Mexico City schools that had just resumed in-person courses will be halted again beginning Monday as the sprawling metropolis enters a higher category of coronavirus risk, education officials announced on Saturday.
Just two weeks ago, officials in Mexico City relaxed prohibitions on gatherings in schools, hotels, businesses, and restaurants, as the city’s dense metropolitan zone moved into the lowest danger category of the government’s four-tier “traffic light” scheme.
However, the federal Health Ministry raised the risk level for Mexico City, home to more than 9 million people, from June 21 to July 4 on Friday evening.
Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum said the city’s Epidemiological Traffic Light, a calculation of risk factors, has climbed to nine points from eight points, putting the capital into the more restrictive tier.
Mexico City’s Federal Educational Authority (AEFCM) said in a statement the suspension of classes applied to both private and public schools.
Mexico, which began COVID-19 vaccinations at the end of 2020, has reported more than 230,959 deaths from the coronavirus and 2,471,741 confirmed infections.
Reporting by Daina Beth Solomon; Editing by Steve Orlofsky