Mexico’s COVID-19 Traffic Light Monitoring System: News For August 23–September 5, 2021 – Coronavirus (COVID-19)

About 63 percent of Mexico’s adult population has received a
vaccination against COVID-19, but the pandemic situation has still
worsened considerably, with only one of the nation’s 32 states
having no restrictions on social and business activities as
recommended under the nation’s pandemic traffic light monitoring system.

In light of the worsening pandemic conditions, the federal
government is urging people to reduce the risk of infection by
complying with the government’s recommended sanitary measures.
In addition, the federal government recently issued new “Guidelines for Risk Estimation of the COVID-19
Regional Traffic Light.” The federal guidelines recommend
restrictions on the opening and closing of social and business
activities that generate the least impact on essential economic
activities in order to curb the spread of the pandemic, based on
the severity of the impact of COVID-19 in each state.

The four-tiered monitoring system, which is updated every other
week, was implemented in June 2020, and it is used to alert
residents to the epidemiological risks of COVID-19 and provide
guidance on restrictions on certain activities in each of the
country’s states. In the current report, only Chiapas is in green status, the status under
which all activities are permitted without restrictions. This is
also the first time only one state has been in green status since
late September 2020. Seven states-up from only
one state in the biweekly report for July 26-August 8, 2021-are
in red status, under which only essential activities are
permitted.

Below is a map for the period of August 23, 2021, through
September 5, 2021, indicating the COVID-19 risk level in each of
the states and the capital.

This chart presents the traffic light status of
each state, and, as applicable, variations between federal and
local traffic light statuses based on publications of the federal
Ministry of Health and status reports provided by each state.

Mexico City Remains in Orange Status

As recently as mid-June 2021, Mexico City had been in green
status, but the Mexico City Monitoring Committee moved the
capital’s status to orange in late July. The committee recently determined
that the capital would remain in orange status, the second-highest
category of strictness. The committee did not indicate capacity
limits for employers that want to return their employees to work
on-site, so employers may want to follow federal guidelines and
limit on-site capacity to 50 percent while the capital remains in
orange status. Employers may also wish to conduct at their own
expense and on a weekly basis rapid antigen tests or polymerase
chain reaction RT-PCR tests (for the detection of the SARS-CoV-2
virus) of at least 20 percent of the personnel who work
on-site.

The Administrative Verification Institute and other Mexico City
government authorities will continue to verify compliance with the
general and workplace-specific sanitary
measures. Government authorities may levy fines and/or impose
total or partial temporary suspensions of work centers for up to 15
calendar days for employers that are found to be in noncompliance
with the sanitary measures.

Ogletree Deakins will continue to monitor and report on
developments with respect to the COVID-19 pandemic and will post
updates in the firm’s Coronavirus (COVID-19) Resource Center as
additional information becomes available. Important information for
employers is also available via the firm’s webinar and podcast programs.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general
guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought
about your specific circumstances.