Southern Quintana Roo returns to red light.

These are the activities that can and cannot be done. The affected municipalities will maintain the maximum level of alert until Sunday, July 19

CHETUMAL Quintana Roo (Agencies) –  Governor of Quintana Roo, Carlos Joaquín González, warned the population that the south of the state could return to the color red at the State Traffic Light of Epidemiological Alert, if contagion was not reduced.

Last Thursday, the worst omens were confirmed and the head of the state executive announced in a virtual press conference the news: the southern municipalities of Felipe Carrillo Puerto, José María Morelos, Bacalar and Othón P. Blanco would say goodbye to the orange light they had achieved on June 22, and would return to the maximum alert level.

Due to the rise in infections and the high levels of hospital occupation, southern Quintana Roo will be red from July 13 to 19. This means that drastic restrictions and prohibitions will again be implemented, which if not complied with, will lead to fines and even administrative imprisonment for 36 hours. Below is a complete list of what can and cannot be done in the affected municipalities as of this Monday.

Among the activities that can be carried out under the red light, are the essential ones, which will operate with normal capacity. These are as follows:

–Public safety, procurement and the administration of justice.
-Legislative activities.
-Hospitals and medical services.
-Food retail trade (food markets, supermarkets, convenience stores, grocery stores, tortilla shops, poultry shops and similar).
-Banks and financial institutions.
-Construction.
-Storage.
-Laundry.
-Mining.
-Water purification.

Permitted activities, at 30%.
Manufacturing companies will not have to close, and as with the orange light, they will be able to continue working with 30% of their employees. This category includes industries dedicated to the manufacture of machinery and equipment, metal products, petroleum products, minerals, etc.

Activities allowed at 25%.
With the amber light, administrative services as well as accounting, professional, scientific and technical services could operate with 50% of their workforce in the office. However, with the return to red, this percentage will be reduced to 25%, i.e. half of the workers.

Activities allowed at 15%
The hotels, restaurants, historical sites, theme parks, golf courses and tourist services will only be able to operate from Monday at 15% of their capacity. This also represents a decrease with respect to the orange color, as they were previously authorized to receive up to 30% of their capacity.

Closures
This Monday, July 13, the theatres and cinemas, shopping centres, department stores, as well as hairdressers and beauty centres will close their doors. All of them were able to resume their activity at 30% last June 22nd, when they achieved the orange light, but now they will be closed.

The ban on these businesses will undoubtedly be a severe blow to the economy of the entity, also accentuating the number of layoffs. According to the Mexican Institute of Social Security (IMSS), during the month of June the loss of employment in Quintana Roo was 22.9%, a figure that would increase with the return to the red light in the south.

In addition, activities that were prohibited during the orange light will not be allowed either: bars, discos, nightclubs and casinos; social events, groups and conventions; gyms and sports clubs; beaches and public parks; artistic, cultural and sports services.

High hospital occupancy rates
Among the most worrying data recorded in the entity is the overflow of the hospital system. While in the municipality of Othón P. Blanco, where Chetumal is located, the occupation reaches 80%, in Bacalar it is almost 70% and in Felipe Carrillo Puerto, there are no more beds available, with 100%.

For its part, as indicated by health authorities, northern Quintana Roo was spared “by the claws” to return to the red, so they urged the population to comply with health protection measures if they do not want to follow in the footsteps of the municipalities in the south, and that thousands of jobs are destroyed, mainly in the tourism sector.

So far, 5,030 positive cases have been diagnosed in the entity, and there are a total of 698 cases under study.