[co-author: Iván Andrade Castelán]

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the need to ease lockdown restrictions, the federal government of Mexico established a bimonthly traffic-light monitoring system aligned with health protocols to guide Mexico’s states through the country’s phased reopening plan. Below is a map for the period of September 27, 2020, to October 11, 2020, indicating the COVID-19 risk level in each of Mexico’s 32 states.

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 local publications.

In this edition of the traffic light report, we can observe that the first state—Campeche—has achieved the color green in the traffic light system and that none of the states are in the color red.

Green traffic lights have the following implications:

• “All activities, including school activities, are allowed.” Nonetheless, the federal Ministry of Health has recommended against a rush to return to schools until authorities, especially sanitary authorities, are sure that the transmission of COVID-19 is at a minimum.
• The return to work of vulnerable employees, except for breastfeeding women during the period of maternity leave, is allowed. Their return may occur after their maternity leave period, as established by law, has ended.

Orange and red traffic lights carry the following implications:

• The return to work of vulnerable employees in areas at orange and yellow traffic light status levels must comply with the “Criteria for vulnerable populations in the reopening of economic activities in the workplace” issued by the federal government.