I believe it’s time for an update on COVID-19 here in Mazatlán. I have been working so hard to help out and these posts take time, but I realize getting information to you is overdue. Our economies need to reopen; our people need to work to support their families. My hope is we can do so sanely, smartly, wisely, effectively.

Throughout this crisis, official figures and those reported on the ground by medical professionals have differed significantly. Doctors at our three public hospitals tell me they estimate 1000 people in Mazatlán are currently infected with COVID-19, and of that number 800 are asymptomatic. We need to take care, please; even if you are not sick, please shelter at home if you can, wear a mask when you are out and maintain a safe distance from others.

From the perspective of our public hospitals and their medical staff (ISSSTE, IMSS and the new General Hospital), we are in a horrendous crisis. The federal government has us at MAXIMUM RISK right now. While fortunately in Mazatlán we have had enough beds and equipment, the new General Hospital, for example, tells me they are running with only 30% of their normal medical staff! And during a crisis, when you’d think it would be all hands-on deck! Such under-staffing is due to some staff being infected, but more to people quitting, refusing to come to work, or taking leave and citing pregnancy or underlying conditions. There is too much work, the stress levels are through the roof, medical workers are scared, and they are dropping out in droves. The reason so many medical professionals refuse to work is because they do not have the personal protective equipment (PPEs) they need to stay safe and healthy. Their work also requires them to live separately from their families during this pandemic, if they are able, or to risk infecting loved ones if they are not careful.

The new General Hospital is running with only 30% of their normal medical staff.

Yes, I agree with many of you: the federal, state and municipal governments should be providing that gear to public hospitals. I suppose they are doing their best; it’s not my role to comment. The bottom line is that our medical staff do not have the protective gear they need. I ask them to take photos of the staff with the gear we provide them, as proof to all of you that your money goes directly to helping them. In nearly every photo taken there is at least one person without appropriate gear, risking his/her life for our welfare. It is heartbreaking.

So many of you have been doing amazing and wonderful work during this time to help out our local community. Local businesses are donating protective equipment, food and money. Many individuals have donated to Mazatlán Comparte, a volunteer position I’ve held nearly full-time for the past six weeks—100% of those donations go to buy either food for the Food Bank or medical supplies for our local public hospitals. Many of you are making masks, face shields or desk shields and donating them to those who need them, which is terrific. Others are helping out at shelters or feeding the needy. Whatever you are doing, bless you, bless you, bless you. And if you can do more, please do. Now is the time. Click any photo to enlarge it or view a slideshow.

This crisis has brought out the best and the worst in people. For each of you who is feeding the needy, we see a grandmother kicked out of her home because her family doesn’t want to nurse her or become infected, or a single woman forced to leave her own home in a wealthy community because, instead of offering to bring their neighbor food and medical supplies, her neighbors “want to be able to walk their dogs freely without fear of contagion.” Today the first baby with COVID is in IMSS Mazatlán, but she is fortunately doing well.

How much PPE (Personal Protective Equipment for medical professionals) is needed?
A few generous people who have donated money to Mazatlán Comparte ask me, “surely you have enough equipment now?” Let me try to explain the insatiable appetite of Personal Protective Equipment. EACH medical professional on a DAILY BASIS needs:

• 1 KN95 mask
• 10 pairs of nitrile gloves
• 10 pairs of latex gloves
• 1 surgical gown
• 1 pair of boot covers
• 1 coverall (now we are buying reusable ones which can last up to 5 days)

Obviously, that’s quite a bit of needed gear. In one week, a medical professional will need six KN95 masks, 60 pairs of gloves, six surgical gowns and one coverall.

But the real problem comes in the quantity of people at each hospital who interact with COVID patients and thus need PPEs. At our IMSS General Hospital Zone 3, for example, on a daily basis 199 medical staff interact with COVID patients and need PPEs! That number includes 43 doctors, 97 nurses, 10 assistants, 11 social workers, 15 janitors, 12 stretcher-bearers and 11 triage doctors. That means that just ONE of our THREE main public hospitals here in town on a DAILY basis requires:

• 200 KN95 masks
• 2000 pairs of nitrile gloves
• 2000 pairs of latex gloves
• 200 surgical gowns
• 200 pairs of boot covers
• 200 coveralls

The new General Hospital tells me they need PPEs daily for 110 professionals who attend COVID patients. ISSSTE hospital needs PPEs for 190 professionals daily. That’s a total of 500 medical professionals who DAILY need PPEs to treat current COVID patients here in Mazatlán; the quantities are untenable.

Every day in Mazatlán’s public hospitals, 500 medical professionals need PPEs to treat COVID patients.

To put this all into perspective, with your very generous help, in April and May Mazatlán  Comparte supported local medical staff with donations of:

• 820 KN95 masks
• 190 coveralls
• 37 pairs of boot covers
• 36 boxes of 250 nitrile gloves (4500 pairs)

Today we will purchase 500 additional KN95 masks at the miraculous price right now of 104 pesos each. These donations are wonderful! There is no doubt they have saved lives. And yet, from a larger perspective, they are a sad drop in the bucket. The longer this pandemic continues, the more PPE is needed; it’s insatiable. That’s why we need to keep the curve from spiking by reopening wisely and doing what each of us can to prevent the spread of the virus.

Difficulties/Challenges with Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs)
Last time I shared with you how challenging it has been to help. Prices of many PPEs have skyrocketed, due both to demand and to greed/price-gouging (surgical gowns normally cost 30 pesos and now are up to 160 pesos each with IVA). Many of the PPEs for sale are counterfeit and won’t work properly, so we require vigilance at every step of the purchase process and verification of every shipment upon receipt by medical professionals. Finally, the PPEs can be very difficult to find, though thankfully over the past weeks that has eased a bit. We now have a stable of trusted providers who are dedicated to selling us verified protective equipment at fair prices; let’s hope that continues. The problem is that prices of some needed items can skyrocket, or become unavailable, so it’s always a challenge. And the needs vary, too, as material is received from federal, state and municipal authorities. At Mazatlán Comparte we give the PPEs that the hospitals most need at the moment to the hospitals that are most in need. During a week ISSSTE might receive a shipment of coveralls and not need them for a couple of weeks, while IMSS might be in desperate need of masks that we can provide.

The second challenge has been in getting the PPEs to those in need. Unbelievably, especially in the beginning, there were medical professionals who resold some of the donations received (none of Mazatlán Comparte’s, thanks to careful teamwork), or handed them out to their friends at work rather than just to those working with COVID patients. At Mazatlán Comparte, we have team members from the IMSS, ISSSTE and new General Hospitals who are in charge of COVID professionals and who ensure the PPEs we provide are used for exactly the purpose intended.

Protect a Medical Professional for One Week: 2500 pesos. That amount will purchase everything that person needs for a week of work: hooded, reusable coverall, KN95 masks, nitrile and latex gloves, surgical gowns and boot covers.

How Can You Help?

1. Please wear a mask when you are out and about, as the government recommends. This protects you and those around you. Please wash your hands frequently and use hand sanitizer.
2. Please do not use medical grade equipment for non-medical uses! Using medical-grade overalls and KN95 face masks to spray bleach on the malecón or to sanitize cars is overkill and deprives our medical personnel of vital material. Neither is required for day-to-day use by normal people like you and me. If you have medical-grade material, please consider donating it to a hospital.
3. Maintain social distance as the government recommends. Stay vigilant that the bank you go to, the restaurant you’re visiting, are following sanitary protocols and, if not, get out of there.
4. Reach out to neighbors who are alone; offer to bring them what they might need.
5. Stay calm and centered; don’t give in to fear. This is a virus; an infection is very painful, but what we are doing is trying to prevent the curve from spiking. We want to reopen our economies, resume our lives, but let’s do so smartly.
6. Donate: Mazatlán Comparte has systems in place to ensure that the PPEs we buy are functional. We also get better prices, due to buying in quantity and coordinating amongst multiple hospitals and cities. KN95 masks, for example, have varied in price to us from between 121 and 71 pesos per mask, while they tend to be much costlier on the open market. We buy reusable medical-grade hooded coveralls for 350 pesos each; again, much higher on the open market.

Protect a Medical Professional Campaign
Mazatlán Comparte has a new campaign: Protect a Medical Professional. There are several options. The amounts below will purchase everything that person needs for a week of work: hooded, reusable coverall, KN95 masks, nitrile and latex gloves, surgical gowns and boot covers. Remember that just in Mazatlán’s public hospitals, we need PPEs for 460 medical professionals every week!

• For one month: 10,000 pesos
• For one week: 2500 pesos

Or, you can help by donating smaller amounts. A week of the following for one medical professional:

• Surgical gowns: 1120 pesos
• KN95 masks: 700 pesos
• Reusable hooded coverall: 350 pesos

Or, one surgical gown and a pair of boot covers (for one professional for one day): 200 pesos

To donate for medical gear: Donate to Hospice Mazatlán, I.A.P. with the comment “Mazatlán Comparte” to distinguish that your donation goes to combat COVID-19. http://www.hospicemazatlan.org/donativos/

To donate food: Donate to Banco De Alimentos Mazatlán Iap with the comment “Mazatlán Comparte” to indicate that your donation go to COVID-19 relief. https://www.paypal.me/BAMXMAZATLAN

Other Ideas
Mazatlán Comparte is also thinking to do a series of online auctions. That could be fun for everyone involved. Might you have a skill that you could share? Say, cooking a gourmet dinner for four people, and we will deliver it to the purchaser? Or maybe your company could donate something it provides? Cases of wine, kilograms of coffee, boxes of frozen shrimp and scallops? If you do, please let me know.

Bless you all! I know many retired folks are on fixed incomes and find it difficult to help. Many of you help friends and family. Whatever you do, thank you! I pray you stay healthy and well, and that as a community we become stronger together!