CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico — Health and business leaders in this industrial city expressed concern Wednesday about the rising number of coronavirus victims at U.S.-owned assembly plants, which may indicate that the deadly outbreak has been spreading undetected for weeks.
On Wednesday, Juarez health officials confirmed 63 COVID-19 cases; 16 resulting in deaths. Eleven fatalities were employees at maquiladoras, the border factories whose industry is crucial to the city’s economy and is a key component of U.S.-Mexico trade.
Across the border in El Paso, nearly 400 cases have been reported with six deaths.
Dr. Arturo Valenzuela, the state of Chihuahua’s top health authority, expressed concern about the growing number of infections in Juarez, saying during a daily news conference, “there are opportunities for a rapid transmission and explosive outbreaks of COVID-19.”
Normally the more than 300 maquiladoras, many of them owned by U.S.-based firms, employ more than 250,000 in the Juarez area. As many as half have since been furloughed.
One of the hardest-hit companies is Michigan-based Lear Corp.
Lear Corp. spokesman Brian Corbett confirmed in a statement that “several” of those who died were employees at one of its plants, which specializes in making car parts. The spokesman said Lear was told by Juarez health authorities that the workers died of a “respiratory illness presumed to be COVID-19.”
The company declined to give exact numbers, “out of respect to family members,” and declined to share details on when they fell ill and whether families and friends of the employees were also infected.
The spokesman said Lear shut down several weeks ago to comply with Mexican government orders issued March 23.
“We are saddened that several employees at our Juarez City operations, who were receiving medical treatment for presumed cases of COVID-19, have passed away, officially due to complications of respiratory illness, “ the statement said. “Lear Mexico is working closely with Social Security Mexican Institute to provide the necessary support, including grief counseling and medical care.”
The Mexican Institute of Social Security oversees Mexico’s public hospital system.
Gilberto Cueva, 60, is the Juarez president of a private foundation of 39,000 business leaders known as FECHAC, which is raising funds to support health facilities in the community.
Cueva said he worries that many maquiladoras might not be able to survive the downturn brought by the virus, blaming what he called the lack of aid from the federal government. He said small and medium businesses need more concrete support, while bigger ones will probably endure.
“Whenever there is an economic recession or a pandemic, one of the first places that is affected is the Juarez-El Paso border,” added Fernando Avila, 52, director of FECHAC’s Juarez council. “Nearly 100 plants have had to shut down operations, others are cutting positions … and that causes double the damage to Juarez and El Paso’s communities.”
Tania Reyes is director of Colectiva Arte y Equidad, a nonprofit organization helping assembly plant workers affected by the crisis.
“This is not a black-or-white matter for maquiladora workers in Juarez,” she said. “For people who live day-to-day, barely scraping together enough to put food on the table — for them, what? They’re not getting any checks from the government. At most, many of them are on furlough with a maximum pay of two weeks, reduced at 50% of their salaries. It’s not easy.”
Reyes also said the maquiladoras are not providing enough personal protection equipment or properly schooling workers on health guidelines, like making sure workers are distancing themselves properly or that they have enough sanitizer and gloves.
Some worried employees, she said, have led work stoppages.
“It’s infuriating, frustrating,” she said, adding that her own father and brothers work in the factories. “The maquilas are moving too slow.”
It’s unclear how many people have been tested for coronavirus in Juarez. Most people testing positive are hospitalized at the Mexican Institute of Social Security’s public hospital #66. Some nurses held a small protest Wednesday, demanding more protection.
Near the hospital entrance, Jesus Hernandez, 17, a former Lear employee who used to sew seats, sat behind a makeshift table, hoping to make a living by selling face masks and latex gloves. Some he made himself. He operates from 8 a.m to 4 p.m, he said.
“I’ve been here for two weeks already,” said Hernandez, who was laid off about a month ago. “We were left without a job at the maquila, then we saw that many people and pharmacies didn’t have face masks, and we got the idea of selling them.”
Some of his products sell for less than 50 cents.
Along the streets, other people worked at their usual corners but were now waving protective items for motorists on busy streets like the Paseo de la Victoria Avenue.
Some plants operating in Northern Mexico are considered essential, producing medical devices to be distributed in the U.S., Mexico and beyond. Others have shifted production to meet growing demands.
Cecilia Levine, director of MFI International, said the firm was not only making facemasks.
“Unfortunately, we’re also making body bags.”
(Staff Writer Alfredo Corchado reported from El Paso. Special contributor Valeria Olivares reported from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.)
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