Mexicans should cancel celebrations and even avoid exchanging Christmas presents to beat the coronavirus, the president has said, pitching a frugal festive season to one of the world’s largest capital cities as infections scaled new heights.

“Let’s leave Christmas presents for another time,” President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said, urging people to scale down or forego traditional family gatherings over Christmas and New Year.

Lopez Obrador said people should stay at home unless they had something “truly important to do” as he announced hospitals would increase patient capacity, equipment and staff. However, he said there would be no mandatory lockdowns.

Mexico reported 12,127 new coronavirus infections, a record number for a single day rise, barring one day in October the government has said was due to a statistical blip. It was also the first time Mexico had recorded more than 10,000 new cases three days in a row.