In an interview with CNN, Deputy Health Minister Hugo López-Gatell confirmed that automotive industries are allowed to resume operations this June. The rest of the economy will follow suit according to a traffic light system indicating the extent at which businesses can run.

All activities are expected to adopt a "new normal" scheme except schools, which will be closed until the country is completely safe from the virus. The education ministry said the school year would be set to end mid-July, and class instruction would remain online.

New Normal

He said that cases began to stabilize in the capital, which is the largest hotspot in the country. There has so far been a lack of mass testing initiatives imposed by the healthcare institutions in Mexico, and officials even discourage it.

The administration planned to lift restrictions on May 18 so that the economy would ease back into business. Economy Minister Graciela Marquez said that the first stage of "New Normal" would let some low-risk municipalities resume operations.

He continued saying that Mexico was preparing for the second stage, which would start from May 18 to the end of the month. Essential activities like car parts manufacturing, mining, and construction would be allowed to reopen.

According to Marquez, he said the government would provide a list of guidelines and protocols to ensure safety in the resumption of operations.

The third stage would be expected to start in June. The Mexican government established a color-coded "traffic light" system that local authorities must follow. It ranged from red, orange, yellow, and green. This would indicate how safety measures were being integrated into the establishment or office in the localities.

The only exception to the reopening were schools, which would be closed until all the departments in Mexico signaled green.

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Mexico has money for mass testing

With the significant lack of mass testing in mind, health experts estimate that a second wave will be expected to hit Mexico in the coming weeks.

However, López-Gatell, an epidemiologist and executive coordinator of the COVID-19 response in the country, believed that mass testing was not a priority. He and other health officials agreed that it was a waste of time and money.

"We will [still be testing], but in a carefully planned manner," López-Gatell clarified. He said he was merely indifferent to reopening the economy. In a report by worldometer, it said that Mexico had a testing rate of around 1,200 for every million people.

López-Gatell believed mass testing was an inefficient strategy when most of the results would come back negative.

What Mexico has been doing is to test patients whose health complications were severe enough to warrant a diagnosis. There has not been enough testing for people who might be asymptomatic or with mild symptoms. The data sample is then generalized to bigger populations for statistics.

According to the health minister, this was an efficient way to test Mexicans without spending resources for mass testing. Data by the COVID Tracking Project suggested that the United States has done around 30 times more tests than Mexico has done.

López-Gatell brushed off criticisms about the frugality of the López Obrador administration, who was alleged to have been holding back funds for tests. In response, López-Gatell said that more tests were coming, adding, "We have money for tests."