Immediate Cessation of Non-Essential Activities

In the afternoon edition of the Federal Official Gazette dated March 31, 2020, it was published the agreement setting forth extraordinary actions to address the health emergency generated by the SARS-CoV2 virus.

By virtue of said agreement, the following measures have been determined as extraordinary actions to address the relevant health emergency, which must be observed by the public, social and private sectors:

a. The immediate suspension of non-essential activities from 30 March (sic) to April 30, 2020.

Pursuant to the provisions of the agreement, only the following essential activities may continue in operation:

1- Those that are directly necessary to attend the health emergency, such as the work activities of the medical, paramedical, administrative and support branches throughout the National Health System. Also those involved in supply, services, and provisioning, among which the pharmaceutical sector stands out, both in its production and distribution (pharmacies); the manufacture of supplies, medical equipment, and technologies for health care; those involved in the proper disposal of biohazardous and infectious waste (BHW), as well as the cleaning and sanitization of medical units at different levels of care;

2- Those involved in public safety and citizen protection, the procurement and delivery of justice and legislative activity at the federal and state levels;

3- Those of the fundamental sectors of the economy: financial, tax collection, distribution and sale of energy, gas stations and gas, generation and distribution of drinking water, food and non-alcoholic beverage industry, food markets, supermarkets, self-service stores, grocery stores and sale of prepared foods; passenger and cargo transportation services; agricultural, fishing and livestock production, agro-industry, chemical industry, cleaning products; hardware stores, courier services, guards in private security work; day care centres and children’s homes, nursing homes and homes for the elderly, shelters and care centres for women victims of violence and their children; telecommunications and the media; private emergency services, funeral and burial services, storage and cold chain services for essential inputs; logistics (airports, ports and railways), and activities whose suspension may have irreversible effects on their continuation;

4- Those directly related to the operation of government social programs, and

5- Those necessary for the conservation, maintenance and repair of the critical infrastructure that ensures the production and distribution of indispensable services; namely: drinking water, electric power, gas, oil, gasoline, turbosine, basic sanitation, public transportation, hospital and medical infrastructure, among others that could be listed in this category;

b. In all places and areas where activities defined as essential are carried out, the following practices shall be observed on a mandatory basis:

1- Meetings or congregations of more than 50 persons may not be held;

2- Persons shall wash their hands frequently;

3- Persons shall sneeze or cough by applying respiratory etiquette (covering nose and mouth with a tissue or forearm):

4- Not kissing, shaking hands, or hugging (handshaking), and

5- All other current healthy distance measures, issued by the Federal Ministry of Health;

c. The entire population that does not participate in essential work activities is urged to comply with voluntary curfew from March 30 to April 30, 2020.

Voluntary curfew will be strictly applied to any person over 60 years of age, pregnant or postpartum, or diagnosed with high blood pressure, diabetes mellitus, chronic heart or lung disease, immunosuppression (acquired or caused), kidney or liver failure, regardless of whether their work activity is considered essential.

We invite our clients and business partners to contact any of our partners or associates to specifically analyze the scenario their companies and/or workplaces are facing in order to determine if an immediate suspension of their activities is appropriate if their activity is not not considered essential and additional legal implications regarding labor law and leasing of real estate.

It is important to note that our team is following up on the provisions of COVID-19 that have been and are being issued on a daily basis by the local authorities in Mexico to analyze in a comprehensive manner the limitations to which our clients’ operations may be subject.

Sincerely,

Cannizzo, Ortiz y Asociados, S.C.