Mexican Market Installs Sanitation Tunnel To Disinfect Shoppers Against Covid-19

Of of the biggest food markets in Mexico has installed ozone-based sanitation tunnels to try and fight the spread of Covid-19.

A chemical company in Guadalajara supplied the tunnel system, which is set up throughout the outdoor shopping centre in the Mexican city.

The Grocery Merchant's Union in the country deployed the system for the first time in the country, after its coronavirus case have started to rise.

President of the Union, Salvador Hernández Navarro, explained that the system was added after they had been used as preventative measures in both Spain and Italy. The countries are two of the hardest hit in the world so far by the pandemic, which so far has more than one million confirmed cases globally.

Speaking to Mexican newspaper El Occidental, Hernandez Navarro said: "We took this initiative to launch this new technology by placing this ozone tunnel before the large number of visitors that are welcomed daily because we are the second largest supply center in the country and we want people to have the peace of mind that we care for your health and the food that is consumed."

The machine works be taking oxygen from the air, with a machine placed on both sides of the market's tent. Ozone molecules are created, with a mist sprayed over shoppers to disinfect them. It then reportedly stops them from catching bacteria for at least 60 minutes.

The country's Health Ministry has also assisted by providing hand sanitiser stands for customers to use, as well as offering face masks.

Advice from the country's government has recently taken as u-turn, as reported by Los Angeles Times.

Until last Friday (27 March), the advice of the authorities was largely to carry on as usual, however, after a spike in cases, López Obrador, the country's president addressed the nation in an unusually solemn YouTube video.

In the video, he said: "Don't go out into the street unless it is for something absolutely necessary. We have to be in our homes. We have to maintain a safe distance."

He added that the consequences if these measures weren't taken could be devastating.

He explained: "The number of infection cases will spike upwards and will overwhelm our hospitals. We won't have enough hospitals, beds, even if we are prepared to receive thousands."

Confirmed cases in the country stands at 1,688 at the time of writing, however, reports suggest that due to a lack of testing, many cases could be getting mistaken for pneumonia.

Topics: News, Coronavirus

Amelia Ward

Amelia is a journalist at LADbible. After studying journalism at Liverpool John Moores and Salford Uni (don't ask), she went into PR and then the world of music. After a few years working on festivals and events, she went back to her roots. In her spare time, Amelia likes music, Liverpool FC, and spending good, quality time with her cat, Paul. You can contact Amelia at [email protected].

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