Mexico border agents catch US citizens FAKING doctor's appointments and prescriptions so they can break the COVID travel ban on non-essential trips
Government officials in a Mexican border city say Texans are traveling with bogus pharmacy prescriptions and doctor appointment notices as part of an attempt to bypass the land border travel ban due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to newspaper El Universal, at least eight Mexican residents and American citizens have been busted by border agents in Reynosa, Tamaulipas for lying about their visits from the US.
The Tamaulipas state government imposed tough restrictions for motorists driving over from Hidalgo County, Texas, which as of Tuesday had reported 46,449 confirmed cases and 2,110 deaths.
The virus has been responsible for 23,408 deaths and 1,352,193 cases Texas.
Officials in Tamaulipas have detected 32,025 positive cases and 3,083 deaths.
The United States tops the world with 15,337,091 confirmed coronavirus cases and 288,022 deaths. Mexico has recorded 110,874 deaths and 1.1 million positive cases.
A Tamaulipas, Mexico health department worker inspects a visitor from the United States in the city's border crossing as part of an effort to slow down the spread of the coronavirus. At least eight people we recently busted for showing fake doctor's visit notes in order to avoid the tough land border restrictions that ban non-essential travel
Tamaulipas state workers exchange PPE at the border crossing with Texas
Tamaulipas authorities are allowing a maximum of two passengers per vehicle arriving via the Reynosa-Hidalgo International Bridge. Both occupants must wear their face masks at all times, and minors are not allowed in cars.
In order to be permitted entry into Reynosa, visitors must demonstrate proof that they are attending a doctor's appointment, that they have a sick family member hospitalized or that they are visiting the city to purchase medicine.
However, border officials have caught scheming visitors, who just want to cross the border to see their loved ones or for non-essential trips.
Adalberto Elizondo, the director for the State Commission for Protection Against Sanitary Risks in Tamaulipas, said that the eight visitors who were caught lying about their visits to two area hospitals are currently under investigation.
A Tamaulipas state employee questions a visitor from the United States at the border crossing (stock image)
'People are cheats, they show prescriptions or paperwork for surgeries and, when we verify with doctors or hospitals, they deny that they have consultation,' Elizondo said.
'We came across two different cars, the occupants showed medical appointments with a 15-minute time difference with the same doctor. So, we confirmed in the office and it was false.'
Elizondo said the State Commission for Protection Against Sanitary Risks has been in talks with the National Guard, the Institute of National Migration, the Department of Defense and Health Ministry to ensure that travelers arriving from the United States via the land border are properly vetted.
'I cannot accuse the doctors of selling prescriptions or documentation,' Elizondo said. 'In these cases we consider that people are falsifying the paperwork. We suppose that on some occasion they consulted these hospitals and have a prescription that they later duplicated to be able to cross to Reynosa, since it is a requirement for essential visits.'