Our guide has been updated with the information that has been made available up to June 3rd, 2020. We will continue to update it on a regular basis
The Partners, Counselors and Associates at our firm are at your service to address any query you may have and to clarify any doubt on the matter.
| UPDATED TO JUNE 3rd, 2020 | |||||||
| COVID-19: UNLOCKING BUSINESS AFTER LOCKDOWN | |||||||
| Federal | Ministries of Economy, Health, Labor and Mexican Social Security Institute | Social, academic and economic activities will be reactivated in stages: | Stage 1: | Will commence on May 18, 2020 and comprehends the unrestricted reopening of economic activities in Municipalities without confirmed cases of COVID-19 and which are not neighbors with Municipalities with cases of infection. The municipalities within this category can be consulted in the following link: | |||
| Stage 2: | Will run from May 18 to May 31, 2020 and consists of implementing actions aimed at reopening economic activities through the preparation of protocols, training of employees, reconfiguration of workspaces and access controls to establishments, as set in the safety and hygiene guidelines that are to be published by the Ministry of Health, in coordination with the Ministries of Labor, of Economy and the Mexican Institute of Social Security. | ||||||
| Stage 3: | Will start on June 1, 2020 and refers to the restart of social, academic and economic activities in the rest of the country based on a traffic light system by regions, to be assessed on a weekly basis.
In order for non-essential activities to be able to restart their operations they will be required to consider the guidelines set forth by the Federal Government and comply with the epidemiological risk traffic light system; no prior authorization is required. However, they can voluntarily conduct the self-evaluation questionnaire set by the Federal Government and available at , regardless of their size. Activities classified as essential will mandatorily have to conduct the self-evaluation, if they have not done so yet. | ||||||
| New Essential activities: | Activities of the mining, construction and manufacturing of means of transport sectors (this last includes the automotive and auto-parts sectors), are to be considered as part of the list of essential activities (“New Essential Activities”). These can restart their operations as of June 1, 2020, as long as they comply with the below described measures, including obtaining the approval of the corresponding protocols before June 1, 2020: | ||||||
| Step 1: | Between May 18 and June 1, 2020 the abovementioned essential activities must prepare the Sanitary Safety Protocols to be implemented in the workplace. The guidelines to prepare said protocols can be found in the following link: | ||||||
| Step 2: | Once prepared, the company must complete the Self-evaluation Sanitary Safety Protocol, available at . For essential activities with more than one facility, a protocol must be answered per facility. | ||||||
| Step 3: | Once completed, the Mexican Institute of Social Security will issue an acknowledgement of receipt. | ||||||
| Step 4: | An official response over the approval of the protocol must be issued in a 72-hour timeframe. | ||||||
| Filing, applying for and obtaining approval of the protocols may occur at the same time the measures are being implemented internally.
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| Others | None so far, to be updated as measures are published. | ||||||
| Provisions issued by Local Authorities | |||||||
| State | State of Mexico | The State of Mexico issued an Accord on May 20, 2020, by means of which it complemented the Reopening Strategy set by the Federal Government. The Accord can be consulted in the following link: | |||||
| Social, academic and economic activities will be reactivated in stages: | Activities will be reactivated on the basis of the Traffic Light System. The State of Mexico has indicated how each sector in the economy can reactive their activities, depending on the traffic light color in which the area or Municipality is classified. For the reopening of these activities, the State of Mexico has set a series of measures to be observed, on the basis of the sector to which the activity belong and, in the case of economic activities, on the basis of the number of employees it has. Additional information can be accessed in the following link: | ||||||
| Essential Activities: | Essential activities will continue their operations under the basis that they continue to implement the corresponding sanitary measures. | ||||||
| New Essential activities: | New essential activities will restart their operations as long as they comply with the proceeding set by the Federal Government (described above) concerning the preparation, implementation and approval of Sanitary Safety Protocols. | ||||||
| Jalisco | The State of Jalisco published an accord on May 17, 2020, that contains its Jalisco . The Accord can be consulted in the following link:
The Jalisco Plan for Economic Recovery was modified by means of accord published on May 31, 2020 in order to extend Stage 0 until next June 14, 2020. The Accord can be consulted in the following link: | ||||||
| Stage 0 | Running from May 18 to June 14, 2020. · Companies of the sectors indicated by the State of Jalisco (as per the Accord), will prepare sanitary protocols for the reopening of their activities, prepare its personnel in matters of safety in the workplace, prepare spaces and productive processes according to the sanitary measures, implement inlet filters, as per the guidelines to be issued by the Ministries of Health and Labor and Social Security of the State of Jalisco. Protocols must be prepared as per the guidelines set for each sector, same that can be found in the following link: · Once the protocols are prepared and set, the companies must file for an electronic record in the following webpage: · Companies must sign, under oath, a commitment letter of compliance with health safety measures, general guidelines and specific protocols. · The Ministries of Economic Development and Labor and Social Security of Jalisco, as well as the municipal authorities, will visit the facility of the company to carry out the validation of compliance with the measures, protocols and commitments. · Once the validation is done, the company will be provided with a badge that allows the restart of activities. · Companies must implement the measures and guidelines for the epidemiological surveillance of the health of their workers, issued for this purpose by the Ministry of Health through the RADAR Jalisco Program. Further instructions on how to registry a Company can be found in the following link:
Additional information on this first “Stage 0” can be found in the following link: | ||||||
| Stage 1 | Starting on June 15, 2020. Once the company holds its badge allowing the restart of activities, it can do so as of June 15, 2020. | ||||||
| Mexico City | Mexico City published its Gradual Plan towards a New Normality in Mexico City on May 20, 2020, by means of which it complemented the Reopening Strategy set by the Federal Government. The Plan can be consulted in the following link: . | ||||||
| Social, academic and economic activities will be reactivated in stages: | Social, academic and economic activities will be reactivated as per the Traffic Light System. Depending on the color light under which Mexico City is found, the reactivation of these activities will be restricted in a more strict or permissive manner. The corresponding color in the Traffic Light System will be published every Friday by the Mexico City Government and the respective sanitary measures will be applicable as of the next immediate Monday. To review how each activity will be more or less restricted you can access: · Summarized version: · Complete version: As per the “Gradual Plan towards a New Normality in Mexico”, Mexico City will continue under a red color light until, at least, next June 15, 2020. The Guidelines for the Execution of the Gradual Plan towards the New Normality in Mexico City, same that entered into force on June 1, 2020, can be consulted in the following link: The color light will be determined on the basis of the following criteria: | ||||||
| Red Light | If hospital capacity exceeds a 65% of occupancy or if there is a two-week period of stable increase in COVID-19 positive cases. | ||||||
| Orange Light | If hospital capacity is below a 65% of occupancy and a two-week period of a downward trend in COVID-19 positive cases. | ||||||
| Yellow Light | If hospital capacity is below a 50% of occupancy and a two-week period of a downward trend in COVID-19 positive cases. | ||||||
| Green Light | Hospital capacity below a 50% of occupancy and at least a month with stable low occupancy. | ||||||
| A home office scheme should continue to be promoted and, where possible, a 4x10 scheme should be implemented. This is, 4 days of working at the workplace and 10 days working at a distance (home office). | |||||||
| Essential Activities: | Will continue their operations under the instructions, measures and guidelines set for a Red-Light scenario and as the Traffic Light color changes, they shall follow the instructions, measures and guidelines set for the corresponding color light regarding sanitary measures. | ||||||
| New Essential activities: | Under the Gradual Plan towards a New Normality in Mexico City, new essential activities include: · Mining. · Construction. · Manufacture of transport equipment. · Sale of bicycles. · Food production (beer production and its production chains). · Parks, under a 30% capacity restriction. The abovementioned activities can restart their operations next June 1, 2020 and will have to implement protocols (for each economic activity) including public health measures on the workplace, operating rules with their corresponding flows, distribution rules of employees and clients, signaling for each one (employees and clients). | ||||||
| Guanajuato | Social, academic and economic activities will be reactivated in stages: | Activities will be reactivated on the basis of a Traffic Light System; which color will be determined as per the evaluation of the following criteria: · New COVID-19 cases. · Decrease in deaths. · Occupation of fans by SARI cases per day. · Capacity of hospital beds. | |||||
| Essential Activities: | Essential activities will continue their operations under the basis that they continue to implement the corresponding sanitary measures. | ||||||
| New Essential activities: | New essential activities as per the guidelines set by the Federal Government will restart their operations as long as they comply with the proceeding set by the Federal Government (described above) concerning the preparation, implementation and approval of Sanitary Safety Protocols. In addition, the State of Guanajuato has set a list of State essential activities, which refer to provision services activities (“backup activities”). This activities are: 1. Footwear (only industrial and health supply). 2. Dressmaking (only supply of industry and health uniforms). 3. Business support services. 4. Restaurants and hosting services. 5. Retail. 6. Shopping malls (except bars, cinemas , fast food areas, common areas and games. 7. Low-risk services (professionals-trades) 8. Wholesale trade. The above-mentioned activities can restart operations as follows: | ||||||
| Red Light | · Activities described in numbers 1 through 6 can operate under a 30% capacity restriction. · Activities in numbers 7 and 8 can operate under a 75% capacity restriction. | ||||||
| Orange Light | · Activities described in numbers 1 through 6 can operate under a 50% capacity restriction. · Activities in number 7 can operate under a 100% capacity. · Activities in number 8 can operate under a 75% capacity restriction. | ||||||
| Yellow Light | · Activities described in numbers 1 through 6 can operate under a 75% capacity restriction. · Activities in numbers 7 and 8 can operate under a 100% capacity. | ||||||
| Green Light | · All activities described in numbers 1 through 8 can operate under a 100% capacity. | ||||||
| The abovementioned activities should implement recommendations of the Public Health Institute of the State of Guanajuato (ISAPEG) as self-assessment measures and file before ISAPEG its Situational diagnosis for risk assessment in work centers before SARS-Cov-2- COVID-19 (Sanitary Safety Protocol). The Action Plan for Guanajuato can be consulted in the following link: | |||||||
| Tamaulipas | On the afternoon edition of the State’s Official Gazette of May 29, 2020, the Government of the State of Tamaulipas published Accord through which the state of sanitary emergency is extended by cause of force majeure, due to the illness epidemic generated by the SARS-COV2 virus (COVID-19) and safety measures are established to face the sanitary matters of the new reality with a safe coexistence. The accord entered into force on May 29, 2020. As per the abovementioned Accord, the sanitary emergency state in Tamaulipas will continue until next June 15, 2020. The accord can be consulted in the following link: | ||||||
| Social, academic and economic activities will be reactivated in stages: | Will be able to operate under the Traffic Light System. The Ministries of Economic Development and of Health, both of the State of Tamaulipas, have issued the corresponding sanitary and health security guidelines and protocols for the reopening of each activity in the State, to face the new reality with a safe coexistence, which can be found in the following link: For the reopening of economic activities, each establishment must obtain the “Reopening of Establishment” Certificate, issued by the State Commission for Protection against Sanitary Risks and keep it visible to the public at all times in the workplace. The Certificate can be obtained by filing the form in the webpage and take the virtual training referred therein. | ||||||
| Essential Activities: | All companies and industries classified as essential activities, as per accords published on March 31, May 14 and May 15 by the Federal Government, must prepare and implement the corresponding health security protocols in their workplaces. | ||||||
| Chihuahua | On the State’s Official Gazette of May 30, 2020, the Government of the State of Chihuahua published Accord No. 083/2020 of the C. Constitutional Governor of the State establishing the strategy for the reopening of social, educational and economic activities in the state of Chihuahua, by virtue of the pandemic caused by the COVID-19 disease. The accord entered into force on May 31, 2020. It is understood that the State finds itself under a red-light color until the corresponding provisions are issued regarding the stage in which the entity finds itself. The accord can be consulted in the following link:
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| Social, academic and economic activities will be reactivated in stages: | The accord sets forth that social, academic and economic activities will be reactivated under a Traffic Light System, same that can be found in Exhibit 1 of the Accord. All work centers, including those that carry out essential and new essential activities, at any stage of the Traffic Light System, in addition to implementing the measures established in the Specific Technical Guidelines for the Reopening of Economic Activities, published on May 20, 2020 in the Federal Official Gazette, must be subject to the activity evaluation and control system set by the Traffic Light System included as Exhibit 1 of the accord. Any work center intending to restart its activities, dependent on the stage of the Traffic Light System in which the State finds itself, must send to , of the State Ministry of Health, a copy of the proof of the self-evaluation carried out in terms of the Technical Guidelines for the Reopening of Economic Activities, published on May 29, 2020 in the Federal Official Gazette, and have proof of the referral thereof, prior restarting its activities. | ||||||
| Essential Activities: | Work centers that carry out essential and new essential activities must send to , of the State Ministry of Health, a copy of the proof of the self-evaluation carried out in terms of the Technical Guidelines for the Reopening of Economic Activities, published on May 29, 2020 in the Federal Official Gazette, and have proof of the referral thereof. | ||||||
| New Essential Activities: | |||||||
| Nuevo Leon | On the State’s Official Gazette of May 31, 2020, the Government of the State of Nuevo Leon published Accord No. 6/2020 concerning the implementation of actions to deal with the sanitary emergency generated by the SARS-COV2 (COVID-19) virus, in the State of Nuevo Leon. The Accord entered into force on the date it was signed, this is, May 28, 2020. The accord can be consulted in the following link: | ||||||
| Social, academic and economic activities will be reactivated in stages: | All non-essential activities must continue under suspension until next June 30, 2020, unless the Ministry of Health, jointly with the Ministry of Economy and Labor, both of the State of Nuevo Leon, rule otherwise as per the economic opening guidelines that these Ministries must issue. | ||||||
| Essential Activities: | Activities classified as essential and as new essential (construction, mining and manufacturing of transport equipment) as well as those correlated with all these shall continue with their permanent operations. During the second week of June, 2020 an evaluation will be conducted as to determine if non-essential activities can lift the suspension of activities, on the basis of the epidemiological conditions in the State and as long as they comply with the sanitary safety protocols that must be issued by the Ministry of Health, jointly with the Ministry of Economy and Labor, both of the State of Nuevo Leon. All activities, both essential and those non-essential being allowed to operate on the basis of the epidemiological condition in the State; must observe and comply with the measures and practices set forth in section III of the abovementioned accord as well. | ||||||
| Puebla | The State of Puebla, by means of accord published in its Official Gazette on May 22, 2020, has indicated that the State does not hold the proper sanitary conditions for the automotive and construction sectors to reopen activities as per the measures set by the Federal Government.
The accord can be reviewed in the following link:
As per decree published on June 1, 2020 in the State Official Gazette, employers who resume activities in accordance with the relevant provisions and decrees published so far, by both the Federal and Local government, will have the responsibility of implementing in the work areas the guidelines, protocols or rules to be issued for each economic sector and activity, which may not be less than those established in the Second Article of the decree. The decree can be reviewed in the following link: | ||||||
| Queretaro | None so far, to be updated as measures are published. | ||||||
| Baja California | |||||||