As expected, the transportation manufacturing industry (which includes automotive and aerospace), along with the mining and constructions industries, have been characterized as essential and will be allowed to restart operations on June 1, provided that they implement the health and safety protocols to be issued by the Ministry of Health prior to such date.

The guidelines set forth today by the Mexican government provide a strategy to resume social, educational, and economical activities under the COVID-19 emergency, in a gradual, orderly, and cautious manner. This strategy includes a staged return of activities, as well as the use of a regional stoplight system to assess the risk involved in resuming operations.

The stages are as follows: 

Stage One: Immediate Reopening. May 18. Municipalities with no COVID-19 cases, that have no borders with those where COVID-19 cases have been detected, will be allowed to fully resume their activities. The Ministry of Health will make publicly available the names of these municipalities no later than May 17.

Stage Two: Preparation to Reopen. May 18 - May 31. All businesses, establishments, offices, etc., including those performing essential activities, will begin implementing the necessary health and safety precautions to return to activities. The precautions will need to be consistent with the Guidelines to be issued by the Ministry of Health, in collaboration with the Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Labor, and Social Security Institute. We have discussed some of these precautions, which will include distancing and sanitary protocols, personnel training, controlled access, sanitization of workspace, etc. You may find our prior discussion, including our risk management recommendations here.

Stage Three: Reopening. June 1. The reopening of social, educational, and economic activities will follow a stoplight system as follows: