Almost a year ago, the federal government presented its first coronavirus stoplight map to guide the reopening of the country after a two-month-long national social distancing initiative and the suspension of all nonessential economic activities.
Then, just one of Mexico’s 32 states – Zacatecas – was painted high risk orange.
On the latest map presented by the Health Ministry on Friday, once again, just one state is painted orange.
But in contrast with the map published on May 29, 2020, on which all of the other 31 states were maximum risk red, the new map, which will be in force from May 24 to June 6, is completely devoid of that undesirable color.
Exactly half of the 32 states will be low risk green for the next two weeks, 15 will be medium risk yellow and Quintana Roo – the Caribbean coast state that is home to resort cities such as Cancún and Playa del Carmen – will be on its own as the sole orange light state in the country.
The new map is reflective of a much-improved coronavirus situation a year after Mexico went through the peak of the first wave of the pandemic and four months after it emerged from its second – and worst – wave, which began late last year and extended into the first month of 2021.
Case numbers, deaths and hospitalizations of Covid patients have all declined during successive months this year and Mexico’s vaccination program continues to gather pace with more than 25.6 million shots now given to health workers, seniors, teachers, pregnant women and people aged 50-59.
Some medical experts believe that high levels of coronavirus immunity in Mexico through infection and a high percentage of inoculated adults in the United States, where about 280 million shots have been administered, have helped drive down new infections here.
The 16 green light states during the upcoming fortnight, an increase of two compared to the map currently in effect, will be Chiapas, Coahuila, Veracruz, Jalisco, Guanajuato, Sonora, Sinaloa, Durango, San Luis Potosí, Oaxaca, Tlaxcala, Aguascalientes Querétaro, Hidalgo, Guerrero and Morelos.
The first 11 states are already green while the last five will switch from yellow.
The 15 yellow light states will be Baja California, Zacatecas, Colima, Michoacán, Puebla, Tamaulipas, México state, Yucatán, Baja California Sur, Mexico City, Nuevo León, Nayarit, Campeche, Tabasco and Chihuahua.
The first 10 states are already yellow, Nuevo León, Nayarit and Campeche will switch from green and Tabasco and Chihuahua will change from orange.
Each stoplight color, determined by the Health Ministry using 10 different indicators including case numbers and hospital occupancy levels, is accompanied by recommended restrictions to slow the spread of the virus but it is ultimately up to state governments to decide on their own restrictions.
The Health Ministry also reported on Friday that Mexico’s accumulated case tally had increased by 2,604 to just over 2.39 million. The official Covid-19 death toll rose by 176 to 221,256, the fourth highest total in the world after the United States, Brazil and India.
The Health Ministry estimates that there are currently just over 18,000 active cases in Mexico, a significant decrease compared to January when the figure exceeded 100,000.
Mexico News Daily
