Mexico’s COVID-19 Traffic Light Monitoring System: News For November 15–28, 2021 – Coronavirus (COVID-19)

All but one of Mexico’s 32 states have been cleared by the
federal government to open for business and social affairs without
restrictions under the nation’s COVID-19 traffic light monitoring system-the
largest number of states in green-light status since the system was
implemented in June 2020.

The only state operating with federally designated restrictions
is Baja California, which is in orange status,
where the government ranked it in the report for November 1-14, 2021. In order to
curb the spread of COVID-19, states in orange status restrict the
number of workers allowed on-site to half the normal capacity.

The four-tiered monitoring system, which is updated every other
week, 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. Below is a map for the period
of November 15, 2021, through November 28, 2021, indicating the
COVID-19 risk level in each of the states and the capital.

Vaccination rates are also climbing. As of November 9, 2021,
75,170,848 residents of Mexico at least 18 years old had been
vaccinated, representing 84 percent of the nation’s population.
The federal government has not clarified the number of people who
have been fully vaccinated.

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. A few
of the states appear to be taking a more wary approach toward
returning to the “new normal.” Puebla, for example, has designated five of its
six regions in yellow status (medium risk), and is keeping Region
3, which includes the state’s capital city, in orange status.
Veracruz has no areas in either red or orange
status, but it has designated more than 50 municipalities in yellow
status.

Mexico City: Cautiously Green

Pandemic conditions in the federal capital have continued to
improve since late August 2021, when Mexico City was in
orange status. The capital-in whose metropolitan area about 20
percent of the nation’s population lives-moved into green
status in early November, and remains there, according
to the Mexico City Monitoring Committee. But it appears that the
committee is proceeding with caution, since it has not yet updated
its guidelines for private corporate offices, indicating that
maximum on-site capacity is limited to 80 percent of the workforce,
in accordance with the industry-specific health protection
guidelines. The guidelines also require employers to conduct at
their own expense and on a weekly basis, rapid antigen tests or
reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) tests for
the detection of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, to at least 20 percent of
the personnel attending work on-site.

Finally, the Administrative Verification Institute, along with
other Mexico City government authorities, will continue to visit
businesses to verify compliance with the general and specific
sanitary measures for workplace health protection. Employers that
are deemed not to be compliant with the health and safety measures
may be subject to the total or partial temporary suspension of work
centers for up to 15 calendar days. Noncompliant employers may also
be subject to other applicable sanctions.

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.

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