According to El Economista, Mexico has taken out a $1 billion loan from the World Bank to fight the effects of the new coronavirus pandemic. The newspaper says that the Mexican government asked the World Bank for the loan on May 19th, and received a positive answer on May 31st.

The Mexican Finance Minister Gabriel Yorio said on Twitter that the loan had not been contracted for any specific purpose and that the money is for the government’s general funding needs.

This is not the first time that a global shock prompts a request from Mexico for financial support to the World Bank. Currently, Mexico has ongoing commitments with the institution for $1.23 billion.

According to Expansión, 100 days after the start of the COVID-19 epidemic in Mexico, the virus continues to rise in the country. To date, 113,619 positive cases and 13,511 deaths have been recorded. On average 1,136 cases and 135 deaths per day.

The cases have increased exponentially in recent weeks, although it was expected that between May 8th and 10th it will reach its “maximum peak” and then the decline will begin, but it did not happen that way and the curve continues to rise.