Mexico’s COVID-19 Traffic Light Monitoring System: News for November 1–14, 2021

Mexico’s federal government has fully relaxed restrictions on social and business activities in all but 3 of the nation’s 32 states—the most states operating at green traffic light status since the government instituted its pandemic traffic light monitoring system in June 2020.

Besides the 29 states designated under green traffic light status (no restrictions), 2 states—Aguascalientes and Guanajuato—are operating under yellow status (all activities permitted with precautionary measures to prevent infection among high-risk individuals), and only 1 state—Baja California—is operating under orange status (high-risk areas).

The 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.

The federal government has also reported that as of October 25, 2021, 70,996,565 people have been vaccinated against COVID-19 in Mexico, representing 79 percent of the population, 18 years old or older. The government has not clarified the percentage of people who have been fully vaccinated against COVID-19. However, some of the states have reported the number of residents who have been fully vaccinated. In Aguascalientes, for example, as of October 27, 2021, 1,459,520 people had been vaccinated, of whom nearly 48 percent had received a full vaccination schedule.

Below is a map for the period of November 1, 2021, through November 14, 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. Puebla, for example, is considered by the federal government to be in green status, but the state government has designated five of its six regions in yellow status—the exception being orange status for Region 3, where the state capital, Puebla, is located.

Mexico City Operating at Green Light Status

Mexico City—in whose metropolitan area nearly one-fifth of the nation’s population lives—has shifted into green light status, according to the Mexico City Monitoring Committee. The monitoring committee has not updated its guidelines for private corporate offices, so employers may want to limit the percentage of personnel working on-site to 80 percent, in accordance with Mexico City’s 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. The authorities may levy fines against employers found to be out of compliance 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. 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.