COVID-19 SITUATION IN MEXICO Weekly Review # 41 February 9, 2021
COVID-19 Situation in Mexico
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DISTRIBUTION OF DEATHS PER STATE: CONFIRMED CASES: 1,936,013
NEW CASES REPORTED: 3,868
DEATHS: 166,731
ACCUMULATED DEATHS PER DAY
Information updated on February 8 2021 at 19:00 hrs local time.
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INCREASE OF CONFIRMED CASES SINCE THE FIRST REPORT MAP WITH THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE INCIDENCE RATE OF ACCUMULATED CASES OF COVID-19 BY ENTITY OF RESIDENCE.
0 to 500 (1 states) 501 to 1,000 (8 states) 1,001 to 1,500 (11 states) 1,5001 to 2,000 (6 states) >2,000 (5 states)
National rate 1501.11
Elaborated by Prodensa with information from the Health Ministry of Mexico
CORONAVIRUS IN THE WORLD (COVID-19) • As of February 8 2021, globally there have been reported 105,805,951 confirmed cases (376,569 new cases) of COVID-19 and y 2,312,278 deaths (9,664 new deaths*). Lethal rate: 2.2%. • In the last 14 days, the number of new cases accounts for 6% (6,301,419) of the total of accumulated cases. *https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/situation-reports/20200323-sitrep-63-covid-19.pdf?sfvrsn=d97cb6dd_2
COVID-19 Situation in Mexico
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TOWARDS THE “NEW NORMAL” INCIDENTS OF CONTAGIONS IN THE POPULATION BY REGION AS OF FEBRUARY 8
DEATH INCIDENTS IN POPULATION BY REGION AS OF FEBRUARY 8
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TOWARDS THE “NEW NORMAL”
The traffic light will be as follows: Alert Level
Activities allowed to operate
Maximum risk
• Only essential activities. • Vulnerable personnel must work from home.
High risk
• Full operation of essential activities and reduced operation in non-essential activities. Presence of workforce to a 30% in non-essential activities.
Medium risk
Low risk: Continuation of daily activities
General criteria • Promote work from home, as much as possible. • Allow a distance of 1.5 meters between people and/or provide Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) accordingly. • Place physical barriers in workstations, eating areas, etc. • Increase the frequency of transportation and alternate seats for safe distance. • Establish alternate and flexible schedules and shifts to reduce contact. • Implement filters at entries and exits.
• Full economic activity. • Restricted activities in public spaces.
• Presence of all personnel at the workplace.
• Implementation of health protection measures. • Provide permanent attention to the vulnerable population
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KEY POINTS OF THE PRESIDENT ANDRES MANUEL LOPEZ OBRADOR Morning press conference February 3-9, 2021 COVID-19 The President, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, pointed out that he participated in a research protocol headed by the National Institute of Medical Sciences and Nutrition. They applied to him antiviral and antiinflammatory drugs. He also pointed out that there is an agreement with the Government of Russia and China to send vaccines to the country, and the shipment of Pfizer vaccines will restart on February 10. He reported that the AstraZeneca vaccine is already being packaged in Mexico. The commitment is that by the end of March, all older adults will be vaccinated and begin with the teachers’ vaccination to start thinking about going back to school. COVID 19 VACCINES Recently, the Ministry of Health signed the purchase contract for 24 million doses of the Sputnik V vaccine. He pointed out that Birmex has reached a new agreement with the Serum Institute of India, which packages the AstraZeneca vaccine to supply Mexico with 2 million doses; shipments are expected to begin within a week with the first 870,000. MIGRATION He said that the new US government will change the focus of immigration policy and be favorable to have communication bridges with the Federal Government and work on joint projects; He was pleased with this and indicated that Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard will attend to this issue.
REFORM TO THE ELECTRICAL INDUSTRY The President pointed out that the resistance to the industry’s transformation is due to the corruption that existed in the country and the destruction of the CFE since the past administrations were in collaboration with private companies to hand over all the business to them. The Head of SEGOB informed that the proposal is based on three fundamental principles: to give continuity in the service, to guarantee the service’s reliability and stability, issues that only the CFE can guarantee. VACCINATION PLAN As of February 9, the government mentioned that 79,429 people had completed the scheme, unlike 65,789 active cases. Yesterday 4,303 people were vaccinated, and the total applied doses reported as of February 8, 2021, is 717, 820. He noted that at the moment, there is a 49% hospital occupancy nationwide. Regarding beds with a fan, only the CDMX has occupancy above 70%, six entities less than 70%, but greater than 50%, and 25 entities less than 50%.
COVID-19 Situation in Mexico
VACCINATION PROGRESS
During the morning press conference, Marcelo Luis Ebrard, Secretary of Foreign Affairs, informed that Pfizer had sent a communication confirming that during the week of February 15th, the shipment of 491,400 doses will be sent to Mexico. So far, 700,000 doses have been received. He mentioned that the vaccine is effective against virus mutations. The Ministry of Health recently signed a contract to acquire 24 million doses of Sputnik V vaccine. He noted that Birmex had reached a new agreement with the Serum Institute of India, which packages the AstraZeneca vaccine to supply Mexico with 2 million doses. It is expected to have 870,000 in a week. Secretary Ebrard mentioned that together with Argentina and the Slim Foundation, up to 250 million doses will be produced for Latin America. Also, two shipments of antigen for 12 million doses have been received. Mexico received from Covax the allocation of 6.4 million doses of Astra Zeneca’s vaccine in the first half of 2021. Between February and March, we will receive around 1.6 million doses. In total, Mexico prepurchased 51.5 million doses through this mechanism. The vaccines in the approval phase in Mexico are those of CanSinoBio, (for emergency use). If approved, it is expected to receive 8 million doses between February and March; and SINOVAC as soon as COFEPRIS authorizes it. Laboratorios Liomont will package and export between 150 and 250 million doses of the antigen produced in Mexico. Phase III trials that are underway in Mexico are NOVAVAX (USA) and CUREVAC (Germany). Mexico resumes receiving vaccines next week.
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MEASURES TAKEN BY STATES IN MEXICO AGUASCALIENTES According to the state indicator, the high incidence of infections, active cases, and deaths due to COVID-19 places the state in Grade 3 of Major Risk for the presence of the pandemic. Social events and public shows in enclosed and open spaces are still prohibited. Regarding businesses in general, which operate with commercial licenses that are not related to essential activities, they are still obliged to reduce their capacity to 50% and maintain strict access control. BAJA CALIFORNIA For the second week of February, State officials of Baja California decided to continue considering the situation as a maximum risk, but with the possibility of changing to high risk soon, due to the decrease in COVID-19 cases in past days. After hitting a peak of over 1,500 active cases during the last days of January, COVID-19 cases have declined in February. There are currently 979 active cases, according to Alonso Perez Rico, the State´s Health Secretary. Perez Rico declared that although cases have decreased, the population must continue to be alert, as they have detected 4 cases of a new variant of COVID-19. A second shipment of vaccines are still to be sent by the Federal Government, but there is no confirmation on a potential date. Meanwhile, business organizations and the private sector are organizing and pursuing to purchase the vaccines by themselves in an effort to expedite the vaccination campaign to protect workers from different industries. CDMX The Head of Government informed that the City will remain in the red color of the epidemiological traffic light from February 8 to 14. Likewise, as part of the Program “Reactivate without Risk,” shopping malls and department stores can open with sanitary measures, with a 20% capacity, among others. GUANAJUATO According to Guanajuato’s Ministry of Health’s daily report, the state registered during the last weekend a total of 1,312 infections and 177 deaths from different municipalities during the weekend. A total of 95 thousand 873 patients have recovered throughout the state. The State Vaccination Committee (COEVA) will be in charge of coordinating the vaccination process against COVID-19 of Guanajuato, with the support of the Ministry of National Defense (SEDENA). Diaz Martinez reported that possibly On February 16, a consignment is being received and another on February 22 to complete the schedules of health personnel who have not received Pfizer’s second dose. It is expected that the vaccines against COVID-19 for the elderly in Guanajuato will arrive at the end of February or the beginning of March.
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MEASURES TAKEN BY STATES IN MEXICO JALISCO After a period in which Jalisco experienced unprecedented hospital saturation levels during this COVID-19 pandemic, the bed occupancy records finally show a slight improvement in the last two weeks. However, the requirement for the state hospital system remains at high levels. Although the Jalisco’s Ministry of Health stopped including the number of active cases in its reports for months (people with symptoms in the last 14 days and who can be still infected), the Governor highlighted on February 7 that there are 7,849, a figure lower than the maximum registered on January 22, when there were almost 11 thousand. Another parameter that decreased is the positivity rate in the tests applied to detect the virus, which went from 37.2% to 33.4 percent. In Jalisco, there have been 206,544 infections and 9,042 deaths from COVID-19. COAHUILA Coahuila prepares the return to blended classes for the next few weeks before the end of the school year. However, it will depend on how the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) evolves in the state. The head of the Ministry of Education in Coahuila, Higinio Gonzalez Calderon, explained that the return to classes could become a reality before the Easter holidays. However, each school’s capacity would be 25 percent, depending on the color of the Warning Traffic Light COVID-19. The governor of Coahuila, Miguel Angel Riquelme, said that in the last session of the Laguna Region’s Subcommittee, the reactivation of the National Council’s activities for Educational Development (Conafe) in 182 rural locations was authorized: that is, 1,361 students, 251 teachers, or community leaders from the Comarca Lagunera. TAMAULIPAS The National Council for the Evaluation of Social Development Policy (Coneval) analyzed the state social programs focused on responding to the effects of COVID-19 in the states, where Tamaulipas ranked first, by implementing 72 public policies to grant a good and a direct service to the population affected by the pandemic. The state invested its own resources to construct eight hospitals equipped to attend exclusively to Tamaulipas patients and expand the number of hospital beds of the State Health System. QUERETARO With data until February 7, Queretaro’s authorities indicate that it is very likely that we will see pressure on the health system again during the coming week. In three days, the number of active cases increased by 641, and we are approaching the historical peak of 2,846 registered on December 7. The CansinoBio vaccine of Chinese origin will be packaged in Queretaro after the health authorities authorize it, announced the Ministry of Foreign Relations of Mexico, Marcelo Ebrard. On Friday, February 5, he announced through Twitter, after announcing that the Chinese company has already requested the Federal Commission for Protection Against Sanitary Risks (Cofepris) for authorization for emergency use.
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MEASURES TAKEN BY STATES IN MEXICO NUEVO LEON After hospitalizations and COVID infections showed a downward trend this week, the Nuevo Leon Health Secretariat announced that it will maintain, for one more week, the closure of all businesses and establishments, except pharmacies, during Sundays and will extend from February 5, the hours of operation from Monday to Saturday. Also, it reported the reopening of the entertainment business that had been closed since last December. The businesses that will reopen with a capacity of 30 percent with permission to operate from Monday to Saturday from 05:00 to 23:00 hours are casinos, gyms, cinemas, theaters, museums, and rooms for social events, among others. In addition, on Sundays, the sale of products will be allowed through digital platforms to restaurants, supermarkets, grocery stores, butchers, patisseries and bakeries, home improvement retailers, hardware and tlapalerias, and convenience stores. SONORA With a decrease of COVID-19 cases in the whole State of Sonora, authorities consider the State as a high-risk or on the orange traffic light, and only two municipalities (Hermosillo and Navojoa) continue to be considered as a maximum risk. Hospital occupancy has steadily decreased and is currently at 45% on an average along with the State, with 29% occupancy of respirators. Hector Baltierra, Director of Specialized and Hospital Attention, mentioned that “after a difficult start of the year in which COVID-19 cases were on the rise, this new tendency of decreasing cases brings much hope and breath to the population, but it is still not the time to lower the guard. We have all to continue working with preventive measures, as tendencies can change at any moment. STATE OF MEXICO The Governor of the State of Mexico revealed that although the state has registered stability in the rate of COVID-19 infections, the state will remain in the red epidemiological red traffic light because hospital occupancy continues to be at 82%.
COVID-19 Situation in Mexico
MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY AUTO ASSEMBLY AND EXPORTS START IN 2021 WITH A SLOW RECOVERY. The economic recovery from the COVID-19 crisis continues at a slow pace in the automotive industry; production levels and international shipments maintain a stagnant trend. During the first month of 2021, 278,711 light vehicles were assembled in Mexico, representing a 15% contraction with respect to the same month last year, according to the AMIA (Mexican Automotive Industry Association) report published by Inegi. Meanwhile, 223,533 automobiles were exported during this period, 6% lower in annual comparison. Although the automotive manufacturing industry is among the activities considered essential during the pandemic, the pressures exerted by sanitary, labor, and economic conditions continue to hinder its reactivation and place it in numbers significantly below those registered before the pandemic. According to the report’s figures, only four automakers made gains in their light vehicle production levels. BMW Group and Toyota increased total assemblies by 28%; Honda increased its production by 5%, and Nissan achieved a rebound of 0.4%. On the other hand, the firms with the largest production contractions were Ford, Audi, and Mazda, with drops of 66, 43, and 31 percent. The automotive industry also began the year with significantly negative numbers concerning sales in the domestic market. A total of 81,203 new cars were sold to Mexicans, 22.5% less in annual terms.
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MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY ELECTRICITY REFORM TO STRENGTHEN THE CFE WOULD VIOLATE THE USMCA: AMCHAM
After considering the Executive’s electricity initiative as a “setback for Mexico’s competitiveness, the rule of law and sustainable development,” the American Chambers (AmCham) Mexico proposed to the Mexican Congress to promote an energy policy that encourages Mexican companies and investments in renewable energy. The U.S. businessmen stated that it is with clear and transparent rules that the projects’ continuity is guaranteed. “The Initiative to Reform the Electricity Industry Law (LIE) is not consistent with Mexico’s commitments under the T-MEC, as it does not recognize acquired rights and the granting of contracts,” warned AmCham.
The U.S. business community operating in Mexico reminded the federal government that one out of every four pesos of the total Foreign Direct Investment in the Mexican energy sector comes from the United States. AmCham called for reflection by legislators in both Houses to guide national energy policy under an approach of certainty, free competition, and respect for international commitments.
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People healed from coronavirus
79.2 Millions
Vaccinated people in the world
134,653,288
GOOD NEWS MEXICAN PRESIDENT VOWS MORE COVID-19 VACCINES AS SHOTS DWINDLE Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador emphasized Monday that he was working to ensure more shipments of the COVID-19 vaccine, as his government faced mounting criticism that its vaccination program is too slow and riddled with problems. After an initial burst a few weeks ago, vaccine supplies to the country have dried up, and the number of doses injected has plummeted to a few thousand daily. Mexico has organized the supply of multiple vaccines in an extensive diplomatic effort over the past few months. Still, the vaccines have been slow to arrive during a global struggle in which rich countries have grabbed the majority of supplies. Since the first shipment of Pfizer vaccines in late December, the country has vaccinated just 637,681 people or 0.51% of its population of 126 million. According to the Mexican government’s data, that puts it in 18th place behind other nations, including the United States and Brazil and smaller countries such as Romania. Lopez Obrador said to reporters when asked how he planned to accelerate the vaccination rate, “We are working every day with a positive attitude.... looking to solve problems, to overcome all obstacles. There is nothing better than the vaccine,” he added.
Pfizer has so far sent 766,350 doses to Mexico after a delay in shipments amid the global race to secure enough supplies. The shot, which requires two doses, is the only type yet available in Mexico. Lopez Obrador said that Pfizer’s vaccine shipments will restart on February 18. He said one million AstraZeneca vaccines produced in India would likely reach Mexico by the weekend. Mexico is expecting Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine to begin arriving this month. Healthcare workers were given first priority for the Pfizer shots. So far, only 12% of them have been fully vaccinated, but 88% have received their first shot.However, Lopez Obrador said there was still a plan to provide the first dose to everyone over the age of 60, or 14.46 million people, by the end of March. Authorities launched a website for registrations last week, but it initially crashed due to increased demand. In the following days, 3.6 million people had registered. Source: Reuters
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RECOMMENDATIONS HAVE A SAFER VALENTINE’S DAY
EHS
The safest way to celebrate Valentine’s Day is to gather virtually or with people who live with you. • Make Valentine cards or decorations and drop them off to loved ones. • Take a walk with your Valentine. • Celebrate with loved ones virtually. • Prepare a special meal or dessert. • Plan a special movie or game night. • Have a picnic outside. If you plan to celebrate with people who don’t live with you, the outdoors is safer than indoors. Take these additional steps if attending a gathering to make your celebration safer: • Have conversations ahead of time to understand expectations for celebrating together. • Bring your own food, drinks, plates, cups, and utensils. • Wear a mask indoors and outdoors. • Avoid shouting or singing.
DAVID ANTUNEZ Environmental, Health, and Safety Director.
LABOR
VACCINE APPLICATIONS AGREEMENT The agreement published by the Ministry of Health (SS) that establishes that state governments and the private sector will cooperate in the implementation of the national vaccination policy against the SARS-CoV-2 virus has raised the interest of many companies in acquiring vaccines and administering them to their personnel. Even with the SS agreement, it is not foreseen that it will be possible for companies to purchase vaccines in the short term. When the purchase becomes viable, companies will have to solve a second, even greater challenge: logistics, storage, and vaccine applications. The cold chain, the vaccine’s recomposition, and its application require competent staff to perform these tasks. The companies must prepare not only for the purchase but also for applying the vaccines through certified professionals.
ALVARO GARCIA HR Director
BASIC PROTECTIVE MEASURES AGAINST COVID-19
1 2 3 4 5 Wash your hands frequently with soap and water for 20 seconds.
When coughing or sneezing, cover your nose and mouth with a disposable tissue or use the inside corner of your arm.
Avoid shaking hands and kissing.
Keep your workspace clean and don't share personal items and utensils.
If you show symptoms of a cold or flu, go to a doctor. Do not self-medicate and inform your supervisor and Human Resources department.
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