On Tuesday, Mexican Health Secretary Hugo Lopez-Gatell singled out the state of Sonora with a reminder that now is not the time to stop following stay-at-home orders and social distancing measures.
"There's still a long stretch of the epidemic curve, there's still significant transmission," he said during a press conference Tuesday night. "And it's up to Sonorans to reduce transmissions, to avoid more contagion, more cases, and to prevent deaths."
He said experts expect to see a peak in coronavirus cases around June 4 in Sonora, but it could be another two months before the state can start easing restrictions on movement.
Some parts of the country, including Mexico City, have announced that they are starting to loosen some measures. But Lopez-Gatell emphasized that there won't be a unified reopening in Mexico. Rather, each state has to respond based on the levels of contagion among its residents.
In Sonora, projections show the coronavirus continuing to spread until early August, he said, adding that some other states could be dealing with the first wave of the virus through the fall. And until cases start to decrease, he said, there cannot be return to the so-called “new normal.”
