A Mexican governor announced that a patient in his state has died, marking the seventh fatality for the novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) in the country. Officials most recently confirmed a total of 475 cases nationwide.

During a news conference, Jalisco Governor Enrique Alfaro announced the fatality, the second related death in his state. The politician did not provide information about the age, sex, or medical history of the deceased. Alfaro said he was calling for mass testing so the government could have a real indicator of the virus’ spread.

The announcement of the seventh death comes soon after Mexico’s Undersecretary of Health revealed the country reached 475 confirmed cases with 1,656 more undergoing tests.

Despite asking the public to keep a safe distance, Lopez Gatell still contends that international travel restrictions and border closures are political and not backed by scientific research.

Cerrar fronteras parecería ser una medida efectiva, pero no lo es (Nueva Zelanda y Suecia, por ejemplo, no lo han hecho), pues no hay evidencia de que esto contenga los contagios. La decisión de aislarse es política, no científica. — Hugo López-Gatell Ramírez (@HLGatell) March 25, 2020

In recent weeks, Mexico’s health officials reported a dramatic rise in cases with only 41 on March 15 versus 475 ten days later. President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has been the target of major criticism over his relaxed responses. Lopez Obrador held several large public events where he kissed children and babies, hugged fans, and encouraged the public to continue taking their families to restaurants.

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