Mexico to tighten borders against COVID-19 as US plans vaccine help

MEXICO CITY: Mexico's government said on Thursday it would apply travel curbs on its southern and northern borders to contain the spread of COVID-19 as a US official said the Biden administration planned to loan Mexico vaccines to combat the pandemic.

The foreign ministry's announcement that Mexico would be tightening its border with Guatemala comes just as the country plans to step up enforcement efforts on that frontier to curb illegal immigration, according to a Reuters report.

Mexico has been pressing the US government for a loan of vaccines to help its drive to tackle COVID-19, and President Joe Biden is under increasing pressure to reduce a recent surge in migrants from Central America reaching the US border.

A US congressional source said the mutually beneficial news of the vaccine and border decisions was not coincidental. A Mexican official did not immediately reply to a request for comment on whether the two announcements were linked.

Mexico's Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard confirmed on Twitter the two countries are working on a vaccine deal and said that he would provide details of the "good news" on Friday.

Mexico's foreign ministry said in a statement restrictions for non-essential activities on its borders with the United States and Guatemala would take effect starting on Friday, and would remain in place until midnight of April 21.

Meanwhile, the US official said the United States plans to send roughly 2.5 million doses of AstraZeneca's COVID-19 vaccine that it is not using to Mexico in the loan deal.