Tighter restrictions will be implemented in 15 Michoacán municipalities if their worsening coronavirus outbreaks don’t abate, Governor Silvano Aureoles said Monday.

The governor said case numbers are on the rise in Morelia, La Piedad, Lázaro Cárdenas, Zitácuaro, Uruapan, Zamora, Pátzcuaro, Ciudad Hidalgo, Maravatío, Apatzingán, Zacapu, Tarímbaro, Tacámbaro, Sahuayo and Los Reyes.

“A lot of people are still dying in these 15 municipalities,” he added. “Even though the number of deaths in the rest of the state is lower, it doesn’t mean there are none.”

According to state government data updated Monday night, 28,524 people have tested positive for the coronavirus in Michoacán and 2,288 have lost their lives. The federal government estimates that there are currently just over 900 active cases in the state.

Almost a quarter of the confirmed cases – 6,833 – were detected in the state capital Morelia while the port city of Lázaro Cárdenas has recorded more than 5,000. Uruapan has recorded more than 2,500 cases, Pátzcuaro more than 1,000 and La Piedad just under 1,000.

The risk of coronavirus infection in Michoacán is currently yellow light “medium,” according to the federal government’s stoplight system.

While announcing the possibility of tighter restrictions in the 15 hotspot municipalities, Aureoles noted that a majority of Mexico’s 32 states have seen an increase in case numbers and that some have regressed to the red light risk level.

Some states have run out of space in their hospitals and are unable to treat new coronavirus patients, he said.

“I’m not going to allow Michoacán to reach those levels,”Aureoloes said.

The governor said that authorities will increase vigilance of bars, restaurants and other commercial establishments to ensure that they are complying with health protocols and respecting operating hours. If they are not they will face fines, he said.

Aureoles added that all Christmas events where large numbers of people gather, such as posadas – traditional house-to-house processions intended to represent Mary and Joseph’s search for shelter as they awaited the birth of Jesus, must be canceled.

His warning that stricter restrictions will be implemented if case numbers don’t fall in the hotspot municipalities came after several states introduced tighter rules in response to worsening Covid-19 outbreaks.

Most recently, the government of Zacatecas announced Monday that red light restrictions would take immediate effect due to an increase in coronavirus cases.

Meanwhile, the national coronavirus case tally increased to 1,113,543 on Monday with 6,472 new cases reported. An additional 285 deaths lifted the official death toll to 105,940.

Source: El Universal (sp)