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Governor warns of strict measures as state continues to move toward red epidemiological light

Cancun, Q.R. — In a Tuesday video message, Quintana Roo governor Carlos Joaquin said that the only way to reverse this reality is to act forcefully. His comments came on the heels of the turn of the next epidemiological light, which he has warned for weeks, could be red.

A red light would see businesses shut and residents returned to lockdown. For weeks, the governor has warned of the possible return to a red epidemiological light after the state’s continued increase in covid infections.

During his message, Joaquin said “acting forcefully is the only thing that can reverse reality, as everyone knows, the state traffic light tells us how much and how quickly we are getting sick, our hospitality availability and the probability of changing color if certain trends are maintained.”

He stressed that while the light is an action indicator, the state needs to work to reverse the current indicator, making it necessary to adapt restrictive measure to prevent infections. He noted that Cancun in particular, has a rise in the contagion curve.

Faced with this scenario, the state government proposes stricter business compliance with health protocols. Joaquin also says that PCR tests for attendees in competitions, fairs, expos and exhibitions will be in the context of the sanitary measure in such a way that they will not be able to leave until the event is over.

Together with the municipal governments, there will be the closing of streets and restrictions on the main avenues. As well, both public and private transport will be monitored with no vehicle exceeding the number of people allowed in the orange epidemiological light. Finally, large social gatherings will be sanctioned, since they put the entire population at risk.

Last week, the federal government confirmed Quintana Roo was the only state in the country recording covid increases. At the time, the undersecretary of health, Hugo López-Gatell said that the state had been recording increases for the previous five weeks.

Earlier this week, the city of Cancun announced temporary circulation restrictions on three of its main streets to reduce mobility. On May 20, the governor will announce if the state remains in an orange epidemiological light or if Quintana Roo will regress back even more to red.