Mexican health officials announced a 17 percent spike in confirmed cases of the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) over the Easter weekend. The sharp rise comes after authorities acknowledged they only tested 36,594 nationwide since the pandemic arrived.

Mexico’s Undersecretary of Health Hugo Lopez Gatell and staff released the new figures on Sunday night. During Easter weekend, officials saw a spike of 871 new cases bringing the total to 4,661. In previous conferences, Lopez Gatell said his staff is multiplying total confirmed cases by 8.2 to estimate the real national number.

The new figures also show a 21 percent spike in fatalities from 233 on Friday to 296 on Sunday. Currently, health officials are testing 8,697 suspicious cases.

During Sunday’s news conference, Lopez Gatell once again spoke out against the use of face masks, claiming they do little to stop the spread of the virus. While the U.S. Centers for Disease Control is recommending their use generally, Lopez Gatell says the covers only keep sick people from spreading the virus. The official also told the public to avoid using surgical gloves since they carry a risk of spreading the virus even more.

“The glove becomes part of your hand,” he said. “Instead of washing your hands, you think you are safe but then when you touch your face you contaminate yourself.”

Ildefonso Ortiz is an award-winning journalist with Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Brandon Darby and senior Breitbart management. You can follow him on Twitter and on Facebook. He can be contacted at Iortiz@breitbart.com.

Brandon Darby is the managing director and editor-in-chief of Breitbart Texas. He co-founded Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project with Ildefonso Ortiz and senior Breitbart management. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook. He can be contacted at bdarby@breitbart.com.

Tony Aranda from Breitbart Texas’ Cartel Chronicles project contributed to this report