Mexico’s COVID-19 Traffic Light Monitoring System: News for November 29, 2021–December 12, 2021

Five of Mexico’s 32 states—all in the north of the country—are currently operating in yellow status, with all work activities permitted and precautionary measures in place to prevent infection among high-risk individuals, pursuant to restrictions recommended by the federal government to control the COVID-19 pandemic.

The precautionary measures, which are included in yellow traffic light status under Mexico’s four-tiered traffic light COVID-19 monitoring system, are in effect in Baja California, Baja California Sur, Chihuahua, Coahuila, and Sonora. All but Baja California—which recently improved from orange status, the second-most-restrictive status—were in green status (all business and social activities permitted without restrictions) in the November 15–28, 2021, report. The federal government has designated the other 27 states as clear to operate in green status.

The monitoring system, which is updated every other week, was implemented in June 2020 and 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 29, 2021, through December 12, 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.

Vaccination rates are gradually climbing. As of December 6, 2021, 86 percent of the population at least 18 years of age and older had been vaccinated, up from 84 percent in the previous report. The federal government has not clarified the percentage of people with complete vaccination schedules (i.e., the number of people 18 years old and older who have received complete COVID-19 vaccine schedules). Chiapas, Jalisco, Mexico City, Oaxaca, Sinaloa, and Yucatán have begun offering booster vaccinations for persons over 60 years of age, giving priority to persons with comorbidities in this group.

Mexico City in Green Status

Mexico City, in whose metropolitan area about 22 million people live, or a fifth of the nation’s population, has been operating in green status since early November. But the Mexico City Monitoring Committee has not yet updated its industry-specific COVID-19 health prevention guidelines for private corporate offices, so employers may want to continue operating with a maximum of 80 percent of their employees who work on-site. 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 governmental authorities, will continue to visit businesses to verify compliance with general and specific sanitary measures for workplace health protection. The authorities may levy fines against employers found to be noncompliant with the health and safety measures. Noncompliant employers may be subject to the total or partial temporary suspension of work centers for up to 15 calendar days, as well as 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.