The Mexican federal government expanded its definition of essential businesses this week, despite its own color-coded metricshowing all but one state at the highest risk level for coronavirus spread.
In response, Sonoran officials released their own “Risk Index” on Monday using data including the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases, mortality rate and hospital capacity in municipalities with large populations to assess severity of the situation.
"In the case that a municipality reaches maximum risk, we will restrict all mobility in that municipality to avoid exponential transmission of the virus, which puts the lives of Sonorans at risk," State Health Secretary Enrique Clausen said during a news conference Sunday night. "That includes, if necessary, adopting even stronger measures than we put in place to begin with."
Clausen emphasized that the state is trying to prevent hospitals becoming overwhelmed, adding that hospital capacity and occupancy have the most weight in the new risk index.
"We don't want to get to the point of choosing or deciding who will get a hospital bed," he said, adding that the best for Sonorans to stay safe is continuing following stay-at-home guidelines.
"The only people who can go to work are those in essential fields," he said. "No else should go out. No one else should open. And I, in particular, would rather that (workers the federal government now deems essential) didn't leave home either."
→ Read The Latest News On The Coronavirus Disease
