Guadalajara, Mexico – In order for Jalisco to continue as one of the States with the lowest incidence of cases and mortality from COVID-19 in the country, on Friday afternoon the Mesa de Salud, a technical body made up of State authorities and University of Guadalajara (UdeG) health experts, recommended among other points, extending Phase 0 of the Jalisco Plan for Economic Reactivation until June 15.
This means that businesses that have already met the requirements established by the Government of Jalisco will be able to reopen, and those that have not yet registered on the SIRA platform and have not covered the guidelines, will have more time to ensure their staggered reopening.
It is important to emphasize that no economic activity other than establishments determined to be part of the essential business supply chain will be activated until at least June 15.
State authorities agreed to follow the health board’s recommendation to extend Phase Zero due to the increased mobility of the people of Jalisco in recent days, which resulted in a higher number of infections and a faster than expected number of hospitalizations, the General Coordinator of Social Development, Anna Bárbara Casillas García, explained in a press conference.
“We believe that this is because Jaliscienses have relaxed their measures of social distancing. For example, [in Guadalajara] we’ve seen crowded bars and restaurants putting everyone at risk, more traffic on the streets and busy recreational spaces, especially on weekends,” said Casillas García.
The Coordinator explained that the Jalisco Active Radar Detection System showed Friday had the highest number of new coronavirus cases reported in a single day since the pandemic began, with 159 new cases.
“Today we add 136 deaths and contagions among Jaliscienses have escalated in just one month. We want to offer you a piece of information: on April 28 we had 315 confirmed cases, while yesterday, May 28, we counted 1,432 cases. In a month they quadrupled,” stressed the official.
For his part, the rector of the UdeG, Ricardo Villanueva Lomelí, added that, according to Google Mobility Trends, Jalisco registers 22% more mobility in its population compared to Mexico City.
“Over the last 14 days we have seen with concern how the discipline of mobility has relaxed in the State of Jalisco, which forces us to rethink all the statistics, all the graphs and have a more accurate projection. We very much regret how the discipline of mobility has been broken down,” he said.
Villanueva Lomelí indicated that had isolation been respected by 60 percent of the population, the economic reactivation would have been feasible and manageable.
“What we need to revive the economy is a margin of 6.65 percent, the 22 percent of people who have been ‘taking it to the streets’ must be isolated again to allow people who, for example, need to buy food for their children, can go out. This 6.65 percent margin that the economy requires to not close businesses and small companies, can only be reached if we all stay home and stop going out to places that sell micheladas and wings, which unfortunately we have seen since they have been reactivated.”
Given this, State Health Secretary, Fernando Petersen Aranguren, announced the agreements established by the specialists, which were sent to the Governor of Jalisco, Enrique Alfaro Ramírez.
Among the main agreements, the Health Minister reiterated, is extending Phase Zero for at least another 15 days, until June 15, in addition to suggesting that all businesses that have violated protocols be closed.
“The recommendation that this board makes, Mr. Governor, is for the Economic Reactivation Plan to be adjusted in order to truly reduce risks for all. It is also a true invitation to all Jaliscienses to understand that Phase Zero must allow us to adapt to a new reality,” Petersen Aranguren concluded.
Source: jalisco.gob.mx