COVID-19: Suspension of non-essential activities at State level is agreed

Following-up the provisions that have been issued in recent days in relation to the activities to be suspended because of COVID-19 in Mexico, we hereby include the most relevant agreements, communications and decrees that have been issued at the local level in Mexico City and in the states of Jalisco, Querétaro, Morelos and the State of Mexico.

The above considering that both the federation and the states are authorized to legislate on health matters concurrently.

a) In Mexico City, on April 1, it was published in the Official Gazette the agreement setting forth extraordinary actions through which the immediate suspension, until April 30, 2020, of non-essential activities was ordered. Therefore, only the following activities, considered essential, may continue in operation in Mexico City: (i) those that are directly necessary to address the health emergency, such as labor activities of the medical, paramedical, administrative and support branch in the entire Health System of Mexico City, also those that participate in its supply, services and provisioning, among which the pharmaceutical sector stands out, both in its production and distribution (pharmacies) the manufacture of inputs, medical equipment and technologies for health care; those involved in the proper disposal of bio-infectious hazardous waste and cleaning and sanitation of medical units at different levels of care; (ii) those involved in public safety; the procurement and administration of justice; (iii) those in the economy fundamental sectors: financial, public notaries, tax collection, distribution and sale of energy, gas stations and gas, generation and distribution of drinking water, food and beverage industry, 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; homes and stays for the elderly, shelters and care centres for women victims of violence, their children; telecommunications and the media; private emergency services, funeral and burial services, storage services and cold chain for essential supplies; mechanical repairs; convenience stores; preparation and sale of bread, tortillas, laundry and dry-cleaning services; take-away and home delivery services of cafeterias, restaurants, inns, lunchrooms and kitchens known as “cocinas económicas”; sale of food for processing in flea markets and wheels markets and activities whose suspension may have irreversible effects for their continuation; (iv) those directly related to the operation of government social programs, and (v) those necessary for the conservation, maintenance and repair of the critical infrastructure that ensures the production and distribution of indispensable services; namely potable water, drainage and sanitation, electric power, gas, oil, gasoline, turbosine, basic sanitation, public transportation, hospital and medical infrastructure, cleaning service, transportation and final disposal of solid waste; among others that could be listed in this category.

b) In the State of Jalisco, on March 17, 2020, it was published the agreement under which party halls, casinos, clubs, canteens, nightclubs and bars were temporarily closed as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Also, under this agreement, various measures were established to be taken into consideration in private commercial establishments such as restaurants, movie theaters and gyms.

On the other hand, the Governor of the State has announced that only activities necessary to attend to the health emergency will be allowed under the terms indicated by the recent federal provisions; however, no agreement has been published in this sense at the local level.

c) On the other hand, the state of Querétaro published on March 19, 2020 in the state’s Official Newspaper the agreement by virtue of which the Health and Safety Institutions may, within the scope of their competence, execute the temporary closure of the premises or meeting centers of any kind, in order to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 disease, also making reference to their regulatory faculties to temporarily limit the opening of stores or establishments that generate the agglomeration of people.

d) Regarding the state of Morelos, on March 27, 2020, it was published in the state’s Official Newspaper the agreement setting forth the necessary preventive measures to be implemented in the state in order to mitigate and control the health risks implied by the coronavirus or COVID-19 pandemic.

By virtue of said agreement, it was decreed that, in the private sector of the state, only the companies, businesses, commercial establishments and all those that are necessary to face the contingency will continue working, in an enunciative manner, hospitals, clinics, pharmacies, laboratories, medical services, financial services, telecommunications, and information media. As for hotel and restaurant services, gas stations, markets, supermarkets, convenience stores, transport services, gas distribution, as long as they do not correspond to closed spaces with agglomerations, having to limit their capacity and respecting the National and State Day of Healthy Distance (1. 5 meters) between one person and another on each side. In this sense, activities of all kinds were temporarily suspended in places of concentration of people such as places of worship, bars, discos, nightclubs, gyms, sports centers, spas, bowling alleys, theaters, halls and gardens of social events, among others that are not necessary to meet the contingency.

e) For the State of Mexico, on April 2, the state published in the Official Newspaper the agreement establishing the preventive and safety measures to be implemented for the mitigation and control of health risks caused by the virus (COVID-19) in the state.

By virtue of said agreement, the temporary and immediate suspension of all non-essential activities was ordered, considering the following to be essential (i) public and private activities that are directly necessary to address the health contingency, such as labor activities of the medical branch in all its specialties, paramedical, administrative and support activities in the entire health sector, those that participate in its supply, services and provisioning, among which the pharmaceutical and chemical sector stands out both in its production and in its distribution and sale (pharmacies), the manufacture, maintenance and repair of medical supplies, equipment and technologies for health care and those involved in the proper disposal of biohazardous and infectious waste and the cleaning and sanitization of medical units at different levels of care and other facilities directly linked to the provision of health services; (ii) those involved in public security, the procurement and administration of justice, care for victims and the search for persons, as well as state legislative activity; (iii) those in the economy fundamental sectors and for meeting the basic needs of individuals, namely financial services, public notaries, pawnshops, tax collection, treasury services, distribution and sale of energy, gas and petrol stations, the generation and distribution of drinking water, the food and beverage industry, and the sale of products regularly offered in food markets, supply centers or similar, supermarkets, self-service stores, convenience stores, grocery stores, collection centers, butcher shops, poultry shops, creamery shops, bakeries, tortilla shops and similar, sale of prepared foods and non-alcoholic beverages, by way of take-away delivery and/or home delivery only, by restaurants, inns, luncheons, kitchens known as “cocinas económicas” and other establishments whose activity is the preparation, sale or retailing of food, sale of animal feed and veterinary services, laundry and dry-cleaning services, passenger and cargo transport services, maintenance and mechanical repairs, agricultural, livestock, agro-industrial, chemical and cleaning product activities and production, hardware stores and material houses, sale of products to support work and home schooling and improvements and maintenance for home operation, limiting its capacity to 15%, courier services, parcel services and electronic commerce, private security and security systems, social assistance centers for the care of children and adolescents; homes for the elderly, shelters and care centres for women victims of violence, their children, telecommunications, media, information technology, electronics and high technology, private emergency services, funeral and burial services, storage services, distribution centres and cold chain for essential supplies, cleaning and sanitization services of public and private spaces, providing services to the public allowed by the agreement, logistics (communications of local jurisdiction, airports and railways) and other activities whose suspension may have irreversible effects for their continuation or imply a risk to the health, life or property of people, or to the environment; (iv) those directly related to the operation of government social programs; (v) the construction, conservation, and maintenance of critical infrastructure that ensures the production and distribution of indispensable services such as potable water, electric power, gas, oil, gasoline, turbosine, basic sanitation, cleaning services, communications of local jurisdiction that include primary road infrastructure and mass transportation and cable car systems, as well as public transportation; hospital and medical infrastructure and others that could be defined under this category; and (vi) the production, distribution, supply, construction, conservation, repair, maintenance and provision of services of public utility or general interest, through concessionaires or contractors and private parties, that are strictly necessary for the adequate execution of essential activities and that are directly related to them.

Finally, the aforementioned agreement includes the obligation that the commercial centers and plazas limit access to their facilities to establishments that carry out the essential activities foreseen before, exclusively and sets forth that the economic units that provide lodging services will only be able to provide lodging services to the people that require it to carry out the essential activities foreseen in the agreement. In both cases, the capacity cannot exceed 15%.

Notwithstanding the above, we recommend to follow up on the federal, state and municipal regulations issued and that may be issued by the authorities from time to time to know the limitations to which your operation will be subject.

We wish that all our clients, business partners and collaborators and their families are and remain without health complications. We reiterate our commitment to our clients to overcome these moments of economic and business uncertainty with creativity in applying the best legal practices.

If you have any questions or comments about this statement, please do not hesitate to contact any of our partners or associates.

Sincerely,

Cannizzo, Ortiz y Asociados, S.C.