Mexico Doctors Mourn on this Day of the Dead
More than 1,700 Mexican healthcare workers have lost their lives to Covid-19 this year while serving their communities. Among them was Dr. Jose Luis Linares, who contracted the virus and passed away while aiding some of the most impoverished neighborhoods in his city. His wife, Dr. María del Rosario Martínez, who also became ill with Covid-19, had pleaded with him not to go to work in the pandemic’s early days.
A small skeleton figure, wearing a face mask and medical cap, places a hand on a bedridden patient. Beside it rests a sugar skull, a familiar sight on Day of the Dead altars, and behind them is a photograph of a smiling, white-haired 64-year-old man in glasses: the late Dr. Jose Luis Linares.
Dr. Linares is among over 1,700 Mexican healthcare workers officially recognized as having died of COVID-19 and honored during three days of national mourning this Day of the Dead.
He served patients at a small clinic in a low-income neighborhood in southern Mexico City, often charging just 30 pesos (about $1.50) per visit. Despite his dedication, his family doesn't qualify for the government aid provided to medical personnel who contracted COVID-19, as he wasn’t affiliated with an official COVID-19 center, his widow, Dr. María del Rosario Martínez, explained.
"I told him, ‘Luis, don’t go to work.’ But he said, ‘Then who will look after those people?’” shared Dr. Martínez. She noted he had taken precautions because he already had weakened lungs from a past illness.
In addition to the traditional marigolds and papel picado on her Day of the Dead altar, Martínez included small skeletons depicting consultations and surgeries, a tribute to her husband and fallen colleagues.
This theme is echoed across Mexico, which, as of September, had lost more healthcare workers to the coronavirus than any other country, according to Amnesty International.
Other victims, like nurse Jose Valencia and Dr. Samuel Silva Montenegro, are also remembered with photos on altars in Mexico City homes.
Martínez’s altar sits in her living room, adjacent to the consultation room she and her husband once used. Although she also became ill but eventually recovered, she now consults patients only online or by phone.
Dr. Linares passed away on May 25, during a peak of infections in Mexico City. On hearing the news, Martínez fainted but later awoke to the comforting arms of her only son and sister. “Don’t touch me, don’t touch me!” she cried, fearing they too could be infected.
At her own illness’s peak, she went from hospital to hospital, struggling to find medical assistance.
Martínez, now 59, says she feels better and at peace but hasn’t fully accepted the loss of her husband of 36 years, whom she first met selling gum outside a movie theater to support her eight siblings.
"I feel strange," she admits, “but I owe it to the patients, and they are going to help me through this.” She does plan to reduce her working hours, though.
“I’m afraid because we don’t know how much immunity we gain or how long it lasts,” she adds. “This illness is harsh and relentless… Across the world, we will have a very sad story to tell.”
Mexico has reported over 924,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases and nearly 140,000 confirmed or probable deaths, though experts believe the actual figures may be far higher.
Nonetheless, Martínez finds solace in Day of the Dead traditions. “According to our beliefs, he will come to visit us, and he will be glad I am thinking of him now.”