Claudia Sheinbaum warns that Mexico City is approaching the red traffic light

Sellers place El Buen Fin ads in their stores in Mexico City.José Pazos / EFE

Mexico City is getting closer to the red traffic light, the maximum alert for covid-19.

The head of government of the capital, Claudia Sheinbaum, has warned this Thursday of a "change in trend" in the number of hospitalizations and has confirmed that on Friday new more restrictive measures will be presented to face the rebound in infections.

The capital went to the orange traffic light at the end of June and has been stuck at that alert level ever since.

Sheinbaum has pointed to the recent jump in hospital admissions, from an average of 20 additional occupied beds per day to more than 100. “From five days to now, you can see how the trend in hospitalization changed, which had been growing slightly and from Sunday to here there is a very important increase in hospitalizations in the City and in the hospitals of the State of Mexico that are located in the Valley of Mexico, ”he said at a press conference.

Calls to 911 in relation to covid-19 have also increased.

In the last 24 hours, there were 1,724 more infections for a total of 174,127.

In addition, 118 deaths of covid-19 patients were reported, so the death toll already reaches 15,839.

The availability of beds for general use stands at 52%, but this percentage does not have to give a precise idea of ​​the pandemic situation, since many patients choose to stay at home despite the severity of the symptoms.

The government plans to present new measures on Friday in coordination with the federal executive.

However, Sheinbaum did not want to detail the measures on Thursday or anticipate whether the city will go to the red light during the Good End sales, which are already taking place and which may cause crowds of buyers in shopping malls.

A week ago, local authorities imposed new restrictions, such as advancing the closure of casinos, restaurants and gyms for 15 days at 10.00 p.m., an hour earlier than previously, and limiting capacity at hotel events to 10 people in closed spaces and 25 in open.

The capital will also lead the trials of the CanSino vaccine with 5,000 volunteers.

Mexico City is not the only entity in the country that is experiencing an increase in cases.

Chihuahua became the first state to return to the red light since the reopening at the end of October due to the sharp increase in infections.

Coahuila followed a week later.