The number of areas off limits to outsiders due to the coronavirus pandemic continues to grow: state authorities in Colima and those in three México state municipalities are now restricting entry to people providing essential services.
Colima Governor José Ignacio Peralta Sánchez announced that only those who can prove that they have essential work to do in the state will be allowed to enter. He also said that residents are only permitted to be outside if they are carrying out essential activities.
In addition, the governor said that authorities will distribute 10,000 digital thermometers and large quantities of face masks and liquid soap to help residents detect possible cases of Covid-19 and prevent its spread.
As of Wednesday, there were just seven confirmed cases in Colima and 30 suspected ones. However, only about 100 people have been tested for the disease.
Peralta said that now is the time to start widespread testing because Colima has entered into a phase of local transmission – two of the seven people confirmed to have Covid-19 haven’t recently traveled abroad or had known contact with someone who did.
However, the governor said that the state lacked sufficient reagents to carry out testing en masse, explaining that federal authorities “are not sending us enough.”
In México state, authorities in the southern municipalities of Tlatlaya, Amatepec and Luvianos are only allowing the entry of vehicles making food deliveries or transporting health workers, the newspaper Reforma reported. The authorities said that their local hospitals don’t have sufficient personnel or supplies to attend to an influx of Covid-19 patients.
The mayor of Tlatlaya announced the measure on social media, local radio and via loudspeaker announcements.
“All residents of Tlatlaya are informed that the entry to and exit from our municipality is strictly prohibited. The main and alternate access roads will be blocked, you will not be able to enter or leave. The intention is to have not a single coronavirus case in Tlatlaya,” he said.
The move comes after communities in several other states took the decision to block entry to outsiders to combat the spread of coronavirus.
The number of confirmed cases in Mexico passed 3,000 on Wednesday but health authorities estimate that there are actually more than 26,000 cases of the disease in the country.
