A National Guard police officer wearing a face mask waits for the arrival of a plane carrying, what Mexican government officials say are medical supplies from the U.S., at the airport in Toluca, Mexico, Tuesday, May 5, 2020. The shipment, including ventilators, arrived after Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador asked Donald Trump for help obtaining the much sought after devices amid the new coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)
By The Associated Press
MEXICO CITY — Mexico has received a shipment of 211 medical ventilators from the United States as part of aid that U.S. President Donald Trump promised his Mexican counterpart.
“We want to very fully thank the government of the United States, especially President Trump,” said Foreign Secretary Marcelo Ebrard. “As the saying goes, when there are hard times is when you know who your friends are.”
Mexican President Andés Manuel López Obrador said last month that Trump had promised aid when he called and asked for help in obtaining 1,000 ventilators and other equipment for intensive care units.
Ebrard said the shipment includes equipment made by Swiss-based Hamilton Medical at prices ranging from $16,000 to $24,000.
He said they would be sent to government hospitals.
As of midday Tuesday, Mexico had reported 24,905 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 2.271 deaths, though officials acknowledge that actual infections are a multiple of the tested figure.
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