Day 689 — Sheinbaum Misses Mañanera With Flu, Reappears Masked for Virtual IMSS Meeting

On August 21, 2026 (Day 689, Friday), President Sheinbaum woke up with a severe flu, cough and fever and — for the first time in her presidency — did not lead the daily morning press conference; doctors recommended rest, though her office said the condition was not serious and ruled out COVID-19. Interior Secretary Rosa Icela Rodríguez led the conference in her place alongside INAH director Joel Omar Vázquez Herrera, who presented a discovery of 179 pre-Hispanic pieces and 13 offerings in the Cueva Mundo Zoque cave in Cintalapa, Chiapas. Sheinbaum kept working remotely from the National Palace, appearing on camera wearing a face mask for a virtual meeting with IMSS director Zoé Robledo reviewing progress on the Universal Health Service (Servicios de Salud) rollout. Her team said she expected to resume in-person activities the next day, including a planned Saturday inauguration of the Archivo General Agrario de la Nación in Mexico City.