Mexican health officials confirmed 11 new cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) bringing the total to 26 since the virus first appeared in the country. With the exception of one case, all of the current cases in Mexico have been from individuals who returned from travel to the U.S., Europe, or Asia.

During a press conference on Friday, Mexico’s Deputy Health Secretary Hugo Lopez Gatell revealed that since Thursday, health officials confirmed 11 new cases of COVID-19 bringing the total to 26 cases.

“We still have the capabilities to identify, place in isolation, and track down any contacts related to these cases,” Lopez Gatell said claiming that the situation still called for preventive protocols.

As Breitbart Texas reported, Mexico confirmed its first case of community-spread Coronavirus. That case is tied to a prior case where a Mexican national had returned from Spain and was visiting relatives when he began to show symptoms. The new case is a relative who had not left the country but was in contact with the first patient.

According to Lopez Gatell, that case is still being considered as being foreign in nature. Mexican health officials continue to monitor the cases as well as the world stage which brings the possibility of new travel-borne cases each day.

One of the new steps that health officials will be looking at as the weekend progresses is the possibility of canceling various public events such as concerts and festivals.

In the border state of Tamaulipas, health officials announced on Friday night the canceling of all state-sponsored events as a precautionary measure due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tamaulipas health officials are also looking at three suspicious cases — one in the border city of Reynosa, one in the border city of Nuevo Laredo, and one in Tampico. They await the results of various tests. The three cases are from individuals who traveled out of the country.

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.