A municipality in Oaxaca in the northern sierra has recorded its first case of Covid-19, while at least 64 other municipalities in the state have still had zero cases, according to newspaper Milenio.

A young boy is the first Covid-19 patient in 570-inhabitant San Pablo Guelatao, 60 kilometers northeast of the state capital, which was identified by the government in May last year as one of its “Municipalities of Hope”.

The boy has been isolated and authorities have banned anyone from arriving or leaving the municipality. Investigations as to how the boy contracted the disease are ongoing.

Mayor Consuelo Santiago García confirmed that the patient had received medical attention, that municipal authorities had taken care of medical expenses and that the family was being supported with food supplies.

She added that the town’s success in preventing infections was down to its strict protocols. “Since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic, we decided to lock ourselves in, to not allow any tourism, and to put a sanitary checkpoint in place. We created an organic municipal market, with products made in the region to avoid trips to the city of Oaxaca and to take care of our elderly, and now children and young people, from any infections,” she said.

Santiago detailed that 70% of the population had been administered a first dose of Covid-19 vaccine, but children and young people between the ages of 12 and 17 were yet to be immunized.

In San Pablo Guelatao, 45% of the population are seniors, a group which has already been vaccinated with at least one dose, while 40% of the population are under 18 years old.

Oaxaca is currently orange on the the coronavirus stoplight map.

The only other states in the country with municipalities that have had zero Covid-19 cases are Puebla — with one — and Chiapas, which has had four, and is the only green state on the coronavirus stoplight map.

With reports from Milenio