CALIFORNIA—On Monday, May 11, Fox News reported that an increasing number of COVID-19 patients are travelling from Tijuana, Mexico to Chula Vista, San Diego.

Chris D. Van Gorder, President and CEO of Scripps Health (which operates the Scripps Mercy Hospital in Chula Vista), and Daniel L. Gross of Sharp HealthCare (which owns the city’s largest hospital) wrote an email to numerous local and federal leaders expressing their concern over the situation. The message, dated April 28, was primarily addressed to Secretary of Health and Human Services Alex Azar and Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad F. Wolf.

In the email, Gorder and Gross mentioned that “pre-pandemic, an average of 90,000 people crossed the Tijuana‐San Ysidro border daily. When the “non‐essential travel” ban went into effect on March 21, border crossings dropped significantly. However, crossings have increased steadily in recent weeks. On April 26, 2020, border crossings exceeded 42,000. Today, coronavirus cases are increasing at rates exceedingly faster among border communities compared to the rest of San Diego County.”

The Wall Street Journal reported that the influx has become so drastic recently that the Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center was forced to turn away new patients.

“We request your urgent action on behalf of health care providers along the United States/Mexico border. The inadequacy of medical resources in the State of Baja California, including the testing necessary to respond to COVID‐19, poses a very real threat to San Diego’s ability to manage both its COVID‐19 response and its expedient re‐opening of the economy,” wrote Gorder and Gross in the email. 

San Diego has the 3rd-most COVID-19 cases among counties in California, with a total of 5,065 as of May 11. Within the county, Chula Vista has the 2nd-most cases with 721, and the 4th-highest rate per 100,000 people at 269.5. 

Gorder and Gross stated in the email that they would like the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and the Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) to collaborate and begin medical checks to protect public health. However, the message noted that it was critical for the US-Mexico border to remain open. It also requested “priority status” to receive additional Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and pharmaceutical supplies in San Diego. 

“San Diego County and Baja California, Mexico, have long enjoyed a strong cultural and economic relationship treasured by both. Tens of thousands of people legally cross back and forth across our border every day, among them, some of the 250,000 American citizens who live in Mexico,” reiterated a representative of Scripps Health to Fox News.

“We are not suggesting the border be closed, but that we institute health screens in both directions to protect the United States and Mexico, as this virus does not recognize borders. And we need to ensure the hospitals at the borders receive sufficient medical, pharmaceutical and laboratory testing supplies.”