A Mexican governor, Miguel Barbosa claims the poor are immune to the Coronavirus while the rich are at risk of contracting and dying of it.
The Governor of the city of Puebla is laying his claims on the fact that the majority of people infected by the virus are rich people.
The 60-year-old politician said: ‘If you are rich, you are at risk. If you are poor, no… We poor people, we are immune.’
But several scientists have criticized Mr. Barbosa over his claims, calling him an ‘idiot’ and saying his theory was ‘incredibly stupid’.
Professor Paul Hunter, an infectious disease specialist at the University of East Anglia, criticised Mr. Barbosa’s claim.
He told MailOnline: ‘He is an idiot. That is absolutely stupid. There is no evidence for what he has said at all.
‘What will happen is a lot of people will think they don’t need to worry about it [COVID-19], which will enhance the spread of the disease.’
He added that poorer people may be at more risk because they tend to be malnourished and be unable to afford high-quality medical care, in countries where there is no universal access.
‘The vast majority of the times, these pandemics cause more harm in poorer people than they do in richer people.’
He also warned that only the rich live into their 70s in some of the world’s poorest nations.
Dr. Derek Gatherer, from Lancaster University, added: ‘Nobody is immune (except those that have already recovered from it).’
‘That’s the problem with viruses that are entering humans for the first time’. COVID-19 had never been seen in humans until December.
Mexico has 475 cases of coronavirus and six deaths so far.
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