7 new Juárez deaths as it nears top of curve, governor still worries about spread

CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico -- The Ministry of Health on Friday announced seven new coronavirus deaths in the city of Juárez, which were among nine throughout Chihuahua state, as it said the region was reaching the top of the curve.

That brought the death toll from the pandemic thus far to 314 for the state and 254 in Juárez.

Across the state there were 74 new confirmed infections reported Friday; 35 of those were from Juárez, which reached 1,122 total cases contributing to the state's tally of 1,831.

Chihuahua's governor warned that there continues to be a high spread of infections in his state.

Gov. Javier Corral said as Chihuahua readies for factories to start reopening after June 1, business leaders must have plans in place for alerting health officials to potential outbreaks at their plants.

"There will be cases of contagion in companies, because the virus will continue to spread. People are going to emerge who are infected on a production line," he said.

Corral added that timely notification by companies of infected workers would prevent larger community outbreaks, which is beneficial for everyone.

As ABC-7 has previously reported, multinational factories in Juarez have come under scrutiny for fueling outbreaks that led to significant numbers of deaths and infections.