TUCSON, Ariz. — Protesters on the Mexican side of the border blocked the Mexico-bound lanes in the twin border cities of Ambos Nogales for several hours Wednesday to express their displeasure with the Mexican government's response to the coronavirus pandemic. The protesters demanded greater controls and screenings on southbound traffic at the U.S.-Mexico border out of concern that travelers from the U.S. could import new cases of the coronavirus into Mexico. Less than a dozen people wearing face masks and carrying signs used two of their vehicles for a blockade of the two southbound lanes at the DeConcini crossing, several hundred feet into the Mexican side of the border, video taken by Mexican media showed. Some of the signs asked U.S. residents to "stay at home." Others called on Mexico President Andrés Manuel López Obrador to step up controls and restrictions along the U.S.-Mexico border to contain the spread of COVID-19. The number of confirmed cases in the U.
The death toll in the United States topped 1,000 on Wednesday night as the novel coronavirus continues to spread across the country. America's first death was reported on Feb. 29 and the rate has spiked over the past two weeks as extreme public health measures go into effect to combat the virus. The U.S. death count eclipsed 600 on Tuesday and 900 early Wednesday before reaching 1,050 early Thursday, according to the Johns Hopkins University data dashboard .. States and cities have instituted shelter-in-place and stay-at-home orders in an effort to curb the spread of COVID-19. The number of cases continues to rise rapidly as testing expands nationwide. The worldwide death count surpassed 21,000 on Wednesday. Five other countries have death tolls higher than the U.S. — Italy, Spain, Iran, China and France. Italy's number more than doubles that of Spain. The Senate came to a deal Wednesday on a $2 trillion aid package that includes $150 billion for hospitals an