough
to feed public school chil- until there’s no one left to and that it wasn’t reach-
dren amid a coronavirus feed,” attorney Osvaldo ing those most in need.
lockdown. Burgos said in a phone in- On Thursday, education
The judge’s refusal to dis- The coordinator of Comedores Sociales (Social Canteens), terview. officials said that more
miss the lawsuit as request- Giovanni Roberto, a non-profit entity dedicated to offering The judge set a hearing for than 46,000 meals were
ed by the government hot meals in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic, carries May 15, and in the mean- distributed in the second
comes amid new problems supplies before handing out an order in Caguas, Puerto Rico, time, Burgos worries that day since some cafete-
that have arisen since the Wednesday, April 29, 2020. Associated Press the ongoing problems will rias reopened, and that
island’s Department of Ed- only worsen. another 35 cafeterias will
ucation abruptly changed certain restrictions. It had cafeteria workers, of which Nearly 70% of public school reopen next week in what
its position last week and previously refused to do so, 64% are elderly. students in Puerto Rico are Education Secretary Eligio
announced it would open citing concerns of conta- Since the reopening of poor, and many on the is- Hernández described as
school cafeterias under gion among students and certain school cafeterias, land were outraged that “complicated logistics.”q